Does the shape of a horn matter ?

[ginetto61]

Hello !

Looking at compression drivers I see that horns come with different shapes: squared, rectangular, elliptical and circular
Is the shape an important factor or not ? why a designer chooses one shape against another ?
Thank you very much and kind regards,
gino

[timc]

Ask 4 different designers this question, and you will get 6 different answers.

The shape is a important factor, but people don't agree wich is best.


-Tim

[Eaulive]

Ask 4 different designers this question, and you will get 6 different answers.

The shape is a important factor, but people don't agree wich is best.


-Tim

It also has to do with dispersion (coverage) a horn that covers a wide area with constant response is not an easy thing to do

[ginetto61]

Thank you very much for your reply
I understand there is no a shape that is intrinsically the best
Nevertheless I am very intrigued by all the horn design issue
If anyone could direct me to posts or links describing just the basic principle of horn design I would be very grateful
Thank you very much and kind regards,
gino

[Robh3606]

Here try this

http://aa.peavey.com/downloads/pdf/qwp1.pdf

Rob

[timc]

That was a great read.

Thanks!


-Tim

[Eaulive]

Also the unavoidable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_loudspeaker

[ginetto61]

Thank you very much Gentlemen !

now i know where to start and what to study.
It seems to me that there is a growing interest for horns also among so called "audiophile" people and not only professional users
A great way to get both high efficiency and low distortion
A lot of people are converting to horn loaded drivers and valve amps
And the marriage sounds as a good one

Thanks a lot again
Kind regards,
gino

[4313B]

It seems to me that there is a growing interest for horns also among so called "audiophile" people and not only professional users
A great way to get both high efficiency and low distortion
A lot of people are converting to horn loaded drivers and valve amps
And the marriage sounds as a good one

Yeah well just be warned that if you are going to use the latest generation JBL drivers there is no distortion and you can fry your hearing in real short order without even realizing it. Let's be careful out there. SPL meters and OSHA guidelines are your friends.

[ginetto61]

Yeah well just be warned that if you are going to use the latest generation JBL drivers there is no distortion and you can fry your hearing in real short order without even realizing it.
Let's be careful out there.
SPL meters and OSHA guidelines are your friends.

Thank you so much for your valuable advice
I was not aware of this possibility used as I am to low efficiency and relatively high distorting home speakers
They become annoying before any hearing damage
Very impressive indeed. I think it is a case of too much of a good thing
Just out of curiosity which series of JBL drivers are you referring at ?
Thanks so much again
Kind regards,

Gino