YAL HORN SYSTEM / HS-01WW
Pure physics. With a little taste.
I designed a large-scale four-way horn loudspeaker system.
From the Tractrix horn geometry and 160-litre sealed bass enclosure to the digital crossover, phase, delay, and amplification, the entire system was designed from the ground up.
The idea wasn't simply to assemble a collection of great drivers. It was to make components from different eras, efficiencies, and acoustic principles behave as one loudspeaker.
The midrange combines a vintage Altec 299 compression driver with a custom birch Tractrix horn. Bass comes from an Acoustic Elegance TD15S 15-inch driver in a large sealed enclosure, with a horn tweeter and Japanese ribbon super tweeter completing the four-way system.
A digital active crossover and microphone measurements are used to align crossover points, phase, and timing before the final adjustments are made by ear.
The result is a system with enormous scale and speed, while remaining natural, precise, and coherent.
Design Highlights.
Midrange horn — Custom birch Tractrix horn, calculated and drawn for short-distance listening
Midrange driver — Vintage Altec 299, with recalculated rear-chamber volume, damping, and a custom walnut back chamber
Bass system — Acoustic Elegance TD15S 15-inch woofer in an approximately 160-litre sealed enclosure
Cabinet construction — Douglas-fir plywood with internal 5 mm carbon-steel reinforcement
Bass extension — Measured response reaching approximately 25 Hz
High frequencies — Horn tweeter with a Japanese ribbon super tweeter
System integration — Digital active crossover with measured crossover, phase, and delay alignment
Amplification — High-power amplification for bass, with low-power Class-A amplification for the efficient horn sections
Complete drawings, curvature calculations, system calibration, and in-room recordings are available on the YANKO AUDIO LAB Patreon.
