sectoral vs. multicell

[Martyh]

What opinions can this esteemed group offer on sectoral vs. multicell horns in a narrow short room?(less than 14' wide and less than 8' high) my on hand choices include 803, 805, 1005,1505 and 511. I wonder if the wider vertical dispersion of the bigger horns may cause problems with ceiling reflection in a short room. Any advice or experience you can share would be great. Thanks in advance, Marty

[dennis gilliam]

I would find the performance of any of these in your environment would be OK for the HF portion of the spectrum, but all much akin to killing flies with a shotgun. In that respect, the 511 with a small-format driver would be plenty loud and have the best top end to boot.

You will definately have lack-of-bass problems if using an 828, 816, or any loaded horn for the LF part. Those need a considerable distance to allow the wavefront to coherently combine for good response down to the published low end. For instance, I have a single 816 loaded with a 616 ceiling coax for outdoor work, and it really thumps at 50', but is tinny at 10'.

I advise using a bass-reflex type cab like the 19, Valencia, or the 9846 suspension box.

Best of luck,

Dennis

[Roland N R]

Basically agree with Conelrad. In your short narrow and low room you want to avoid excessive vertical or horizontal dispersion which will affect imaging etc. In particular the 1505 designed to shoot to the balcony would be a poor choice. Your best bet 511 or 811 horns with 802 or 902 driver with bass reflex cabs with 416 or 515E drivers. Vintage 808 cast metal multicell horns with 800 cycle cut off also would also be good but running close to $500 just for each horn!!

[Martyh]

Thanks for the input guys, I have pretty much settled on a 416-8A in an onken enclosure for the bottom end. but the best top end for my current situation continues to elude me. Do you think a 60-degree radial or a salad bowl horn might make a better match to the reflex loaded woofer? How about the 80-degree 805s with a super tweeter? (Guess I should have mentioned that a super tweeter was a possibility the first time). Thanks again, Marty

[Todd W. White]

If you use an 802 or (preferably) a 902-series HF driver, you won't really need a supertweeter - they go waaaaaay out there!

Personally, I would go with:

1st Choice: 311-60 horn with a 21216 throat adaptor & the 802/902 driver.

2nd Choice: MRII564 horn with a 21216 throat adaptor & the 802/902 driver (above 800 Hz, this horn works REALLY well!)

3rd Choice: MR994A horn with the 802/902 driver.

4th Choice: 811B horn with the 802/902 driver.

5th Choice: 511B horn with the 802/902 driver.

I agree - the little metal multicell is a GREAT choice, but TOO expensive!