Is it possible to cover the whole spectrum, high SPL, low distortion with a 2-way?

That might be an issue.
However, some time ago I went through a box with prototype Avantgarde horns, about 20 years old. Some of these were Nextel coated, others finished with glossy coatings. The Nextel coated horns were neither sticky nor scratched.

For what it's worth, most people I know prefer the sound of Nextel coated horns.
 
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Is this what the Nextel on your DMS-1s looks like?
 

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It occurs to me, a long time ago I had a few pairs of Dynaudio Craffts, both in wood veneer and in Nextel. The Nextel was indeed prone to scratching.

Much later, a pair of AvantGarde Duos came along, about 6 years old at that time. The gray Nextel-coated horns still looked like new, so maybe the composition of Nextel has improved over time. I have never applied this stuff myself, so my experience is limited to end products.
 

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Yes, that is a foam. My one looks more like this JBL M9500, while not as bad as this. I think this M9500 is damaged by humidity and the owner tried to remove the stickiness. My one is not damaged by humidity, no stickiness, thanks to north eastern weather.

Nextel may have some kind of acoustic damping effect, but I don't think JBL advertised the finish of M9500 that way. AvantGarde does?
 

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I have Nextel on my Array Horns and Array 880 center. No suede fur like finish just a smooth and soft feeling coating. Those older systems are 20 years old seems to me they would have done something about the durability. I have seen some Array horns that were damaged and it looks like t would difficult to touch up. Can you get small quantities like you would use for touching up a scratch like a car?

Rob :)
 
It seems, much depends on the environment and the way in which the Nextel coated cabs or horns are handled.
Perhaps, the application of the coating also makes a difference > thickness, surface, primer etc.

Rob, this is in accordance with my (limited) experience. The older Nextel coated cabs appear to be more vulnerable.
 
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The more I dive into JBL's Optimized Aperture horns, the more I become convinced these approach the pinnacle of (classic) horn design.
Measurements of 2332, 2381 (attached images), 2352 etc. posted on the Lansing forum confirm my expectations.

A few tiny tweaks may improve performance and more importantly: sound quality.

My Solidworks skills need some refreshment, but I am looking into ways to enhance the diffraction throats, as well as the walls and the mouth roundovers.
Fillets and splines instead of sharp edges may work wonders. This would result in an interior more akin to the RCF horns.


Some DDS horns look like improved JBL designs.
 

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Often, people who like spherical/JMLC and similar round horns are not fond of rectangular horns, especially if these are very short.

However, this horn appears to be an exception:

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.



This is essentially a slightly modified JBL 2386.
There's no diffraction slot and it facilitates a crossover below 500Hz.
However, coverage angles are only 40°(H) x 20°(V), in practice a little wider though.
 

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