GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site

In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: Battling stupid Horn Criticism as a concept

Post Subject: It ain't the surfacePosted by rowuk on: 11/23/2012

I have read Romys post about the fine hairs and such but do not necessarily agree with the interpretation here. Romy always has a specific UseCase and makes very clear what he is after. He has often mentioned his search for interesting sound and even why his preference for big horns is black. There are too many great sounding shiny horns for this to be "generally" true. Earl Geddes adds foam to his speakers to solve a problem (HOMs) that should not even exist if the horn is designed and used properly.
My point with the musical instrument reference is that we have several tools at our disposal: Mass, Resonance, Feedback and Earthing. We can make very heavy horns to limit their ability to resonate, we can design horns in a way that the horn itself "leaks" energy to the outside surface, we can attach a frame, cable or other mechanical device to transfer vibration from one part of the horn to another, or to conduct the vibration to a much greater mass (like a floor through spikes) and we can design the horn with parallel walls, too short or too long and have resonance actually build up in the device itself. Any of those parameters can be good or bad depending on how they are implemented (except maybe horns that are too long or short). My main point is that our expectations about horns should be guided with a knowledge about what they do instead of an experience of how they should not have been used. Every comment about the sound of any device has a deeper reason and it can be great fun to try some of this stuff out instead of just believing it.
I personally believe if a absorptive surface is on the inside of the horn, the pressures in the device will cause them to deform and change the sound. How much of this is audible depends on so many other things that is probably a moot point for all but the very few with the time, ears and analytical attitude. Most of the best ears that I know are not capable of describing what they hear to someone that does not have a common musical/technical base. That makes Romys work here amazing to me. His descriptions are very vivid - often enough to make the casual reader/listener jump to some pretty stupid conclusions.

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