Horns
Horn loudspeakers in 00 Simulator
How a horn is described#
A horn is one or more paths. Each path is a chain of spans, and each span runs between two stations: it has a length, an area at each end and a flare. Neighbouring spans share a station, so the path stays continuous while you edit it. The Horn Editor names spans H1, H2 and onward from the start of the path.
Positions along a path, such as where a driver enters or a stub joins, are markers you drag or type in centimetres from the start of the path. The design keeps each one as a fraction of the path’s length. Chambers sit between the diaphragm and the path, and every open end radiates: a mouth, a port or the cone itself.
- Flares
- Conical, Exponential, Parabolic, chosen per span
- Spans per path
- 1 to 8
- Span length
- 2 cm to 6 m
- Station area
- 5 cm² to 2 m²
- Model
- One-dimensional waves in each span, coupled to the driver’s Thiele/Small model
- Not modelled
- Bend losses, directivity and thermal power compression
The eight horn types#
Every type differs in where the two faces of the diaphragm meet the path. The schematics are drawn by the simulator from the designs on each type’s page.
- Front-loaded hornA driver at the throat feeds one horn.
- Back-loaded hornThe rear diaphragm face feeds the horn, while the front radiates directly.
- Tapped hornBoth diaphragm faces enter one horn at separate positions.
- Offset-driver hornOne diaphragm face enters partway along the horn.
- Stubbed hornA closed side branch joins the main horn.
- Compound hornEach diaphragm face feeds its own horn path.
- Multiple-entry horn (MEH)Independently amplified drivers enter a shared horn.
- Paraflex hornTwo resonator paths couple the diaphragm faces and reconnect before one shared mouth.
Which type should I start with?#
| Type | Good for | Folds into a cabinet | Hornresp record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front-loaded horn | Midbass and upper-bass horns where efficiency and output matter more than size. | Yes | Nd |
| Back-loaded horn | Full-range and wide-band drivers that need help in the bass. | Yes | Nd |
| Tapped horn | High-output subwoofers in a compact, foldable cabinet. | Yes | TH or TH1 |
| Offset-driver horn | Front-loaded designs whose first upper peak needs taming without stuffing. | Yes | OD, OD1 or OD2 |
| Stubbed horn | Front-loaded horns with a single troublesome peak that the stub can be tuned against. | Not yet | SH |
| Compound horn | Getting horn loading on both sides of the cone. | Not yet | CH, CH1, CH2 or CH3 |
| Multiple-entry horn (MEH) | Wide-band horns where one driver cannot cover the whole range. | Not yet | Throat record plus ME1 and ME2 |
| Paraflex horn | Deep bass designs where you want to try four connection layouts on the same spans. | Not yet | PH1 to PH4 |
If you are new to horns, open the tapped horn example and follow the tapped horn cookbook. It walks through power, excursion and a high-pass filter on a real design.
From idea to cabinet#
- 1
Pick a type
Start from an example, or add an enclosure, set its type to Horn and choose a Horn type. Each type’s page says what it is good for. The horn types. - 2
Shape the path
Drag spans, stations and entry markers in the Horn Editor tile, or switch it to its Table to type exact values. The graphs follow as you edit. How the Horn Editor works. - 3
Look inside
Particle velocity, pressure and acoustic impedance at any station, and each mouth or direct radiator as its own output. Reading the horn diagnostics. - 4
Damp it
Fill part of any span with fibre of a measured airflow resistivity, and watch what it does to the peaks above the band. How stuffing works. - 5
Fold it
Pack the path into a cabinet you can build, see the folded horn on every graph, and get a cut list. Folding a horn into a cabinet. - 6
Cross-check it
Export horns that fit Hornresp’s layouts as native records, and compare the two simulators on the same design. Exporting to Hornresp.
The horn model is regression-tested against 122 native Hornresp cases across 8 horn families. 109 of 109 agreement checks meet their tolerances. These compare two simulators, not built cabinets.
Work on horns with your AI#
Connect 00 Simulator to Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP client and your assistant can read, edit and simulate every horn type in your workspaces, try changes without saving them, and fold a horn into a cabinet. The numbers it quotes come from the same solver as the graphs.
You: Using 00 Simulator, try filling the first half of H1 in my tapped horn with 10,000 Pa·s/m² fibre and tell me what it changes. Don’t save it.
Tools used: get_workspace, get_enclosure_schema, simulate_workspace, render_simulation_graphs.
Assistant: Filling H1 50 % from the closed end at 10,000 Pa·s/m² changes the response by at most 1.0 dB between 25 and 120 Hz, so the working band barely moves. Above 200 Hz it does more: the highest peak goes from 119 dB at 243 Hz to 116 dB at 301 Hz. I haven’t saved it.
Ask your AI
Using 00 Simulator, look at the horns in my open workspace. For each one, tell me its type, its −3 dB band and peak excursion at the power it is set to, and the one change you would try first.
Connect your assistant so it can open your designs.