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In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: Macondo's Axioms: Horn-loaded acoustic systems
Post Subject: My thoughts on horns as authoritarian instancesPosted by rowuk on: 10/9/2021
Being a trumpeter, I certainly have an opinion about this - on many levels.
I believe one of the major benefits of a trumpet (horn) is the ability to completely melt into the orchestral fabric or with ease move outside when MY voice in my opinion has more to say. Other (non brass) instruments are much more dependent on the rest of the orchestra "getting out of the way"! Brass instruments are however, controlled in real time and the "orchestral fabric" consideration involve the expressional intelligence and actions of the player.
If we contrast this to horn loudspeakers, we more or less have a static relationship to the fabric of playback. We can not in real time choose what projects out of that fabric or what "melts".
Now we need to consider how recordings are made - generally with microphones in the very near field. This is NOT the geometry or perspective that we have in the audience. The real issue here however is that the sound of instruments changes with distance. Violins, violas and flutes being directive upwards, get more "room effects" from the ceiling - the articulation also becomes much less apparent. Brass instruments are more directional and the sound changes with distance but not as much and the articulation remains prominent. Woodwinds are all over the place but like with violins have a great proportion of "room effects" when we are in the audience. Regardless of which instrument, the high frequency response also deteriorates or gets homogenized in a concert setting.
This is one of the aspects of being a "conductor". Very immediate sound, little early reflections or concert hall - everything is "overly" dynamic. When we compare this to being in the audience, each instrument group behaves in different ways - but the horns only have one way - reproduce what was recorded where everything is distorted in perspective by close microphones. In this respect, the truth can hurt. Horns are not the problem, recordings mixed from multiple too closely miked channels disturb at a level not easily analysed.
I am sure that "better speakers" like the Dunlavys simply make the music melt - I wrote row 15 as this is my favorite seat in the Frankfurt Alte Oper and other excellent halls. I am not sure that horns MUST, by architecture default to "out of the fabric" dynamics. I am sure that this is a choice that is made during voicing - something that conductors also must do with their brass players.
On a completely different level, "modern musicians" play more or less with just intonation. This creates a lot of resultant tones (acoustic intermodulation) that are not necessarily related to the tonality. This effect (non perfect intonation through vibrato and other means) gives the string section a certain sheen. The brass players also have a characteristic "sound" based on similar intermodulation effects. Historic performing practice performances often use "mean tone" which has the resultant tones in tune with the fundamentals and overtones. I have noticed in my own system (hybrid horn) that the recorded resultant tones in romantic and modern orchestral repertory stick out unnaturally. We often "blame" the play of some of the musicians for this, but perhaps something else is in the way. The "better" HIP recordings are much more cohesive - perhaps more considerate of what the horn will do with the intermodulation.
I could write books about what I hear on stage, in the audience and at home. My goal for playback is to make row 15 the plausible entity.Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site