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RE: How large is too large for HE?

Even Paul Klipsch grudgingly acknowledged that direct radiators could approach the distortion performance of horns as long as their efficiency was comparable:

Paul W. Klipsch, "MODULATION DISTORTION IN AUDIO SUMMARY":
"My own experiments and measurements of distortion in loudspeakers since 1967 consisted of a review of the analysis by others, and hundreds of measurements of loudspeakers of various types. What emerged was a philosophy that distortion is approximately inverse to efficiency and that distortion (particularly modulation distortion) is the single most important fault for which to seek reduction."

Paul W. Klipsch, "Modulation Distortion in Loudspeakers":
"High-efficiency horn loudspeakers display much lower modulation distortion than the best direct radiators tested so far, and the rule seems to approach being a law that the higher the efficiency, the lower the distortion.
"Among means to reduce distortion, one of the most obvious would appear to be to increase the diaphragm area. But the weight required to achieve rigidity, or the lack of rigidity, present other and more formidable problems. All large diaphragm speakers tested here exhibited audible 'flexural' or 'flapping' sounds.
"Increasing the number of smaller direct-radiator loudspeakers has also been used. This also improves efficiency, although not to the extent realizable with well designed horns; however, the bulk and cost equal or exceed that of horns, and difficulties with polar response arise. Those observed here and elsewhere appear to have 'muffled' sound, but whether this is due to the curtain of modulation distortion or to the curtain of a masking effect of enhanced bass has not been determined."


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