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    Horn Loudspeaker Design

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    solveaudio

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Horn loudspeaker design Three articles summarizing the development of design theories and concluded with two systems for construction by J. Dinsdale, M.A., M.Sc. Cranfield Unit for Precision Engineering Reprinted from WIRELESS WORLD, June 1974 The two designs which follow are specific examples d ived from the d ign data and tabi provided in parts one and two of this series. Guidelines for construction are given, although it is intended that the constructor devise his own v requirements. Much has, been written about te best methods of constructing lodspeaker en closures, especially regarding rigidity and the prevention of fesonanocs td leaks and ts fr asthe hom sconoered these pots fe equally inportant, The hom encore tar to sand up to consiierble acouste fess, and any shortomings in man fica ore Ubie Wo caume moe sera tural distress than would be te ease wih tome ote enonures Téealy the hom sould becatincicaar section, bt thistorm of contraction ly petal wih’ small mode and igh fe tency hors, The technique best esoped yc home constructor tocastinplaster tkParis using 8 pywood mold and ren fevconests ay netvnry. The elelaed vote should be se out using plywood oe held in place by stringer, which be bared whhin che casting ial as reinforcer, Ii sso good plan fo provide a }in panel at the throat end for frowning tbe loudspeaker, and further peed serounding te mou which wal ‘help in securing the complete horn assembly tnd Suing any Secreted Bass Ror are aloe vaiably oon sxuced of fat panel ext 502810 approx mate (othe comer Rare profi Plywood, Chipboard or boskboard ae stsecery, either { or fin thick, Composite sand-flled panels condetng of two tin wall of fin plywood spaced 3 or lin apart and filled wan ry "and. provide exterely id Taonanchliee cndoeues Great cme Should be ten to prevent any parle of Sand, stds, Fomenteringthe perch coil gapof the oudspeaer, recentdemon Staion jouned by theeuor ast bans tras pote ty dsoton cased arnt Jarile of wood i one ofthe ttle load Speakers, Care most lo be taken tenure thatthe sand is dry, oberwise the wood parels wil rot is advable 1 bake be Sand on shallow trays in an oven toensre that al motores romoved. After fifeg a few annus of orgen runic wl lp the sand’ to eile down rend) for “opping 1¢ wooden panels should be fixed to- 1 using wood-serews and with aliberal plication of a liquid glue along all mating faces. This not only adds strength, but also makes all the joints airtight. Further sength should be provided by triangular comer fillets and “glue-blocks" placed at inervals along the longer joins. In addi- tion, smaller reflecting plates should be laced atthe outside ofall sharp corners case” the wavefronts around bends, and to help preserve the steady exponential i crease in horn area, as indicated in Fig. 10. Manufocuring tolerances should not ex ceed hin atthe throat but ecrors of fin at the mouth of the bass horn are unlikely to have any noticeable effect on the per formance. It is worth bearing in mind that the-veloity of sound, on which al design caleulations are ultimately. based, itself Wares by at much as 5% at climatic extremes. ‘A vial detail isto ensure thatthe lous- speakers can be fed and removed easily, maintaining an overall airtight construe tion by means of thin rubber gaskets if necessary. It should of course be remem ‘ered that the highest pressures occur atthe Aout, and the greatest effort to ensure Figilty and absence of leaks should bemade in this area. As the cross-sectional area of the hor increases, i is © good plan to ft longitudinal stiffening panels, made of kin plywood, across the centre of the horn, {hereby converting the hora into two sym metrical adjacent ducts. This reduces air turbulence effects at bends and makes the bends themselves less erica in adition providing. extra cross-bracing between Danels that might otherwise resonate. It is ‘worth fing longitudinal stifeners forthe final 25% of each bass horn. ‘Unlike the majority of loudspeaker en closures, there is no need to provide any Sound. absorbent material within the en- Closure itself (except within the compression chamber, i fied, which may be lined with acoustic wadding, long hair woo, ete, to absorb high frequeney sound). Th interior of the hora should have all sharp edges removed with sandpaper and all internal Gormer filed with putty or a simula setting, plastic compound and smoothed down by tneans ofa finger. This practice, whichis not mandatory, also has the effet of sealing any remaining sit leaks. The wholeinteror surface should be treated witha thick coat of gloss paint Design ofa “mini-horn” The intention of the minihorn is to pro- vide a many a8 possible of the benefis of horn-loading within an enclosure which is sufcieny small for use in a smal ving oom, where the overall size is ofcourse specially important when a quadraphonie fof even a stereophonie installation is under onsideration, ‘The room for which this tions, using the d ign data, to suit his particular particular mini-hora was originally designed {imposed limitations of 20in asthemaximum intrusion into the room, and an overall height of 4; fortunately, corner position: was acceptable. Tt was clear that only one loudspeaker could be used, and after some though the Eagle FR63 was chosen. This is aco axial twin-cone loudspeaker in which the inner (tweeter) cone is itself shaped as a small horn. This subsidiary cone will handle the extreme top of the feequency range and ‘beam it out axially through the treble horn, The loudspetker has a nominal diameter of 65in, a frequency range of 35 10 18000H2 and power handling capacity of 10 watts. It is clear that, since top frequencies wil be dealt with by the vweeter ‘cone, the bass horn need only cover 3 ‘octaves, ie. from TOHz to S60Hz, and the ‘middlefrequency horn can take over Gay) S0OHz. This middle-frequency horn ‘be most efficient for 4 octaves, ie. upto about 8kHz, at which point the tweeter ‘cone will already be taking over. The ‘complete frequency spectrum wil therefore be: Bass horn ‘TOHzt0 $S0Hz Middle hora 500Hz to 8000H2 Top hom (tweeter cone) _8kHz upwards ‘The other design consideration at this stage is the power handling capacity. A bass power of 0-3 watts ata distortion level cof up to 1% was decided. Bass horn In order to derive the greatest benefit from ccomer-positioning, the mouth of the bass hhora should be at floor level and should stretch horizontally feom wall to wall. A ‘mouth consisting of a quadrant of a circle fof 19in radius was considered, giving a horizontal arc of 2-48. Examination of Table 3 (Part 2) shows a minimum mouth area of 256 sq.ft for a horn capable of reproducing down to 70Hz, and dimen- sions of 248 x 1-038 (29-Tin x 12-Sin) Were therefore chosen for the bass horn. Table 7 suggests a throst area of 0-048 sqft (ie. 45 sq.em) and Fig. 9 indicates that for 196 distortion at 7 times the cut off frequency (ie, 490H2) the power at the throat will be 0.007 watts/sa. em, giving 0-3 watts total, which isthe specified value. Table 9 shows that the bass hom ‘will have length of 6:18ft (exponential contour) or 5-24f (tractrix contour). hwas decided to adopt the tractrix 50 a5 10 give ‘a shorter overall length, and the complete ‘contour has been constructed in Fig. 12. ‘Treble horn ‘The treble horn will load the front of the loudspeaker, commencing at the nominal aphragm area of 23 59.n, which is thus the throat area for this hom. Thé lowest frequency to be handled is SOOHz, and from Table 4 the mouth area is 130 sq. in, ‘which may conveniently be realized. as IO-lin x 12.9in, Table 10 now gives the horn length as-4-42in, It is also possible to adopt a circular format for this hom, in which case the mouth diameter will be 12-9in or altern- atively some degree of horizontal directivity may be introduced by adopting fan aspect ratio of 25:1 (larger dimension horizontal). In this event the mouth dimen- sions become 18-08in x 7-23in, and the flare contours should be arranged to give the appropriate expansion (see Fig. 13). Integration and complete design Radiation at the throats of the mid frequency and bass horns will be in anti phase, since these hors load the front and ‘back respectively of the single loudspeaker. Since the mouths of both horns will be inthe ‘same vertical plane, the combined length should be an add number of half-wave- lengths at the crossover frequency to ensure ‘that radiation from both mouths isin phase at this frequency. The total length is ‘5-240 plus O37, ie. 5.61. At SOOHZ this length corresponds closely to five half wavelengths as shown by Table 11, This ‘design thus includes a satisfactory combin- of horns. ‘The cavity which couples the rear of the loudspeaker. diaphragm with the throat of the bass horn should now be designed to cut off radiation from the bass horn at S50Hz. S/n where f 3 1 { necaontal ai 1 Fu T I : 1 = ‘ciccular | | gs] ot a a + 4 senses | 1 \ ‘ T 1 { i 1 1 wom ueworn cnt sectien! dares v=, Fig. 13. Flare contour for the treble section Of the mint-horn. Secuvol frequency, whence Y= 27:23 eu.in. The volume taken up by the ‘magnet, etc, of the loudspeaker is approxi mately 21" cu.in (obtained by direct measurement) and thus the overall cavity volume will be some 48 cuin. The para meters of the mini-horn have been summatized in Table 12 Finally, the bass horn should be folded into a suitable shape, and the two horns integrated together. In view of the limited lable and the desire for simplicity, 257 sah Cosseate Saat 4 eatin ncucing 21 cuir loudepenker wale) Treble hom Froqueney range SOOMz upwards Driverunt eagle FRCS. Mout eres 13007 sain Trrostares— Z3-in Contour Exponential rath 8am a design with only one major fold may be opted, shown in Fig. 14) (overpage) ‘The mouth of the bass. orn is at the bottom of the enclosure between the {40 walls, making contact with the floor. The mouth of the mig-hom is placed imme: diately “above this, inthe same plane, leading back to” the loudspeaker ‘sell The loudspeaker is mounted ons small baffle board. which supports the middle- frequeney horn atthe front and the evity coupling tothe throat of the base horn a the rear. The bass horn bends vertcally Sipwards almost immediately afer the throat to « point some aft high at =f doubles back on itself down the core: the room to form the mouth. The er. sectional area may conveniently be made trapezoidal, but the design shown will not preserve “plane ness” of wavefronts around the bends. Fig. 14(b) (overpage) ilustrates the general arrangement only, as readers ‘may well wish to make modifications for personal reasons. The material used should be Zin chipboard, ete, except the side and front panels of $in plywood. 201 rin pass trequeney 70 He cavott trequeney 2 =s0He JY z a g x Hom LENGTH Undo © 7 6 ry rd % fa % ‘Yq exponential area 698 G08 1107 1554 2041 966 3500 4572 5990 Bate 1026 1343 57 2304 3007 3951 S146 Ma teacitin aren 690 GSTS Woe 35 4036 730 Fig. 12. Flare contour for the bass section of the mint-horn, ore a7? R van Y= Design of a no-compromise horn Following the many qualifications already stated in this article, it must be clear that “no-compromise” is in itself a misnomer hor design consists largely of making the most effective compromises between conficting requirements. However, this design is aimed at the situation where the best possible practice can be followed with ‘out being unduly hampered by limitations of either size or position. Nevertheless, it would be somewhat pointless (o design ‘an enclosure which cannot be built without professional tools, facilities and materials, so the design has been conducted with a large living room (or small hall) in mind, ‘and directed towards the competent do- it-yourself enthusiast. In order to cover a wide frequency range, ‘a three-horn design has been adopted, using three separate loudspeaker units, Bass Hom 40Fz to44oH Mid-frequency Horn 400H2 03.82 Treble Horn 3.5H2t0 202 ‘A total acoustic power handling capacity fof 1W at a distortion level up to 2% has ‘been chosen as being more than adequate for the situation envisaged. A wal: ‘mounting design is adopted, using a tractrix ‘bass hor, to simplify the eventual position: ing of the system. (Of course, there is no reason why a design intended for wall ‘mounting should not be placed in a corner bbut it is mot recommended that corner designs be placed against a wall) The choice of loudspeaker drive units is not straightforward; there are many com- ‘mercial units worth using in horns, although individual designers inevitably have their ‘own favourites. For this design it was decided to use: Hom Unit PowertWifrequencisphiagm Range Area (He) Wominal sai Bess KEFBIS9 30 20-1k 42 Middle KEF8II0 1520-5 13 Treble KEFTZ7 6 3k-30k 15 Bass horn ‘The mouth area for 2 minimum frequency of 40H: is given in Table 2 as 15-73 sq, realized as 4Tin by 48in, The diaphragm area of the B139 loudspeaker is approx {mately 42 sqin (the diaphragm is oval in shape) which corresponds closely with the Sin speaker of Table 7. This table sives a recommended throat area for the bass horn of 0.073 sq.ft (68 sq.em). The highest frequency to be handled by this hhorn will be 440Hz, Le. 11 times the cute off frequency. Fig. 9 shows that for 2% distortion at 11 times the cut-off frequency, the throat will handle 001 watts/sqem, which for a mouth area of 68 sqem ives 0-68 watts total power. The length of the bass horn, from Table &, is 13-1 using the tractrix contour, and this curve may be constructed to a suitable scale im the same way as that produced for the mini-horn. The form of the tractrix should ‘commence with a throat radius equivalent to four times the chosen throat area (eight times in the ease of the corner horn) and terminate at a mouth radius giving ® peri meter equal to the cut-off wavelength. The area at & series of points along the horn (eg. every Gin) may be obtained by reading the radius from the graph and taking one quarter of the corresponding Middle horn ‘Attention should now be directed to the mid-frequency horn. The cutoff frequency ‘of 400H2, together with the area of the chosen loudspeaker (13 sq.in) result in a ‘mouth area of 203-6 sq, a throat area of 13.75 sq. and a length of 8-78in exponen- tial contour). Again the contour should be ‘constructed {0 a suitable scale (which may be 1:1 for the mid-frequency and treble horns). Since the throat areas of the ‘middle and treble hors are made equal to their respective loudspeaker diaphragm areas, there is no problem regarding air overload distortion—one could do litle ifthere were. Treble horn In view of the throat area of 1-5 sqin for this horn, itis suggested that a mouth area ‘of (say) 30 sqin is adopted, giving an ‘exponential length of I-lin. However, at these frequencies itis quite acceptable "to mount the loudspeaker ‘ireclly onto a flat bale board without any horn. Integration and complete design The three loudspeaker drive units should rive their respective horns in phase. Initially it will be assumed that, whereas the middle and treble horns-must load the front of the loudspeakers (to avoid dif- faction effects caused by the frame and ‘magnet assembly atthe rer), the bass hon will n fact load the rear of the loudspeaker. ‘This implies thatthe bass loudspeaker must be connected in antiphase to the middle and treble loudspeakers. If examination Of the behaviour of the bass and middle hhorns. at their mutual crossover point reveals that the radiation is in anti-phase, Frequency range 40H: 10 440He Briverunt ” KEFei99 Mouthores S73 sae Twowtaes 0673 sah Coneowr Sra anath vain Cry volume 5 cuin act at front of foudsoeaker Mista nom Frequency reage 400He to 3:84 Drierunt "KETO 203.8 ain 1375 se Exponent 878m ‘kite upwarse Kerra? the bass horn can be arranged to load the front of its loudspeaker, which will then have to be connected in phase with the other two. In ct the total length ofthe bass a sed fh and al 1 hel that this is nearly equivalent to. an number of half-wavelenaths at 400H2, the crossover frequency. The bess loudspeaker may therefore be reversed so thatthe horn Toads the front of the diaphragm; this wil also make the design of the acoustic cavity ‘much simpler. ‘The cavity between the bass loudspeaker and its hora should be designed to give a ‘cutoff frequency of 440Hz. Applying the sforementioned formula gives a volume of SI cuin. There is no real need to employ 4 similar cavity at the crossover between the middle and treble horns; the fact that these horns are not folded, together with their large throats, reduces distortion at high frequencies to negligible proportions. Finally, the three horns must be com- bined into composite enclosure. As with the min-horn there are many ways of achieving this, and it would be invidious to specify a particular design to the exclu: sion of all others. However, certain basic rules apply, and the following suggestions may be of value. ‘The rectangular mouth of the bass horn should be placed at floor level, with the mouths of the middle and teble hors placed above back-to-ront ture is ta premium, the middle and t horns may be mounted on top ofthe. plete folded bass horn, giving a very high ‘cabinet. If, however, height is at a premium, then the bass horn may be folded behind the middle and top horns, thus minimizing the overall height but increasing the width This later approach is shown in Fig. 14(3), and the complete design of the no-compro- mise hom is summarized in Table 13. Material used for construction is tin block board, plywood, ete, and all joints should be screwed and glued to make them air tight. ‘When converting from a basic parameter design, as described in this section, t0 complete working drawings, the temptation is often to press on rapidly and’ adopt certain compromises. Unfortunately, the final construction is a “once only" event, and horn structures cannot easily be modi: fied if major audio deficiencies (eg, reson ances or “holes in the frequeney spectrum) ‘become apparent during listening tests. It Table 16 section details forthe mini bass, Bec. Length Aves Reid lish Gein it er 8 ots te € 3 i382 5 bet 2 3s 8 f & 6 sb ce Ho 8 up J $261 zoe 10mm % 880 FBS Tablet Cross section details forthe no- compromise bass horn ‘See. tangih Area Realited Gy ine) | a 105 08 % 10 4 © 30 278 D 4% 380 Se & > So be Fo 8980S G98 1° tae Ho 8 25023 Se 58 13.8% 29 igh k 13 26138 SS L120 4017 x Ss nom M18 307 x 37 gh Nt 580 2h Span P ¥39 1128 2ex sone R183 2268 49x aah is therefore strongly recommended thatthe final design takes place over an extended Period, with several alternative approaches being worked on simultaneously until one fof them emerges as the right solution for the parameters and overall concept in mind ‘The three loudspeaker units must be con: nected via suitable filers so. that each handles frequencies only within its appropriate pass-band. The simplest way of achieving this is by means of passive crossover networks at the output of the power amplifier. However, this method Feduces the beneficial effects of electro- ‘magnetic damping of the loudspeaker movement afforded by the low output impedance of the amplifier, and a better hod is to use three separate power flrs: whose inputs are fed via active and low pass filters, as outlined in Part2. It is wellworth experimenting over an ‘extended listening period unt the optimum bandwidth and sensitivity of each horn has been realized, paying particular atention tothe crossover points. Conclusions This article has taken the form of a critical review of work which took place largely between 20 and 50 years ago. The author of such reviews benefits from hindsight, bot inevitably loses much ofthe excitement and impact of the original work. I have teen in contact with many individuals who were personaly involved with the develop- ment of horns, in both amateur and pro- fessional capacities) 1 thank them all for their advice and comments, and hope that Thavedone juste to thelr suggestion. in spite of the obvious disadvantages of large Sze and hgh cost, and the ifculties o realizing an adequate design, the expon- ential horn loudspeaker stil has many enthusiastic users, the present author fmong them. The clear advantages com- ferred by the hora in terms of presence, clear bass, low distortion and sheer realism, mibine to make horn enthusiasts redouble k efforts to design a beter horn rather toadoptanaterativetypectenctosure. 1 will be clear fo readers of this aril that, wth the possible exception of staigh horns’ of eieslar seston constructed in very stil materia, the simple horns de ieribed here ean only appr imate tothe {deal performance oer by this seme of reproducer. Although the pioneer develop- ment work was conducted between 50 and 70 years ago, engineers are continuously designing new horns and investigating different aspects oftheir performance, often with the ald of computers to construct a ‘mathematical model for the analysis of ‘conditions in a practical horn (38, 39). It ‘must be emphasized again that first-class results may be obtained by following the basic design data and constructional advice given in this article. Loudspeakers in ‘general, and horns in particular, are contro- versial subjects, and T have no doubt that ‘many will wish to challenge some of the statements I have made. T hope that this anticle, together with any discussion, will stimulate many audio enthusiasts to design ‘and make their own horns, and to write about the results s0 that all may benefit from thee findings. Finally, 1 acknowledge with thanks the helpful advice given by Mr Gilbert Telfer, whose experience of the design and manu: facture of horns has been a constant encouragement. JACK DINSDALE was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and later at Cranfield. After » craft apprenticeship in mechanical engineering. he joined the lilt Autornaion Group where fr nine years he was concerned with mise gud ance, digital computer design and lately with’ online applications of computers {o industrial and mica contrl systems Mr Dinsdale is now Principal Research Engineer with the Cranfield Unit Tor Precision “Engineering, & commercial

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