hi, long time listener, first time caller ere.....


ah, just wondering about horns,


who uses them, and do they really give you a near perfect imge everytime??


what install requirments do they have???


doesnt the stage height suffer from low mounting???



why dont more people use them???


note: i know they give you a crappy width, but ambients can help that...




thanks guys

I've only heard one car with horns (well 2 actually but standing next to it doesn't count), they were both ID's and I found with the car I had a proper listen to that the width extended quite nicely - its a sound I've always found hard to describe other than "I quite like this!".

Why don't many people use them, well, possibly the size of them turns people away, limited installation etc. If I could afford them, I'd be very happy owning a set...

I've got a set, Tuneman has a few sets, one of our mates Lucas has a set.

Personally I think Horns and lots of power are the only way to fly

It can be hard to describe them sometimes, they are different, very accurate is the best way to describe them.

I once forked out just under two grand for a pair of Image Dynamics CD2 comp horns with the grand plan of fitting them to my next car. After I got the car found I couldnt fit them without major surgery. Swapped to the mini horns and found they still wouldnt fit!

The only time I got to here them was in the car the guy who bought them off me had. I could have shed a tear I liked it that much.

The really sad point is that I didnt end up keeping the car very long and the replacement would have fit them nicely

imaging - very very nice, but good EQ is a must.
really go well with 7" or 8" midbass, and 12" or 15" sub.

I agree size is a big issue, as installation makes a majority of the niceness.

Installation as has been said is the main deterant here - I run horns in an XF Fairmont Ghia, and both the horns and the car copped the chop in the installation process! And I can't imagine much larger footwells!
Also cost is fairly prohibative. $2K for the ones that I run (ID COMP 2's) is usually much more than even the average competitor is happy to fork over, and all that before installation!

Getting near perfect image is fairly much guarunteed with the horns on their own, though adding additional componants, such as the mid-bass drivers etc can make this problematic depending on the install and the way in which things are Xovered and TA'd.

Height and width problems are all associated with the way in which that the horn is coupled with the installation under the dash and into the kick pannels or sidewells. A thorough installation (read impossible) will have angled the horns just so with the installation surrounds just so in order for the horns to actually use the dash as a wave guide and dispersal tool. Ditto for the kick pannels or sidewells.
Of course in the real world after chopping everything just to get the thing to even fit in there there is little chance that it is exactly the right angle this and that way to fully utilise the dash and kicks as waveguides - though secure mounting to these componants will certainly help.

In that case, as you have correctly identified, the answer is the ambient tweeter to increase the width and to raise the stage. I must confess that at this stage I have only temp installed my ambients as I play with angles and positioning, but they make such a difference to the overall sound and staging that I would never consider running horns without ambients.

Unless, of course, I am able to mount the horns in the air conditioning vents for the windscreen with the magnets in the engine bay!

Go on! You know you want it!

There is no need to do that!

Lucas one of the guys that has horns in WA has his coming out of his demister vents in the top of the dash, he hand made them from aluminum IIRC

Just out of interest guys,

How would a set of horns (say ID COMPs at around two thousand dollars) compare to DynAudio Esotar's (which are a bit cheaper at $1500 i think, but well regareded by the SQ community)?

I know the Esotar's take up a bit of room (take Gonadmans install for example!) but the horns take up even more room, so is this to say the increased size compensates for a better sounding 'speaker'?

Cheers,

jas.

If its a Ford Cortina then thats the guy that bought mine!

couple of questions - what is it about horns that make them so good for imaging? and when you guys say they are big, what kind of dimensions are we talking?

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/page.php?page=fullhorn

That shows you just how big they are..

They are very sensitive and require very little power to be very loud (CD2's are rated at 30wrms).. Its all in the design of the horn and throat.

Hmmm... They could be mounted under the steering column and glovebox.....

That is where most people mount them, But with a mounting depth of 9" there can be issues clearing firewalls, wiring, piping ect...

Yes

LOL nice one Hydro.

I used ID horns in my old car and they sound F'in amazing. I bought them because I suffered my first comp defeat to a guy who was running a set of USD horns back in the mid 90's and I wasnt going to sit back and take it. And I tell you what, within 2 mins of having them in my car, I was converted. Obscene volume and clarity from hardly any power.

They're hard to fit of course, but its not necessarily the size of the car that matters. I first installed mine in a Daihatsu Charade without much chopping into the lower dash. When it came time to sell that and buy a brand new Vectra in 2001 you can imagine my disappointment to work out that they wouldnt fit without major surgery.. and so they were swapped for MB Quarts

I wish I still had them though !

thanks for the light entertainment hydro....




now, how many people have succesfully used horns without blowing the bank,


and, can someone post pics of horns that are installed under dash, and in kicks???

cheers

Never seen horns installed in kicks before!

I assume you mean the horn mouth?

ID Mini horns are the way to go if you want something that is a little easier to install.

That would require the biggest kick panels, ever.

check out the thread on marc BMW that has horns

I have a set, that I am working into the dash of my Integra.. *oops did I let the cat out of the bag*

I better not mentioned the 8's in the floor either hehehe

You gotta love early 90's Honda's the dashes seem a perfect match for the horns.



Mmmmmm, Integra dashes rock.

whose teg is that...
not yours anyways... its not modded!
have you got a pic of the drivers side?

Nah its one that Northfield_Drew did, I just liked the intergration. Since the lower half of my dash is suede covered, they should blend in pretty easily

Yeah it does look sweet... what horns and 8's are you using?

Reply to my PM and I will tell you

to be honest,


noone cared that you said dd,


but you coming back and saying that will spark it now...



back on topic...




has anyone got rough prices, and respective info/websites for all availabe horns???

LOL...

NF_Drew has done many cars with ID horns, the car I heard was a Maroon Celica, from memory had IDQ 8's in the kicks aswell. There was a neat VK or VL with horns under the dash and sub in the floor.



I also remember a guy from WA moons ago with a EG civic sedan which ran horns up top of his dash, car was unbeatable in its time.

I love to blow my own horn. 

I guess I've done 20+ big systems with horns.

I've used USD, Veritas, ID and several modded derivatives of each.

I wish I could find the finished pics of this WRX I did several years back, it used four Focal Utopia mid-basses (of course they "don't" fit in WRX doors ).

Note Glovebox is shortened by around 50mm, entire dash re-shaped.

I'll dig up some pics of the crazy BMW we did with Veritas horns, six Dyn 7s and eight 10s. Mmmm front end.

I love horns, I have a set of CD2s sitting here for my race car.

Phil

your front stages always sound soo tasty phil

Remember that, used to hear it coming looooong before seeing it...

Was it not in Car Stereo Aus. or such and such (I'm possibly thinking about that car with all the Signat amps in it)?

Jeeeez, if only I knew SQ though.

Phil

That's the one.

Trying to up-load but it dies, will try again.....

Phil

PS: No luck so far......

pricing on various horns phil???

I don't believe Phil imports horns (not to the best of my knowledge anyway) however get in touch with hutch or your local Image Dynamics dealer and they can sort you out with a nice set.

I've done a few in my time. Here are some now.


I/D CD1 with IDQ6


I/D CD1 with IDQ6


I/D CD2 with IDQ8


I/D CD2 with twin IDQ6


I/D CD2 with IDQ8 in the floors.


I/D CD2 with IDQ6


USD B7 with KEF 6"


I/D CD2mini with IDQ8 in the kicks

I highly recommend horns. They take a bit of work to get them sounding right, but the effort is well worth it.

Drew

Wow! Drew they all look awesome.

I remember that blue Brock Commodore, it was in an old Incar, I vaguely remember you had to take the front guards off to make the metal boxes for the enclosures??

I have to make ID horns work in my car now. Not sure I want to cut the floor for the mids however.

I always liked this one best Drew.



Phil

Is anyone else looking to run horns this CAASQ season?

You might be the pioneer Clint

I just hope I can get them to fit I am sick of 3-way traditional systems.

If they don't fit, I will probably just run a 3-way Dyn system.

Ive got a set of horns siting at home. One day they will be installed...caasq 2009

I ran some in CAASQ 2006 - we'll see about 2007