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In Reply to: RE: The Pros and Cons of Horn Speakers posted by Tom Brennan on August 25, 2024 at 19:09:31
True. In most cases where it's said that a horn is directional that comes from someone listening with their eyes. A horn resembles a nozzle, sort of, so they assume it's directional. It's no different than the erroneous assumption that there is a characteristic horn sound.
Follow Ups:
I have to take issue with you here. Almost by definition horn speakers are exceptionally sensitive, typically 100+ dB. Why is this? Largely as the sound is projected in a narrow beam, via a "horn". The clue is in the name!
As with megaphones, sound is directional and deliberately so. As for "listening with their eyes", I'm somewhat confused. If I close my eyes while sitting in the sweet spot of my horns (provided they are well set up), I can point towards each instrument or singer unambiguously - far more so than ever is the case with most other types - eyes are not needed.
Another advantage of horn's directional nature is that the proximity of side and rear walls is largely ignored by these speakers,
Horns may be configured to project a tight polar pattern, but they don't have to project a tight polar pattern. As for their high sensitivity, it's because a horn is an impedance transformer. Moving coil loudspeaker drivers have an inherent flaw, in that they're high impedance devices operating into a low impedance load, that load being air. 8 ohms doesn't sound like it's high impedance, but it's huge compared to the impedance of air. When a high impedance device operates into a low impedance load the power conversion efficiency is low. Direct radiator speaker efficiency is very low, around 2% on average. A horn provides a driver with a higher impedance load, so the speaker works with far greater efficiency. Horns run with an average efficiency of 50%. That efficiency is at the heart of why horns are more sensitive. It's not directivity. Logically it would seem that directivity is a major part of the equation, but as is so often the case with audio in this case logic is incorrect.
Look at it this way. You're in a rowboat using a pair of pool cues for oars. You'll get where you're going eventually, but those pool cues can't grab enough water to do the job effectively, no matter how fast you row. That's a direct radiator. Switch to a good pair of oars and you go a lot faster, while doing less work, because they grab the water so much better. That's a horn.
On the subject of listening with your eyes:
View YouTube Video
Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
Whether done for fun, as in the clip, or by necessity for those with hearing impairments.
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho
That's a well known phenomenon in the acoustical engineering community. It happens because our primary sense is vision, so when the brain processes input from multiple senses it gives priority to what we see over what we hear. When you watch that video and he's saying 'faa' close your eyes and you'll clearly hear it as 'baa'.
" When you watch that video and he's saying 'faa' close your eyes and you'll clearly hear it as 'baa'. "
Yes, that is the point. If we listen with our "eyes open" (allow outside things to influence our judgment) then our conclusions are invalid.
It is not just vision that can severely cloud our judgment but looks, size, cost, a read review, something your friend said about the product, etc.
Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
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