dislocated Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 I'm new to Klipsch, but let me get this straight: the top of the line Klipsch speakers not only have horn loaded tweeters, but horn loaded midrange and subwoofer drivers as well? Does this actually sound good? I always thought horn loading was optimal for tweeters only. If horn loaded bass sounds so good, why don't other speaker companies offer it? I guess maybe some of my confusion comes from not really understanding what exactly "horn" means. If anyone could explain or post some links to online diagrams I'd really appreciate it. Also, I live in central california, does anybody know any hifi shops that stock Khorns so I can hear them myself without spending $5,000+? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 Go to the homepage and do a dealer search for your zipcode...once you hear properly set-up Klipschorns, nothing else will ever sound the same again...trust me! For an explanation of horn-loading of loudspeakers by the Master himself, go to: www.hifilit.com When you get there, click on the PWK klipsch logo, then when the next page opens, read the old magazine article on that page, page by page...pretty much self-explanatory...PWK was good at explaining things so you didn't have to be an engineer to understand them. The reason why other speaker companies don't come out with fully horn-loaded home speakers is due to the size and complexity of the cabinets...and the fact that they haven't figured out how to do it better than PWK did it over 50 years ago! LOL! ------------------ If you want to send a private message, or have already done so, be aware I have not as yet been able to retrieve them. Send e-maill instead, please...just note Klipsch forum in the heading so it doesn't get deleted. This message has been edited by HDBRbuilder on 05-16-2002 at 06:39 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 And the reality check is that very few dealers will have the K-Horns. They've been out of production for a little while (recently re-introduced), and even then it will take a special dealer to commit the space to properly set them up and demo them. Best bet is to see if there are some friendly bulletin board members in your vicinity that are willing to let you listen to their K-Horns. ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 Yes, the technology to horn load woofers works well, but there are drawbacks, namely the length of the horn and the mouth areas required for low frequency loadings. Pwk got over the large packaging requirements in the klipschorn by folding the horn and designing the cabinet to be placed in corners where the walls act as an extension of the horn size and area. The other drawback is the careful caluations involved and the added complexity in building a bass horn cabinet over more conventional speaker box designs. The simple sealed and vented boxes are not " better or worse " , just a lot easier to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 Basically, horns are a sophisticated form of megaphone. We know a megaphone increases the efficiency of a human speaker's voice. Even cupped hands used to shout are a crude form of a megaphone. The same happens when you put a horn in front of a basic speaker diaphragm. The term must have originated from the use of an animal horn as a musical instrument. A classic "exponential horn" doubles in area every "x" distance down the length of the horn. A conical megaphone doesn't do that. The exponential horn works better than a crude megaphone. So why is efficency good, or lack of effiency bad? Essentially, motion of the diaphragm due to lack of trapped air to push against is bad and causes some types of distortion. So the issue is, how to pump more air with less motion of the diaphragm? The answer is the use of the horn. It allows a small motion of the diaphragm to pump more air. In a direct radiator set up, like typical speakers, the diaphragm just pushes against the open air in front of it. On the other hand, when the diaphragm is up against the small end of a horn, there is more resistance to motion (good), less motion, and more air gets pumped down the horn, eventually into the room. "Folding" is a term for many ways of making the horn more compact. It is somewhat similar to when you look at a trumpet or tuba. They wrap up the length of the horn with coiling of the ductwork. Only the bass horn in the K-Horn is "folded". You then have to take a look at the corner of a room. It looks like the flare end of a big tuba. So the corner of the room serves as the last section of the horn. There is much more to it, but that is a start. PWK had the notion that efficency and distortion are inversely related. So the most efficent speaker has the lowest distortion. Hard to argue with the results. Gil. This message has been edited by William F. Gil McDermott on 05-16-2002 at 08:28 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Palm Posted May 22, 2002 Share Posted May 22, 2002 Dislocated, the bass horn in the K-Horn is Eight feet long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted May 26, 2002 Share Posted May 26, 2002 it's closer to 6 feet in length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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