THE START AND IDEA OF HØRNING HYBRID SYSTEMS
The Story, Philosophy and Acoustic Concept of Horning Hybrid Loudspeakers
TOMMY HØRNING – THE CREATOR
Tommy Hørning is the creator of the Horning Hybrid loudspeaker.
The loudspeaker has its origins in a love for the classic full-range loudspeaker concept developed by Donald Chave and Paul Voigt. This approach was based on simplicity, high efficiency, very low moving mass and the ability to reproduce music with a remarkable sense of immediacy and coherence.
The fundamental idea behind the Horning Hybrid system is to preserve these qualities while extending the frequency range and dynamic capability of the loudspeaker.
THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND HØRNING HYBRID SYSTEMS
The philosophy behind Horning Hybrid Systems is to achieve the most direct possible connection between the amplifier and the music.
Every unnecessary element between the amplifier and the listener can influence the character of the sound. For this reason, the Horning concept focuses on high efficiency, low moving mass, carefully controlled acoustic loading and a minimum of electrical filtering.
The objective is not simply to reproduce a wide frequency range. It is to preserve the natural timing, dynamics, harmonic structure and spatial information contained in the recording.
THE ACOUSTIC CONCEPT
The acoustic concept begins with the full-range driver.
A high-efficiency full-range driver has the ability to reproduce a large part of the musical spectrum from a single radiating source. Because the moving mass is extremely low, the driver can react very quickly to small changes in the musical signal.
This gives the listener a strong impression of immediacy and presence. Transients are reproduced without the sense of mechanical inertia that can be associated with conventional low-efficiency loudspeakers.
The Horning Hybrid concept develops this principle further by adding carefully designed bass and high-frequency sections without destroying the coherence of the original full-range source.
FROM FULL-RANGE PURITY TO FULL-RANGE POWER
The classic full-range loudspeaker offers exceptional coherence, but its limitations become apparent when very high acoustic output, deep bass extension and extended treble are required.
Horning Hybrid Systems were developed as a way of overcoming these limitations while retaining the essential character of the full-range principle.
The system uses multiple high-efficiency elements working together. The additional sections are designed to support the main full-range driver rather than compete with it.
In this way, the system can deliver substantially greater acoustic power while maintaining the speed and transparency associated with a lightweight full-range driver.
HIGH EFFICIENCY AND LOW MOVING MASS
Efficiency is a central part of the Horning philosophy.
A high-efficiency loudspeaker requires less electrical power to produce a given acoustic output. This makes it possible to use amplifiers with relatively modest power while maintaining exceptional dynamic contrast.
The moving mass of the principal full-range driver is extremely low. Typical moving masses are in the region of approximately 12–20 grams, depending on the driver design, compared with substantially higher values found in many conventional loudspeakers.
In the Horning Zeus, Aristoteles, Eufrodite and Agalma are the dynamic mass exceptional low only 5 gram. The power is from 1.7 Tesla to 2.2 Tesla (field Coil) and in the Absolut reference PERMENDUR Field Coil is 2.4 Tesla. Efficiency from 96 db to 101 db 1 Watt power.
The result is a system capable of responding rapidly to the smallest musical details while also producing powerful dynamic peaks.
PRESERVING THE POINT-SOURCE CHARACTER
One of the most important aspects of the Horning Hybrid concept is preservation of the point-source character.
The main full-range driver remains the central acoustic reference. The additional bass and high-frequency sections are integrated so that the listener does not perceive the system as a collection of separate drivers.
This contributes to the characteristic holographic reproduction associated with the Horning approach.
Voices and instruments appear naturally positioned in the soundstage, while the relationship between direct sound, harmonics and room information remains highly coherent.
THE HORNING HYBRID SOLUTION
The Horning Hybrid loudspeaker combines the strengths of several technologies.
The full-range driver provides the fundamental musical character and the majority of the midrange information. The bass system supplies the additional acoustic energy required for deep and powerful low-frequency reproduction. The high-frequency section extends the response beyond the natural operating range of the full-range driver.
The result is a hybrid system in which each section has a clearly defined task, while the full-range driver remains the heart of the musical presentation.
EUFRODITE AND AGALMA FIELD COIL TECHNOLOGY
The development of the Horning systems has also involved the use of advanced field-coil technology.
The Eufrodite and Agalma designs represent this approach, using field-coil drivers to achieve very high sensitivity and precise control of the magnetic field.
Field-coil technology allows the magnetic field to be generated by an external power supply rather than by a permanent magnet alone. This opens the possibility of optimizing the magnetic system specifically for the driver.
The result is a very responsive transducer with the potential for exceptionally low-level resolution and dynamic expression.
ACOUSTIC FILTERING
A fundamental part of the Horning Hybrid philosophy is the use of acoustic rather than unnecessarily complex electrical filtering wherever possible.
The natural acoustic roll-off of the drivers can be used as part of the crossover concept. This minimizes the number of components directly in the signal path and helps preserve phase relationships and transient information.
The crossover is therefore not regarded simply as a frequency-dividing network. It is part of the complete acoustic design of the loudspeaker.
DYNAMICS AND TRANSPARENCY
The combination of high efficiency, low moving mass and carefully controlled acoustic loading gives the Horning Hybrid system a distinctive dynamic character.
Small signals remain clearly audible, while large musical transients can be reproduced without the sound becoming compressed or congested.
This is particularly important with acoustic instruments, voices and percussion, where the first few milliseconds of a transient contain a large amount of the information that tells the ear about the character and position of the sound.
The objective is therefore not merely high sound pressure. It is the preservation of the complete dynamic envelope of the music.
A LARGE, COHERENT SOUND
The Horning Hybrid system is designed to produce a large and open soundstage while maintaining a stable acoustic center.
The combination of the full-range source and the supporting drivers allows the loudspeaker to reproduce a wide bandwidth without sacrificing the sense of a single coherent musical event.
The listener can experience both the scale of a large recording and the intimacy of a small acoustic performance.
MUSIC WITHOUT COMPROMISE
The fundamental idea behind Horning Hybrid Systems is simple: preserve the musical qualities that made the classic full-range loudspeaker so compelling, while developing a system capable of reproducing the complete frequency range with greater power, dynamics and scale.
It is a philosophy built around efficiency, simplicity, speed and coherence.
Rather than allowing the loudspeaker to become the dominant element in the reproduction chain, the design aims to make the transducer as transparent as possible to the musical signal.
The result is a loudspeaker system intended to communicate the energy, timing, texture and emotion of the original performance with the greatest possible immediacy.
