# Are horns / waveguides a thing of the past ?



## ZapcoTravis (Feb 24, 2014)

Just like the title says Are horns / waveguides a thing of the past ?
It seems you don't see as many horn installs like we use to back in the day.

Are they not as popular now as they were years ago ?

I remember the first time I used horns in one of my installs years ago.
Ever since that first time horn experience I have never used tweeters ever since.
I have people listen to my last install that I used USD waveguides in and every person would be like "So where are your tweeters ? I don't see them" and I would reply with " :laugh: LOL ! What tweeters !"


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## Hanatsu (Nov 9, 2010)

I never seen a horn install in all of my life lol. Seems like you guys in US are the only ones that use them. Not popular in Europe as far as I know, almost every SQ car have midranges at dash height.


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## onebadmonte (Sep 4, 2008)

Out of all the peeps I know and hang with that are in car audio, I'm the only one dicking around with horns. Modern cars with big consoles that integrate into the dash is one reason some of the peeps I know stay away from horns. They say they console blocks the horn mouth line of site. Another issue I've heard is the fab required to get horns in is too much, just to find out if its gonna work or not. All I can say is that there is no one silver bullet to SQ nirvana in car audio.


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## ZapcoTravis (Feb 24, 2014)

onebadmonte said:


> Out of all the peeps I know and hang with that are in car audio, I'm the only one dicking around with horns. Modern cars with big consoles that integrate into the dash is one reason some of the peeps I know stay away from horns. They say they console blocks the horn mouth line of site. Another issue I've heard is the fab required to get horns in is too much, just to find out if its gonna work or not. All I can say is that there is no one silver bullet to SQ nirvana in car audio.


I agree that horns are a bit more work to install, but the outcome is so rewarding.
I am currently gathering equipment to do another horn install using ES full body horns.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

ZapcoTravis said:


> I agree that horns are a bit more work to install, but the outcome is so rewarding.
> I am currently gathering equipment to do another horn install using ES full body horns.


Actually, I find horns easier to install than let's say install a tweeter in the A-pillars on-axis and make it look good (off-axis? Yeah drill a hole and slap it - done!) 

And for somebody that isn't good at installing, it doesn't require special tools to do it too. 

Kelvin


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## MaxPowers (Oct 25, 2007)

Every speaker in my home has horns in them. From the vintage Klipsch Cornwalls passed down from my Grandfather to my Hsu Audio speakers in my bedroom. It also helps I live near Hope, AR where Klipsch started. I havent tried horns in my car yet, but thinking about trying in my next car.


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## NA$TY-TA (Mar 25, 2009)

I have Full size horns in my F-250. I guess it comes down to people not wanting to mess with them and getting them to fit. I wish I had a pic on my phone. I'll take some tonight.


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## Patrick Bateman (Sep 11, 2006)

IMHO, the main reason that you don't see a lot of horns and waveguides in cars is that there isn't a lot of innovation in car audio in general. There was a golden age of innovation, from about 1990 until 2000, but after that innovation basically ground to a halt.

Due to that, many of the innovative new waveguide designs never trickled down into the car audio market.

If you look at the home audio market and the pro audio market, waveguides have never been more popular. Walk into a Guitar Center, and it's hard to find a loudspeaker that *doesn't* have a waveguide on it. Go to Best Buy and you wont see a LOT of waveguides, but they're definitely easy to find.









Infinity uses waveguides









Pioneer does too









In the studio, waveguides are the norm, not the exception

I could go on and on here. Basically the car audio guys mostly missed out on the waveguide revolution, because the car audio designs are mostly based on horn theory. There's an exception here and there; Gary Biggs won with waveguides.

*The more I listen to waveguides, the less I like horns.* I built some LeCleach horns this year, but I personally enjoy the sound of my waveguide speakers better. The horns did a few things better than the waveguides, but overall, the waveguides sound superior imho. I think that's one of the reasons that the waveguides all look so similar now; basically Pioneer, JBL, Infinity, Mackie, Behringer and the rest figured out what works. That's why their waveguides all look so similar.









If I'm lucky I should be demoing my car on Saturday. It uses a clone of the JBL PT waveguide. These are really easy to fit in the car btw.

Here's some propaganda about the JBL design:

_"The modern constant-directivity horn has evolved slowly since its introduction over 25 years ago. Advances in horn design have been primary evolutionary in nature. To achieve balanced response of all parameters, JBL Professional started with a clean sheet of paper and developed Progressive Transition (PT) Waveguides.

Progressive Transition waveguides are unique because a single mathematically-continuous surface defines the waveguide from transducer- throat to waveguide-mouth. The distinctive feature is the lack of a traditional diffraction slot. Instead the sidewalls transition smoothly from the driver throat through to the square or rectangular mounting flange._


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