Tell us: what do you like in a speaker design? Point source? wide dispersion? limited dispersion? Omni?

And then tell us: why?

Well i like the speed and clarity of electrostatic pannels in the midrange, but without the beaming and power handling problems, that´s why I use a Smith horn and compression driver in the midrange, plus a horn tweeter.

I like the efficiency and slam of bass horns, without the restrictions of huge size or high cut off point, so I use the next best thing, IMO, a Jensen-Onken bass box loaded with a couple of 15" drivers each.

Jorge

My feeling is there is no "perfect design" but I'll give it a shot! Just for the heck of it, I'd like to try a good omnidirectional speaker. One that can replicate the resonant characteristics of different instruments! A violin and a guitar may not vibrate on exactly the same plane, or a piccolo vs a trumpet!

Then again, my room is so small, i have to be happy with a 2 way system! It does the job .

I personally like the concept of plain ol' acoustic suspension designs because it keeps unnecessary woofer vibes to a minimum, thanks to the air spring design of the enclosure. A lot of times, though, only a bass-reflex design can get sufficient bass out of a small enclosure with decent efficiency. I am glad that dome tweeters came out, because there's far less beaming than with cone tweeters.

The best sound that I've ever heard, however, was a pair of MartinLogans one day at Tweeter: treble everywhere thanks to the electrostatic panels, and a good stereo image anywhere at all in the room, and good bass from a good-sized woofer. Simply gorgeous sound; they're what I'd probably buy when I hit the lottery.

Simple answer, Yes. Each design when done well has its strengths. Such is why I keep one pair of each to rotate through my main system to suit the music and my mood.

Point source: Very easy to position in a room and coherency is a given no matter how far or close one sits. Imaging can be very fine. The sound can sound less congested and more transparent than multiple driver models, though not always. Problem is, frequency extension usually suffers and most single driver models can be distort badly and beam. My example of this is a pair of Tannoy Berkeleys (15" DC HPD385A).

Omnidirectional: The whole room becomes the sweet spot, quite literally. According to my neighbors, their apartment counts as well. The soundstage is as wide as the room and far more three dimensional than typical monopoles. Problem is, it's very difficult to build a good omnidirectional speaker without causing lobing and similar issues, so not too many good examples exist out there. More importantly, you listen to your room far more than the speaker and so most recordings take on the same sound and reverb. My example of this is my infamous pair of blue dodecahedral Design Acoustics D-12s.

Narrow/Limited Dispersion: When I read this, I immediately think of flat panel type speakers such as Magnepans, but horns definitely count as well. It's quite easy to avoid most of the more common room issues with these and thus treatments aren't as necessary at the first reflection points. The sound can be less colored as such and neighbors to the side are quite thankful for the characteristics. Less power is needed at the sensitivity rating for a certain level at the sitting position and so more amplifier options are open. This is, however, a two-edged sword as narrow dispersion essentially also means "beaming", which just about guarantees a one person sweetspot. Good if you live alone and have a favorite chair, but a major pita if you have a significant other or don't want to sit as though your head is in a vice. My example is the Magnepan MG-I.

How about plain ol' dipole such as the above Magnepan is concerned? The sound is far superior to most conventional monopoles and lacks the more typical "boxy" sound. The soundstage can seemingly be wider than the room and imaging is nearly as three dimensional as a good omnidirectional. It's hard to say exactly why, but the sound is often far more realistic as though the band is in the room vs. projected onto a sonic screen. Problem is that the room plays a major roll again as far as the back wall is concerned and positioning is incredibly difficult often requiring adjustments down to the fraction of an inch. Here my Maggies would qualify again as would my Flatline Designs, but if my current DIY project ever gets off the group (provided I can find a set of 6' tall Magnepan panels at a price I can afford) then that will qualify for the dipole sound as well.

Ultimately, I think the dipole sound is my preferred type at the moment.

Well, that's the best I can answer with my limited knowledge and experience.

- JP

Horns, horns, and horns. I have no real input here. I just want updates on new posts. I must say, I like em all cause I'm a speaker whore. Never met a pair I didn't like.

Well,I am a horn freak!
The system I have put together is quite unique to say the least.A few years ago I got this crazy idea
So where do I start...
How about efficiency,love what horns give me in that regard.I enjoy the sound of low powered SET tube amps for the mids and highs.When you have 2-4 watts to work with HORNS excel!!!
but wait...2-4 watts doesnt give me that visceral impact and control of the low frequencies so my answer was an active biamped rig with SS amps for the Klipsch LaScala bass horn(104 db) and tube amps for my Altec 511B/BMS driver mid/high horn(113 db).
Now this is a 2way rig and talk about point source and coherency...its there for sure.So now we have a 2way horn loaded system crossed at 500hz with an active crossover.
The Klipsch LaScala is known for its clean,tight,punchy bass.It is basically a sealed encloser that is horn loaded(125hz horn).The problem is horns roll off very hard below thier cutoff freq. In this case at about 70hz.
OK lets add a dedicated sub system.I chose 2x18 BagEnd subs with thier integrator.BagEnds approach to low freqencies is to build a sealed enclosure and operate it below its resonate freq(70hz).A sealed enclosure has a predictible roll off of 12 db per octive.The integrator adds gain to the signal in proportion to that roll off down to a claimed 8hz.The signature of the sealed enclosure is very close to my Scala bass bins.
My rig has the attributes of a point source system that is horn loaded for maximum efficiency with the clean tight bass of sealed enclosures for the lows.
This rig amazes me everyday and that is my philosphsy or what I prefer in a speaker.
My last system was a dipole setup.The speakers were Mirage M3si's,took about 750 watts per to open up.They were very accurate and had a huge sweetspot but just couldnt do what my horns do namely efficiency,dynamics,ability to be powered my low power tube amps.
Greg

Here's a question for you horn guys! Aren't they very revealing of what's feeding them? The horns I heard (quite limited) were the Edgarhorns and my feeling was that if they are not driven by top notch equipment, they can be a huge disappointment! They can play loud for sure and are very airy, I mean they can fill a huge space but man can they sound harsh if the source material is edgy! I also feel you need a huge room to get the most out of them!

Am I on track?

You are correct,efficient horn speakers are very sensitive or revealing.They can sound very impressive but system synergy is key to good sound.Horns and tubes are usually a great match,very synergistic.SS can work well with horns as well but cheap SS is usually a disaster and will tear your head off at high volumes.A few examples of SS gear that match up well with horns would be Mac,McCormic,B&K,hybrids that use tubes and SS in thier design such as Counterpoint work well.Poor recordings suck also.Many people have bad opinions of horns because thier first impression was with a poorly setup horn system.If you ever heard a well setup horn system you cant help but be impressed.Sure they have thier flaws but every system does.Its all about compromise...nothing is perfect.
Greg
Also a good tube pre in front of a SS amp goes a long way for system synergy.

I tend to prefer Omni and conventional dynamic speakers from a sheer practicality.

Of course there are no perfect speakers.
I've heard the good horns and bad horns.
Good omni and bad omni.

AS much as I hate the look of the panel speakers, I can see their good points too.
Same goes for the line source. Aint my thing, but I see why ppl. like them.

What I would love is a pair of dynamic speakers that are easy to drive but fast and dynamic as electrostats.


Unfortuntely, I haven't yet to hear such a pair unless they are drivein actively.

kuma, omnis? is that because you're partial to the briks?

Not really dogs.

But I do like the speakers with a wider dispersion pattern.

I don't realy care for any speakes with a narrow sweet spot.

My speaker theory: If they sound good, they are good.

When I was young I noticed the speakers used at concerts seemed to be Altecs. I figured why not play the recorded music back through similar speakers? I don't know if this was a good idea or not but I still have the speakers after many years.

I'm positive there are much better speakers out there. I'm just not real interested in hearing them. Mine have more than paid for themelves and please me so that's enough.

The 811 horns will let you know in a hurry when you have a poorly mastered cd or lp playing They also will give you that warm fuzzy feeling when it comes together. I'm sure the Altecs color the sound but I like it that way. I just recline in the chair and let the sound wash over me. It doesn't get any better than that for me. The speakers disappear and it's almost like being there.

AMEN!!!...brother
Greg