Horns in a VERY small room

I’ve a MiniDSP 2x4HD and a Bantam Audio Stealth Power Amp free if you want to have a play, just need some drivers and a 2nd power amp. Obviously only 2-way but could get you started with a simple 8"/10"/12" + 1" Compression Driver for example.

There’s no perfect introduction that I know of. You just need to decide to do it, and start the journey. Borrowing Rob’s miniDSP could be a great start, but being 2 way it’s rather limiting.

The easiest start to a genuine horn system in a small room would be something like:

A tapped horn for sub bass (up to 100Hz). You’d have to design and build this yourself, to fit snugly in the room

A mid bass system like this, for 100-1k

And a 1" compression driver plus horn for 1k+

A crossover, maybe this kind of thing

And three stereo amps

The best way is just to leap in, and recognise that it’ll be a long journey. That you need to document for us to laugh at.

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As you might guess, not a strong point of mine

Of course, if it ever gets started.

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Bung a few bits together, don’t forget the hippo.

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@MJ2 How big is the room and how is the access to the room? The access may well have impact on your ambitions.

Not a massive room at all.
7m long, 4m wide A shaped loft room.

The directivity of the mid and upper frequencies on horns works very well.

Below 100Hz a couple of room mode corrections are necessary.
DSP X/O system essential, unless you are a total masochist, and have time and money to burn.

I’m off up there now🙂

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“Access is never a limitation on ambition” Coco

“A good saw will sort all problems” Steady Steve
(Twice used to good effect)

:joy:

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The room is 3M x 2.5M max.

Access through a loft hatch’ish size aperture. Even a medium sized horn would need to be put back together like a jigsaw puzzle !

Challenging, eh ?

In our current loft room the 2.4m tall tapped horns were too tall to go up the stairs, angle over and fit though the door - with the ceiling height and banister rail where it was.
I just cut the tapped horns in half and rebuilt them in the loft room.
They lie down each side of the room, with the exits farthest from listening place.
I’ve found best bass response with one firing upwards and the other across the end of the room!

In a room that small, I would be looking at a small sub horn / tapped horn, perhaps a pair of 8" drivers, really could be quite compact. You wouldn’t need 2 really.
Could be designed to fit the hatch, I reckon.
Even the long 12" driver mid bass exponential horns, I have now would fit though a loft hatch in 3 sections.
Rectangular like Ritchie and Keith have would be most space saving.
Could be flanged to simply bolt together up there. In fact those would probably for in just 2 sections!
At those frequencies a little join gap does not matter…
Round ones take up more room.
Same goes for the mid horn.
A 500 or so Hz Le Cleach like I use now is small enough to accommodate anywhere.
Or just go from mid horn to good wide range tweeter (like Raals) - as I experimented with ages ago, in 4 way format - even more compact.
If you’d never heard the S2’s in a 5 way, you’d be perfectly happy with the 4 way - over box speakers… as Adam said.

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Show him the pic. I think it’s a very neat solution.

My room is only about 4m across i think.

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Wow ! That is tight.

I’d still do it in a room a metre smaller

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Are you using all 12 channels of that amp? :smile:

ha, no just 6 of them :slight_smile:

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Compact :sunglasses:

They are insane, in a wonderful sort of way.

You even get bench seating from the tapped horns.

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