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Hi all,
I have been doing some listening recently on speakers which have wave guided tweeters. The tweeters are crossed over pretty low (below 2000hz). They sound very different to loudspeakers which use traditional methods. Some of the parameters which impressed me are as follows.
1.Great dispersion characteristics.
2.Fabulous dynamics across the frequency band.You got hear the thack on the kettle drums on them !
3.Very musically involving and lively sound.
I am very intrigued by this phenomenon. One loudspeaker brand which use similar wave guided tweeters and made in the USA are the Aether audio loudspeakers. The speakers I heard are Blumenhofers from Germany.
I would love to hear experiences by any members here who have experienced such loudspeakers.
Follow Ups:
The 4 model looks very interesting. You don't have to be a woodworker to cut and assemble it, but you do need a lot of clamps. They have a very helpful forum and owner.
"What did the Romans ever do for us?"
Interesting that you would mention Pi and Wayne Parham. Just days ago I asked Wayne for his opinion of wave guides, and he does not like them. He claims that, for one thing, they disperse too much high frequency information toward the ceiling which causes "ceiling bounce." He prefers a 90 degree by 40 to 60 degree (depending on the woofer to which it is mated) horn over these waveguides.
90x40 or 90x60 load to a lower frequency in the horizontal than the vertical. In other words, at the crossover point if you've matched directivity of woofer and tweeter, the vertical is going to be less controlled than the horizontal. So you still get celing and floor reflections right in the crossover range.
Also, power response in both planes is only matched very well with a round, or nearly round, horn.
Bass is supposed to sound big. 6.5" is not a woofer size.
You might like to read what Earl has to say.
Welcome to the world of "Horn Loading" buddy
If done right there aint much better
I've listened to horn speakers for over 30 years---Klipsch, EV, Altec, JBL and others. The last I owned were Altec 19s which use a 15" direct radiator crossed at 1200hz to a compression driver and horn. Good horn designs have excellent clarity and imaging and hair-trigger dynamics.
Oooops; not supposed to say the "H-word", horns have a bad connotation to many audiophiles. That's why many modern horn makers call them "waveguides".
is the characteristic hollow and honky midrange coloration shared by some of the speakers on your list.
rw
What a lame post I expected better from you.
the sacrilegious post on hi-eff wherein the Altec 19 was similarly described? Quick! Your "booing" instinct is not keeping up with the pace!
rw
Functionally all Horns are Waveguides, but not all Waveguides are Horns. You can have a Waveguide that absorbs and does not increase gain, but all Horns rely on "compressing" the dispersion pattern to increase gain in a particular direction.
I might think that no horn or Wave Guide can "increase gain" due to the laws of physics, but they can control the directivity and dispersion of that energy causing it to maintain a higher SPlevel at the listening position.
And I agree not all WG's are Horns. A WG is simply a passive device in which sound waves pass (are "guided") to cause a particular function. That function can be one of directivity depending on the shape of the guide and how it controls/allows the waves to propagate as they pass through.
You'll notice that horns and WG's have differing shapes and sizes depending on their intended goal. The dimensions and the openings are sized and shaped relative to the dimensions of the wavelength the designer wishes to affect and how.
> ...But they can control the directivity and dispersion of that energy causing it to maintain a higher SPlevel at the listening position.
This is exactly what the other poster said if you re read, imo.
Are there any colorations which can happen due to improper design ? Anything to watch out for ? I am really new to this hence apprehensive. All I can say is that I was really entertained.
I have had two auditions and cannot hear any colorations. Some sounds can literally shock you. It is like a blast unlike the soft treatment you get from traditionally mounted tweeters.
"...Some sounds can literally shock you..."
Yes, that is the quality in a well designed horn system that keeps me coming back to horns. When done right, the realism can be shocking. I find dynamics to be very important in creating a good illusion of a live performance, and horns do that better than any other design I have ever experienced. Horns are not perfect, but what they do well they do very well.
Here is a wave guide loudspeaker that is not a horn... in fact it is designed sort of opposite some horns.... to have a constant impedance at the opening not at the throat. The purpose here is to provide an omnidirectional loudspeaker that covers a wide frequency range to be used for architectural acoustics and speech intelligibility.
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