Horn Information Please

[GCAdidas13 10+ year member]

i have heard mostly everything great about horns however have not done much research on what makes horns better or worse than another and can't find much of a description of the differences.

what is the difference between a mini body horn and a full body?

what is the difference between, say, the image dynamics CD1, a CD1e, or a CD2?

What other horns are out there that are priced in the same range as the above three? how do these compare to the above three?

thanks in advance //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Click to read more...

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

what is the difference between a mini body horn and a full body?

Size, for one //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

The minibodies generally can't extend as low in frequency as the full bodied horns. Mini's need highpassed in the 1100-1200hz area generally, while the full bodies can extend down to ~800hz (can go down to around 550hz if you don't listen at loud volumes and have a very steep xover slope)

what is the difference between, say, the image dynamics CD1, a CD1e, or a CD2?

Everything. Totally different compression drivers, in some instances different horn bodies, totally different sound, etc etc. IIRC (going from memory, so don't quote me) in general the CD1's have better top end extension and the CD2's have smoother and better sounding midrange. CD1e's are entry level....decent sound when tuned right, but not on the same level as the others in terms of sound and efficiency.

And then you have different versions of the CD2, such as the Maylar diaphram, Neo motor, etc etc.

What other horns are out there that are priced in the same range as the above three? how do these compare to the above three?

USD Audio (http://www.usdaudio.com), Crossfire now has a pair of horns and Illusion CH1's (though they are currently not in production)

USD has different levels of horns, from entry level on up to super-mondo expensive (like $4k for a pair). The Illusion's would be comparable to the CD2's. Crossfire's I'm not sure about.....don't know much about them at all.

 

[80INCHES 5,000+ posts]

i have heard mostly everything great about horns however have not done much research on what makes horns better or worse than another and can't find much of a description of the differences.
what is the difference between a mini body horn and a full body?

what is the difference between, say, the image dynamics CD1, a CD1e, or a CD2?

What other horns are out there that are priced in the same range as the above three? how do these compare to the above three?

thanks in advance //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

http://www.usdaudio.com/products/wg-supera.php

http://www.usdaudio.com/products/wg-a700.php

http://www.usdaudio.com/products/wg-bc300.php

80

 

[GCAdidas13 10+ year member]

as far as positioning the horns and etc... i assume they are supposed to be installed so that the horns disperse outwards... or more toward the ouside of the car. meaning that the actual driver of the horn would have to go under the dash toward the inner of the car. is that right? what else should i know before making a decision on which horns to try to find?

i mean like for instance, the super A that 80 posted seems like the actual driver is way huge... would i have to mount that so that it hangs down, or would i have to mount it so that part fits up into the dash somehow?

thanks... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Brian

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

http://www.teamaudionutz.com/enter.htm

go to :tutorials: and read the ENTIRE first and second entries. they are a good read for sure.

ill get a pic of my car right now of how you are supposed to mount them.

//edit

pictures



as you can see, the "extended part" of the hornbody fires the bulk of the sound toward the opposite listener, this is called "controlled dispersion", lets pull some numbers from nowhere - and say 60% of the sound goes to the opposite side of the car, and 40% goes to the same side (its more complicated than that, but you get the jist)

and the way they horns are made, is that they acousically "couple" with the dashboard, pulling the sound upward toward the windshield. but since the horns do not put very much sound to the outsides (the pillars) and its mostly focused on the "center" of the vehicle (where they cross wavelengths) the stage "width" of the vehicle is usually smaller than conventional tweeter\speaker setups.

it elaborates more in the tutorials i linked to //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

as far as positioning the horns and etc... i assume they are supposed to be installed so that the horns disperse outwards... or more toward the ouside of the car. meaning that the actual driver of the horn would have to go under the dash toward the inner of the car. is that right?

The compression drivers are mounted up against the firewall, as far outward as possible. Basically, they'll probably be right where the firewall meets the side walls of the vehicle. Horn throat typically should be parallel to the floor.

USD a nice tutorial on their webpage.

what else should i know before making a decision on which horns to try to find?

Research. Research. Research. Research.

Probably the best info on differences between horns will be found on ECA ( http://www.elitecaraudio.com ) and CarSound ( http://www.carsound.com )

i mean like for instance, the super A that 80 posted seems like the actual driver is way huge... would i have to mount that so that it hangs down, or would i have to mount it so that part fits up into the dash somehow?

Either way. IIRC it has a radial mounting system, i.e. you can turn the compression driver so that it fits different ways.

Main thing to keep in mind is that the flare MUST point towards the middle of the vehicle.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

the best part is, i did absolutly ZERO cutting of my hornbodies. they fit in just the same way i got them from dave - like a glove //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

bump?

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

Horns are cool, but they would be too hard to live with in my car, there isn't much kneeroom as it is.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

honestly dude, in my install, you seriously BARELY notice them unless you look. i never EVER kick them (even with a standard)

and its a SMAAL saturn SL2 sedan. and im 6 foot 2. im a pretty big guy... i dont have any problems at all with it and my horns are some of the biggest commercially available.

lol. sides the fact that my glove box wont go down anymore //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

i gotta figure out how that fix that one! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif but im not too worried about it!

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

lol. sides the fact that my glove box wont go down anymore //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif
i gotta figure out how that fix that one! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif but im not too worried about it!

Yeah, that would never fly with my wife.

 

[Slammed 5,000+ posts]

horns are sweet...very smooth and detailed.

The sound feels like it surrounds you.

mines are crossed at 1khz

CH-1 drivers on Image Dynamics CD2 mini horns....40 wrms (gains down)...yeeey!!

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

Horns are cool, but they would be too hard to live with in my car, there isn't much kneeroom as it is.

in any car i ever owned my knees never went down to where the horns would go. if they did youd be pretty short lol. they "hang" down maybe 2"