Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site
In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: The Ridiculous Japa-Brazilian horn.
Post Subject: Materials and finishes for [bronze] hornsPosted by Paul S on: 3/4/2007
Thank you for the lesson in metalurgy, Jessie (seriously). Actually I have no reason to believe that the bronze horn in question rings "like a bell" "when struck" in the same way a real bell rings when struck, so that does seem to put my remark off center. But I have heard a good deal of "ringing" coming from [polished] metal horns like this one due to internal resonances generated, reflected and amplified by the horns themselves. I always return to the Altec horns because that's where I left off. The stockers "rang", alright, and we wound up getting the best results making ours from tar or lead. Bronze was and still is too expensive for my experiments, but I would still have to hear this one to believe it does not produce any ringing, configured as it is, even though I accept that the horn itself is not vibrating like a bell does when struck.
The subject of horn finishes came up a while back in another thread , and it might also be relevant here with respect to the bronze horn, which, as you say, should be well-damped due to its mass alone. I've heard matte aluminum and pot metal horns make very audible contributions, but we found that shellac "dope" could damp this some, certainly more so than just the mass of the shellac would suggest, or at least the mass of the shallac as compared to the mass of the horn itself. And is the case of the "doped" horn not somewhat different from the doped [paper] driver, even if the goal in both cases is to shift/control resonance?
Best regards,
Paul SRerurn to Romy the Cat's Site