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From: rdp@teddy.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: RAW SPEAKERS
Message-ID: <1223@teddy.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 29-Aug-85 09:49:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: teddy.1223
Posted: Thu Aug 29 09:49:57 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Aug-85 06:48:15 EDT
References: <508@hou2f.UUCP> <-1460374@sysvis>
Reply-To: rdp@teddy.UUCP (Richard D. Pierce)
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
Lines: 71
Summary: 

In article <-1460374@sysvis> george@sysvis writes:
>
>[...]
>
>> ... Horns, realized in a practical manner, have real problems.
>> ... they can be far more room dependent than direct radiator designs,
>> judiciously placed.
>> ... What I object to is their inability to faithfully reproduce musical
>> sounds that I know well, in comparison to many other loudspeakers. I object
>> to statements, such as one of the ones that followed your article, that
>> "horn sound" is smooth, uncolored, low distortion. On an objective basis,
>> K horns and most commercially available horns are neither smooth, uncolored
>> or low distortion.  At least two of those quantities can be measured
>> objectively, and the horns fail both very miserably.
>>							Dick Pierce
>
>I would be interested in hearing your arguments FOR any specific direct
>radiators that are acceptably "uncolored" and which don't require a one
>megawatt amplifier to drive them.  

Somehow, I think the author of this statement is posing a very leading
question, and I get the feeling that now matter how good my answer, I am
doomed to failure.

My system at home uses "direct radiator" loudspeakers, and I have a measely
75 watts per channel to drive them. I have never seen nor heard the need for
1 megawatt, nor 1 kilowatt for that matter trying to reproduce the levels
that I enjoy. My musical preferences are baroque keyboard music, including
organ (I have measured SPL's of REAL pipe organs, they are NOT very loud).

At one point, when such information was of inportance to me, I actually
measured power output using a high speed analog to digital converter and
a rather large array of analysis programs. For such things as the kinds
of music I listen two, the amplifier was screaming away at a blistering
3 watts on LOUD passages. For my needs, th argument that direct radiator
loudspeakers require megawatt amplifiers is a crock. 

AS to the arguments for direct radiator loudspeakers, this is a whole can
of worms in and of itself. At some point I may enter in to the discussion,
but time eludes me now. I may prepare some sort of paper over the next few
weeks. But to me, the best argument for a given type versus another is that
it nore faithfully reproduces the musical experience I am familiar with 
listening to live music. Comercially available horns, in this respect, fail.
Period.  Direct radiators, frankly, fail also, but nowhere near as badly.

 	(A note here. As far as I am concerned, I have yet to hear
	any system which even loosely sounds like live music. The
	current technology isn't even close. But one can still make
	the choice between merely bad and positively dreadful.)


> Also, what is "judiciously placed?"

Judiciously placed, in the case of K-horns, means that they must be placed
along the shorter wall of a large room, the corners must be smooth straight
and very solid, and, ideally, the room must be of such proportions as to
continue properly the taper of the horn. Note that since the speakers, 
because of the horn, couple so effectively to the room, they are, therfore,
extremely sensitive to room loading, much more so than direct radiators.

I would sincerely like to avoid a loudspeaker technology pissing contest,
as it is unproductive (No, I am not accusing anybody of starting one!).
If you like horns, fine. If you don't, fine. If you don't like me not
liking horns, tough. But please let's avoid the hyperbole like "megawatt
amplifiers". It is completely baseless in the real world, and really 
doesn't inspire informed responses.

With apologies for the minor flame,


Dick Pierce