Le Kleachorn (with apologies to Jmmlc)

[rjbond3rd]

I have finally found a single-driver / wideband system that can do it all, with no compromises (at least from my perspective).

The build consists of Azurahorn 160 front-loaded horns, mated with used FE206E's sitting atop Klipschorn bass horn clones (Speakerlab K's). I'm using a Sur Audio active crossover at 240Hz, 12db/octave. LeCleac'h + Klipschorn = Le Kleachorn.

The sound is detailed, smooth and rich. There is no "horn coloration" when properly crossed, and they do not blare -- on the contrary, the sound just floats out of them. Yet you can hear an uncanny, almost bizarre amount of detail out of them, and they are indeed holographic and sound similar to electro-statics. They are so efficient that the power meter on my 2A3 never even registers.

The Azurahorns are also constant directivity and they really don't beam except perhaps a tad at the highest frequencies (to my ears). Off-axis is just a shade less bright and it's almost as if there's no sweet spot -- it's all sweet.

The only downside is bass: room modes are not yet treated. So I just turn the volume down a bit and they still sound fantastic. In fact they really shine at low and moderate volumes, and don't need to be cranked in order to "sing."

Many thanks to Mssr. Jmmlc in Paris, France (for the beautiful flare), Mr. Martin Seddon of Azurahorn, and of course ultimate horn fanatic and mentor, Mssr. Serenechaos. And many thanks to GM, who said years ago (mis-quoting him) that the best way to listen to single-driver is horn-loaded, supported with a woofer. How right you are, and if only I could have understood at the time

One last thought: if you are a fellow newb (who can't build a proper crossover), just bite the bullet and get an active crossover. It opens up all sorts of possibilities. Life is short, so just get going!

[rjbond3rd]

Forgot to say:

(a) the Azurahorn 160 is approximately 37" in diameter.
(b) overall height is 62"
(c) the wife loves the sound and doesn't mind them because, believe it or not, they do tuck into the corners and thus take up less space than most of the other speakers I've had. But yes, they are visually imposing

[DaveCan]

Nice Robert!

Can or are the 206's crossed at about 70hz? (Probably way to low, but had to ask lol ) I was thinking that this may sound pretty nice atop the Goldwood 18'' H-Frames ..

Or maybe the GPA 416's etc..

[rjbond3rd]

Howdy DaveCan!

The Azura front-horn cuts off at 160Hz so in this open-back configuration, it's not capable of much below that. But if the back of the cone was loading a box of some kind, you might be able to get away with that. I guess it would come down to whether the box could keep up with the horn in terms of gain?

I'm still a newb after all these years and I love the active crossover which lets you just click-click-click and I eventually settled on 240Hz but I'm told with a LeCleac'h you could go down to 200 (unlike some other flares where you need to stay farther away from the cutoff). I don't pretend to comprehend all this, I'm just clicking

[Godzilla]

Maybe this will sound silly... but looking at that 206 mounted in that horn reminds me of simply placing it on an open baffle that's shaped like... well, a horn. Neat system tho! I'd like to hear a pair.

[rjbond3rd]

Hi Godzilla, come here them! You are absolutely right, it's a deformed OB. The highs just shimmer, like an electrostatic but without that "looking through a window" quality - there's meat here and while the detail is astonishing, overall it's not forward-sounding.

It's paradoxically "soft" yet with gobs of detail and depth. Hard to accurately describe, so clock out, get on a plane and come here them

[kristleifur]

Their beauty is perfectly balanced between being odd and serious.

[DaveCan]

It's nice to see some front loaded designs, and glad you have discovered some good sound with your design!.

I like the H-Frames a great deal but not much over 70-80hz, so that's why I was wondering about what the 206's went down too etc..

Could be a cool experiment to add in some OB sound below 300hz or so and see how well it mates to the loaded 206 just for fun at some point..

Did the 206 drivers mount easily to those horns or did you do lots of custom work?

Good job

[rjbond3rd]

Hi guys,

Kristleifur, you are so right. Everyone smiles when they walk into the room because they are so comically over-sized. Not everyone has realized they are speakers.

DaveCan, I attached the 206's with cheap c-clamps, and then the mounting ring sits in the "handle" of a 35-pound barbell (yes, I once lifted weights), and is tied to the barbell by means of top-grade audiophile lamp cord

I think the 206 could definitely mate with your H-frames. Just wild-guessing, maybe the 206's could start rolling off at 150Hz to blend with the H-frames rolling off at 70Hz? I recall you are using a very fancy bass crossover / amp -- so you have a low-pass, but does it also have a high-pass? What are you using on top these days?

[DaveCan]

Now that's some custom cab work!

I don't really like the H-Frames anywhere over say 80hz approx in my application, and just use them as subs for which they are really nice.. Perhaps a U-Frame or just a large OB baffle would be okay with using the GW's up higher.

Still using the fe108's in BIB cabs sitting atop the GW H-Frames.. The 108's are unfiltered and fed by a Decware Taboo amp and the GW's are fed by a Reckhorn A-400 sub amp.. The sub amp has a low pass sat out, but not using it at his time..

I really like the front horn concept so this is cool to see