Home Surround Sound vs Movie Surround Sound What's the Difference? - Page 3

No. I listen to my Martin Logans AT reference quite often and distortion isn't part of the equation. Just pure, clean unadulterated audio nirvana.

Is this a trick question ? The THX Ultra2's are the "BOSE" of the Klipsch lineup.

I just had my Klipsch cranked up while I did some cardio and they were so screechy that I could barely finish my workout.

Shipping is $9K....but for that you get white glove

My paradigm studio reference 100v3's (powered by a rotel rb-1090) struggle to reproduce the gun fire sound effects in black hawk down without fuzzing out on the high end at loud levels or reproduce ear piercing guitar solo's in music that I am acquainted to hearing at live concerts. My custom QSC waveguide + TD15M two way speaker system on the other hand can reproduce the level of dynamics required to provide a feeling of realism to what is actually happening on the screen. Sound quality is also superior at both low and high levels.

Just comparing a highly popular speaker that is reviewed well with a dome tweeter.

Penn, you often have some good points, but you don't know the size of his room, how loud he listens.... there are a lot of variables. Calling his speakers "distortion machines" is a bit rude, don't you think? There are a few respected people who feel horns do a great job of amplifying distortion, along with everything else, and won't use them. Even though the article is simplistic, I tend to agree with it. I just don't like the horns I've heard, for music or movie theater. Not to say there are not great ones out there that'd I'd love.... and there is no way to get around the fact they are the only way to get decent dynamics in a large venue. Fortunately for me, my home theater is NOT a large venue.


There are obsessive, crazy "audiophiles" and then there are horn users, who take it to the next level. They travel in herds and can be spotted by the glint of their golden ears and the warmth given off by their tube amps. Can cause "death by blather". (P.S. I am a dome tweeter user. Thanks to this article, I now know I'm making no compromises... feels good, man.)


As has been noted, clean low-frequency extension can really add to the music. Unfortunately, it often requires a lot of subs, treatments and EQ. I'm going to try a couple of large infinite baffle subs EQ'ed with Audyssey XT32's independent dual sub calibration. In theory, this should be decent. Like you, I'm using a cheap sub right now, and it is often doing bad things for music... although XT32 has made it a LOT more useful in that regard. Amazing technology.


Thanks for the point of reference. What kind of space are you trying to fill? Or do you think the Paradigm would "fuzz out" at those levels in any sized space? I know David Fabrikant at Ascend spent months designing and testing a new tweeter for his speakers after harshness at extreme sound levels was discovered in his original domes. I've been using his 340SE's with their custom SEAS tweeter he is now using, and they are very clear at all volume levels in my small (13x16x8) sealed room. I have a feeling he went overboard correcting the problem, the tweeters have a magnet that looks like it should be on pro speaker driver, it's huge.

I have to say the thing that really got me about this article was the assumption that if you have perforated screen you were losing quality. I can say without a doubt that is not true. I have outstanding sound and picture from my AT screen. As for horns I think it comes down to personal preference and sound is perceived differently by everyone. If you have horns and love them then that is all that matters! If you dont have horns and like what you have then all the better. It makes no sense to trash someone elses taste...my 2 cents anyhoo..

About 2500 cubic feet with open path ways. I believe they would. Don't get me wrong they would probably be more than enough for most people and are definitely a good sounding speaker. It is at the extremes where the higher efficiency design comes into play. The directivity control however helps with imaging at all volume levels. Both speaker systems sound smooth to my ear and I do not hear harshness from the waveguide. I have though heard poorly designed PA speakers which do indeed sound harsh. I think it all comes down to the design.

I have enjoyed Horn-Loaded speakers (namely Klipsch) for a long time now. I find that because they are so efficient, they can playback a lot of material at lower volumes, and still maintain a lot of detail. I also like the fact that if you want to listen to any Big Band or Jazz recordings with a lot of brass, there aren't many speakers out there that can tear your face off the way a Klipsch or similar speaker brand can.

Now, in defence of the folks at Axiom, I have heard a bunch of their cabinets, and liked them a fair bit. I also like the fact that they are made near Huntsville ON, and aren't some cheap offshore units.

If people talk about horn loaded speakers being too screechy or shrill, I think that's because of the amount of imperfections that they reveal when being driven by a good amp. Yeah, my Klipsch don't sound stellar with a lot of the current Urban and top 40 stuff, but I think that's because the production quality of that isn't the same as other types of music. When I playback something that's been well made, the speakers really shine.

Yes! And this is the same reason why you see a lot of horns at live music shows. They project. I will also say that many of the typical CD horn +15" or 18" combos have a harsh/"busy" sound sound to me (like the driver is trying to reproduce too much at once and is saturated, if that makes sense) even when well within limits. Any yes I realize these horns are very different than some of those used in home theater.