A Nice DIY Project Using my JMLC Inspired Horn Calculator

Recently, I got a request to help with some questions regarding the use of JMLC inspired Horn calculator. Usually, I have not much spare time to help in detail, but this time was indeed different because there was a well balance of give and take.

Adam contacted me with a very nice performance JMLC horn using PETF to optimize the profile with respect to better directivity control while greatly preserving loading. It is not as good as my WN300, but I was surprised about the results. With some minor suggestions from my side to further optimize PETF parameters, Adam worked almost without my help using his own workflow. It has been proven that my splines export function is working perfectly to create a step file and then mesh the BEM components using GmsH.

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PETF Applied to JMLC Horns – Simulation Results

In two previous posts I presented my PETF algorithm and JMLC inspired horn calculator. Assuming that many of my readers are familiar with the native JMLC horn performance like loading or radiation polar it should be a common acceptable consensus that JMLC horns do not belong to the so called constant directivity (CD) category. Towards higher frequencies they tend to slightly beam which is because of the curved horn walls. This might not be an issue for some applications or some people might even like this behaviour but as general rule of thumb the lower the horn cut-off value the longer the horn profile will be and the smaller the initial opening angle both causing an increasing tendency to narrow the dispersion of higher frequencies. A more focused dispersion of higher frequencies might be an advantage in small environments if it is fairly constant or if the intention was to compensate the natural roll-off of most compression drivers but generally a design goal of wider dispersion is one of my personal preferences. More precisely, one of my main goals is to find a good compromise between good horn loading and good directivity control.

There can be found some BEM simulation examples for round JMLC horns in the web that clearly show the increasingly more narrowed dispersion towards higher frequencies especially for the lower loading versions with 350Hz or lower cut-off. On the opposite JMLC horns shine if the target design intention was mainly a nearly perfect horn loading down to the desired cut-off frequency or by looking at the smoothness of radiated wave fronts when the formalism inherited roll-back is present.

I already presented that the PETF algorithm produces a faster opening of a horn profile while straightening the horn walls. In this article I will investigate what horn properties we can expect by applying PETF to a given profile. 

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JMLC Inspired Horn Calculator

I find it difficult to formulate the appropriate introductory words for a person like Jean-Michel Le Cléac’h (JMLC). Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to discuss my work with him, although theoretically it would have been possible but my interest in horns arose just a few years ago. I would have been honoured to have received feedback on my work from Jean-Michel.

Recently, I realized what meaning as human being Jean-Michel Le Cléac’h must have had for other people when I recognized that Bjørn Kolbrek and Thomas Dunker dedicated their excellent book about “High-Quality Horn Loudspeakers Systems” to him.

Here are two links to diyaudio.com for those who are not so familiar with his work and his life: Link1Link2.

Interestingly, JMLC emphasized that we should understand his work on horns more as a method to calculate horn profiles than rather a new expansion. This is exactly how I understand it and this post will describe my implementation of JMLC’s method.

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