# Horns in 3 way set up



## danthemadhatter (Jul 29, 2009)

Has anyone ever tried using horns in a 3 way set up? For fun, at one point I tried using ID big horns for the mids, and Dynaudio woofers and tweets. Let me reiterate, FOR FUN! Ran everything active with Zapco DC amps. Most people said this was the best set up they have ever heard and could not believe the size of the sound stage. Totally an experiment for me. I think half of my car audio enjoyment is trying things. Anyone else???


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## S3T (Sep 21, 2008)

I haven't tried this yet, but i don't think it's a bad idea, as horns tend to roll-off after 16-18khz, and may have issues in lower frequencies too - i wouldn't mind crossing them to some sparkling tweeters on 10-16khz just to add some airiness to soundstage plus rise it to the supertweeter level.
You can try adding a supertweeter passively thru tiny capacitor without messing with an inductor on midrange.


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## DanMan (Jul 18, 2008)

3 way horn frontstage has been done by successful competitors as well as diyer's. The obvious choice of adding a supertweeter is not without issues. A typical tweeter is not sensitive enough to work well. This is what those I trust most say. Others report decent results. A true pro audio supertweeter is simply too big for most if not all a-pillars. Others believe a supertweeter is not necessary in a properly tuned horn set-up. Most of us do not hear that high anyway.

I bought a pair of Audax PR170MO mids to use in my doors from 175hz-1200hz. Laziness, second thoughts and overall satisfaction with my current set-up has been preventing me from installing them.


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## TokoSpeaker (Nov 12, 2010)

This is an interesting topic for us.

Horn or HLCD for FUN, you can try by adding a pair of super tweeter.

For example : Fostex FT17H.
This product is affordable and the quality is very good.

You can make a simple passive crossover on those super tweeter, together with hlcd.
I use 2.2 uf capacitor + 4.7ohm resistor.

Simple set up on my car :
- 1 pair Fostex FT17H super tweeters.
- 1 pair HLCD Image Dynamics CDUltra-MH.
- 1 pair Peerless 830883 midbass drivers.

I am very satisfied with this set up.
Probably I wanna change the midbass driver with Scanspeak 18W Revelator series.

Thank you.


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## DanMan (Jul 18, 2008)

Where do you have your drivers mounted and in what vehicle?


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## TokoSpeaker (Nov 12, 2010)

I put the drivers :
- Midbass at doortrim
- Horn at under dash
- Super Tweeter at sail pilar

The car that I use is Toyota Innova (for Indonesia only).

Thank you.


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## DanMan (Jul 18, 2008)

Those Fostex tweeters are only an inch and a half deep-not bad!

What are your impressions of the sound with and without the tweets playing? Are you running an active set-up? Those mids must have a tough time keeping up with the horns. I ran Alpine Type X mids with my horns for a bit. It didn't sound bad but certainly was a limiting factor. The higher sensitivity and 500 watts to each ID x69 mid I run now definitely works better.

I love my horns but often wonder how it would be going back to "conventional" tweeters. I bought some Hiquphon FSII's to try out, but never did. I relegated them to a home audio build which is ongoing.


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