Horn Technology History
The physics (and mathematics) of horn operation were developed for many years, reaching considerable sophistication before WWII. The most well known early horn loudspeakers were those on mechanical phonographs, where the record moved a heavy metal needle that excited vibrations in a small metal diaphragm that acted as the driver for a horn. A famous example was the horn through which Nipper the RCA dog heard "His Master's Voice". The horn improves the loading and thus gets a better "coupling" of energy from the diaphragm into the air, and the pressure variations therefore get smaller as the volume expands and the sound travels up the horn. This kind of mechanical impedance matching was absolutely necessary in the days of pre-electrical sound reproduction in order to achieve a usable sound level.
Read more about this topic: Horn Loudspeaker
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