ok...a few of us figured we needed a good car audio topic to get rid of all the politcal bs on here as of late, and this is something that i have been asking people on msn lately, so leats hear about it.

Please dont just post "horns". I want to know why, as i am trying to decide a setup for my hot-rod.

Sometimes it just fits the application better. Now that I know someone has a set of USD's for sale here, I'm tempted to get them because then I won't have to build kicks or go through any modifications to make it work.

Oddly enough, HLCD's would fit my car better than building kicks. That's all I was trying to say.

Horns? Bah! Humbug!

ahhaah..

HLCD can work very well, but need a lot of tuning to start to sound natural again. For me, it's not worth the hassle.. I'll take a good mid and tweet set any day.

For me HLCD's add a sense of "realism" to the music, they seem to bring the music to life...The dynamics are hard to beat, along with the staging, imaging, and I find they give a better sense of depth to the music. Of course there are cons to HLCD's as well, like a narrower soundstage, and tonality can be a problem as well. I have tried numerous sets of components, in all kinds of kickpannel setups, and door setups, but the instant I heard my first set of HLCD's I knew I'd never go back.

Some people love em, some people hate em, you just have to give them a listen for yourself. And keep an open mind about it, they are totally different from component sets, and sound best when installed and tuned properly. Too many people hook them up, turn them on, and sell them the next day because they expect instant results. Just like a race engine, they need to be tuned to work the best... [img]graemlins/jammin.gif[/img]

[ December 13, 2003, 05:52 PM: Message edited by: Kilowatt ]

tough call...

Horns are alot more complicated than they look... to get sounding right and setup properly.

I know with my old setup i needed a very efficient mid range (5-6 inch) to play with my 8's (nd-8's) just to keep up with the horns... horns are very efficient over 100 db on most horns. as much as 109 on some... 5 - 10 watts was more than adequate power for them...

Horns offer far greater low end response compared to conventional domes...I had mine xovered at 900 hz.. than my midranges (focal audiom 6's) from 900-200 and than the nd8's from 200 down.

Very dynamic setup and sounded excellent. however it was a pain in the ass to get em sounding right an eq is deffinately reccomended for horns. Also to cut down throat resonance i would use some deadener... on the horn body itself.

they are a pain to setup as well... some people swear by them though..

i sold em and opted for a conventional component set. as they were alot easier to setup and get sounding good.

i say it totally depends.. if you up to the challenge horns kick ass.... if you want to save some time and maybe even money conventional comps/tweets will be good too.

Kriston

Give them 75 watts, turn that **** up and see god.

Pro: Because of their narrow/ beaming nature they can do good things in a car rig IF you can mount them where they need to go
Pro: High efficiency, everyone focuses on loud bass drivers this offsets them.
Pro: They are dynamic
Pro: proven technology (50+ years old)
Pro: I think they can look great in a system

Plus and minus: they give a super-real sound unlike any planar or cone or dome. They draw attention to themselves and that is not natural (as you listen to the symphony do you say 'wow those high notes are pristine'?). They sound a little etched and in a highly reflective car that can be a little too much (people complain about metal tweeters all the time) others will like the clarity.

Con: FREAKING HUGE and nonsymmetrical shaped where can you put them in a car, wait my local dealer can help!
Con: Harsh sound, I have only heard two horn speaker systems that didn’t send me running out of the room (I am very picky on HF drivers) this will vary user to user.

Hoooo boy, u got that one right! Dukk and I farted around with a pair he was installing in a car quite a few years back. We rigged them up in my Mustang on the punch 40 I had running my tweets. Or was it 2 channels of my 4080? I dunno, they were getting at least 50 watts each and we put in Money For Nothing..............
[img]graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]

You wanna talk feeling like you are AT the concert, in the front row! Holy crap those things were efficient. I have yet to hear a car rip that opening guitar riff that those horns did.

^ That was two channels of your 4080 [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

I bought three sets of horns after that [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Then I went through 3 car sI could not fit them in [img]graemlins/freak.gif[/img]

Then I sold them all and have no HLCDs now [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img]

bump. no-one else has an opinion?

Great thread, thanks to everybody who posted a REASON for their opinion.

I've never had the oportunity to listen to a car with HLCDs installed, so I can't offer an opinion or reason. I just can't justify rambling on about specs and theories without some practicle experience. That's just me though, the floor is still open. Anyone?????

Adam

I feel the same way. It's generally easier to get a better sound out of a component set straight from the box than is horns. Both I'm sure require alot of tuning if going for very accurate sound but the horns sound like a harder point to start from. Output though.....horns for sure.

Crap.......that's my opinion..... [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

damn...i was hoping this would inspire tim to give me a bit more of an opinion then "i hate them" and "they are crap", [img]graemlins/beer.gif[/img]

Just keeping it real :cool:

Why mix words when one can sum them up :D

^ Crap? I don't remember Quart making HLCDs [img]graemlins/dunno.gif[/img]

If I could fit guides in my next car they would be in my next car. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Well in my opinion I agree that horns are alot more difficult to set up and tune, the benefits that can be reaped are phenonminal. What other sound reproduction device can play from 25 hz all the way up??? That is awesome!! Now set-up is a BIT@H, if you are out a few degree's on the angle then they don't sound good at all. I also must agree that the first time I heard a set of horns which was in 1999 they were Image Dynamics CD1E-MH horns with the Image 62 Mids with the CS-1 crossovers. That was in a jetta that was done by crankin street sounds when I was working there. He took 3 in IASCA Novice SQ at worlds in Dallas. Man did that car sound awesome , I knew I would always LOVE HORNS. Sorry once I get reminising I kinda get rambeling on.

^^^^You don't ramble, I RAMBLE!

Good to hear little story once in a while, makes opinions a lot more personal. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Adam

Sure as hell no horn can do that, not even a $10,000 set of Altecs........

Funny how you love Canton so much and the same little german guy makes one speaker and puts Canton and Quart on the same speaker. He just turns right and puts the Canton sticker and turns left to put the Quart sticker on them [img]smile.gif[/img]

oh, you know gustavson too tim? [img]tongue.gif[/img] ;)

haha, horns playing from 25 hz. We are talking real horns, not that experimental ice horn that was posted on the net awhile back. Some horns are advertised as playing down to 800 hz, but in the real world most people cross them over a bit higher. I have not heard a horn system that touches the best conventional driver systems I have heard.

LOL...just like I said, you either love em or hate em... [img]tongue.gif[/img] To each their own... [img]smile.gif[/img]

For me personally I find conventioal speakers lack any sort of life or brevity to them which gives you that sitting right there at the concert/performance feel...I always find myself thinking that I am just listening to speakers...

Here's a poor example of a HLCD and tweet comparison with home audio speakers... I was doing some auditioning a while back with some high end Klipsch's, JM Labs, and Paradigm, speakers and noticed similar results with car horns. Tonally the JM's are sweet as hell, but the soundstage wasn't very focused, and very laid back. It almost seemed as if it was behind the speakers several inches. They were very nice, but I just have a herd time convincing myself that I am listening to an actual performance. Then once the Klipsch's were turned on it seemed like the music instantly came to life, and the soundstage came into focus, a foot or two in front of the speakers. There was no mistaking the center image, right there in front of me. They were more colored than the JM's, but an EQ and a trained ear can help that...

It all boils down to taste, and what you find more important with your music. I love that focused unmistakable soundstage in front of me, not to mention the dynamics. Others preffer acurate tonality which is easier done with conventional speakers.

I myself would take a set of horns over any mid/tweet combo, but thats just me... :D

I've heard a couple systems using ID horns in the past. There were many aspects of the sound I really liked, and if only they would fit in my car, I'd love to own a pair. I could probably get mini-horns to fit, but they would interfere with my pedals, and hang too low. I almost went ahead with a set of CD1-Pro mini horns regardless of my worries, but thought it'd be almost dangerous on the driver’s side. I decided to go with a conventional component set instead.

They do usually require some tuning, and 1/3 octave equalization would be an asset if looking for a very linear response. It depends a lot on the horns as well, even Image Dynamics’ models vary quite a bit in the tuning and attenuation required. The CS1 crossovers help with attenuation, and can usually match the horns quite well with midbass drivers. The first time I heard a set of horns, I was very pleasantly surprised. It certainly is a different listening experience, and can be a fun challenge to integrate into your system. I may consider fiddling with them if I see a cheap set on ebay or something [img]smile.gif[/img]

Funny how you love Canton so much and the same little german guy makes one speaker and puts Canton and Quart on the same speaker. He just turns right and puts the Canton sticker and turns left to put the Quart sticker on them [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]A Quart tweeter could never hope to be a Canton tweeter. MBQ tweets sound like monkeys screeching in a garbage can. They are irritating and fatiguing.

I like many brands. I do not like Quart.

lols horns playing 25 and up? [img]graemlins/freak.gif[/img]

800-900 for some of the better horns out there... my illusions were xovered at 850...

but man are they the rip your head off with enough power type of speaker [img]tongue.gif[/img]