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Trachorn vs. Elliptrac Which Is Better?


geoff.

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Money no object, but ONLY these two to chose from.

 

This is not about ease of installation or size, for our purposes lets say it is to be used with a folded horn bass bin, three way.

 

I believe in my heart of hearts the K-402 active IS the end game, but failing that and going passive let’s have it!

 

 

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My vote is for the ZXPC 18 x 10, mainly because that is what I have and have tested. The sibling ZXPC 17 x 11 also appears to be a great choice as well. 

 

The 18 x 10 is a great horn from just about any perspective; price, performance & aesthetics. I do not have any experience with the Trachorn or Elliptrac, but I would say all 3 horns are "similar", but different enough to have their own personalities. I like the conventional look of the 18 x 10 too. 

 

 

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@Curious_George, I stumbled across your thread about using the ZXPC on the PRV driver.

 

It is pretty much a no brainer for anyone starting out new and wanting to wet their beak without breaking the bank.

 

The first thing that went through my head was "it's even cheaper than an EV-DH1 and not only will it fit in a Cornwall cabinet, you won't throw your back out lifting it!"

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I've had Al's Trachorn & also Daves Elliptrac & used both extensively over some time.

 

For me, the Elliptrac was a step above the trachorn, with a bigger soundstage & smoother, more relaxed sound. I've used the same driver on both horns (Various versions of K55, A55, GPA).

 

Currently using the BMS DCM50 on the elliptrac & find this combo hard to beat.

 

Both are excellent horns. If you can handle the woodwork on the elliptrac kit, I believe it's a bargain.  

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Thank you! That’s the kind of review you can set your clock to.

 

I recall seeing a thread on here some years ago where JustinSweber thought the Elliptrac to be the winner.

 

I just found it odd that Volti Audio hasn’t gone that route yet, yet uses elliptical tractrix tweeter lenses? Maybe he can knock out the Trachorns cheaper?

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22 hours ago, geoff. said:

Thank you! That’s the kind of review you can set your clock to.

 

I recall seeing a thread on here some years ago where JustinSweber thought the Elliptrac to be the winner.

 

I just found it odd that Volti Audio hasn’t gone that route yet, yet uses elliptical tractrix tweeter lenses? Maybe he can knock out the Trachorns cheaper?

 Absolutely.....Greg makes those himself.....can't see him purchasing a product from someone else, when he has the skill & knowledge to manufacture the horns that he utilises. 

 

These horns were the start of everything for Greg. 

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On 12/5/2021 at 7:40 PM, geoff. said:

Money no object, but ONLY these two to chose from.

 

This is not about ease of installation or size, for our purposes lets say it is to be used with a folded horn bass bin, three way.

 

I believe in my heart of hearts the K-402 active IS the end game, but failing that and going passive let’s have it!

 

 

Tractrix and Ellepitrac.  Aren't these the same?  Both a Tractrix flare, one rectangular and one oval? 

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On 12/7/2021 at 11:29 PM, tigerwoodKhorns said:

Tractrix and Ellepitrac.  Aren't these the same?  Both a Tractrix flare, one rectangular and one oval? 

, There is a difference  , you can use the Elliptrac with a K55V and still have an amazing soundstage , but the Trachorn would require a larger VC  than a  k55V  as a minimum   -

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The eliptrac is an eliptical tratrix horn.

ALK did the math... Dave was the CNC craftsman.

 

In general observations:

Tratrix horns image well

Eliptrax horns image really well but have smaller sound stages too. 

CD horns have huge sound stages but dont image well. 

CD mid horn + Tratrix tweeter is well used idea.

Tratrix mid horn + eliptial HF is fantatic.

Eliptical Mid + Eliptical HF is secrete suace type stuff but prob bot huge room idea.

 

Im venturing into multicell... wish me luck :-).

 

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On 12/6/2021 at 11:30 PM, geoff. said:

Maybe he can knock out the Trachorns cheaper?

Much cheaper in material and the equipment required to make solid wood horns. Reflecting on the difference between formed plywood horns and solid stacked BB machine horns brings me to something I experienced last week. I had been running those ZXPC 10 x 18 horns recently as I had a visitor here talk me out of my first set of 7 x 14" mouth solid wood horns. Wanting to listen to something before I cut another set I used the Faital HF146R drivers and that ZXPC horn. When I had another set cut I went to swap them out and noticed the ZXPC had vibration in it and it never sounded as good as the wood horn. Now it was not mounted in anything so how it would behave with the flange screwed in tight I don't know. It made me wonder about plastic horn resonance though. I think the same could be true with formed plywood horns.

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Here is what’s in process. 
crossovers are designed by ALK. Similar to the jib passive 

bassbin is a JWC\fast lane design. I wanted front ported.  The porting is so cool.  
 

multicells are from Germany. Need to finish the bassbin, bike crosser and design a framing for the multicells. 
 

 

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