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I have been observing High-Efficiency loudspeakers for a while. I think I have seen/heard many of High-Efficiency endeavors and I think that I did develop acquired taste and some experiences about High-Efficiency results. So, I would like to pass some of my observations about the general state High-Efficiency Loudspeakers, particularly the horn-loaded loudspeakers.

In my view the High-Efficiency idea experience good publicity last years and good popularly memento. Some negative and not completely groundless prejudges that horns had years back got softer and High-Efficiency horn-loaded installations pop-up here and there more or less frequently, by private efforts and by various manufacturers. However, did the admission of horns as one of the viable topological opportunity made the High-Efficiency notion better? Hmmm... Nope, it did not, and in my view the today’s state of horns is very said. In fact the more popularity horns get the more bogus horn installations are being built. Even though at each trade show you will see a lot of horn-loaded speakers practically all of them sound horrible and made with very indispensable mistakes that assure their improper operation. So, over 100 years we build horn-loaded playbacks and we still build crap.

In this thread I will upload my general bitching about the state of today horns. Warn you that it will be highly negative. We do not make good horns, we do not make doo drivers, we are mostly absolutely clueless about system organizations with horns and we are absolutely dead on a subject of proper setting up of horns in our listening rooms. The industry offers practically nothing in times of horn systems, in terms of more or less comprehensive theory, in trims of good tools or in trims of any useful critical analyses. The fate of horns thinking is outsourced not the hands of off the wall enthusiasts and if the industry allows itself to dive into horns then they do it for very sad for consumers cost per transition ratio.

If we presume that High-Efficiency loudspeakers shall deliver better result die to their multiple benefits (with what I agree) then would it be correct to assume that High-Efficiency loudspeakers shell sound better? It would be correct to assume but the reality indicates that generally High-Efficiency loudspeakers do NOT sound better then Low-Efficiency loudspeakers. Go to many trade shows or in the homes of many private owners and listen the actual sound. Not the BS they will tell you but the actual sound. All that you will experience will be mostly crap, undistinguishable if it was 88dB sensitivity or 20 dB higher? What does it say?

It said that the sadly implemented High-Efficiency loudspeakers are in pare with their Low-Efficiency brother and all alleged advantages of High-Efficiency loudspeakers are killed by our stupid and inept use of horn topology. If the “horns are better” then why the most horns installations sound as bad as anything else? This single question is nailing the state of High-Efficiency Loudspeakers..

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