On SALE now through April 30th, 2020!
Hornlet speakers – Natural Finish 722/577A.
These Horn Speakers are pictured with a Specimen Tube Amp to show scale. The amp is not included with the horn purchase and is sold separately. The horns are priced as a pair.
Each horn is unique and bears a variety of markings that result from the construction and finishing process. This mottled organic finish lends a unique patina to each horn.
- Dimensions
19" tall overall
9 1/4" horn diameter
5" cube base
6-1/2" minimum shelf depth - Driver
Fostex FE83En 3" full-range driver
- Impedance
8 ohms
- Sensitivity
1 W/1m 88 dB
- Frequency Response
fs - 30kHz
The Hornlets were first created for the Sonic Arboretum, a collaborative project between Specimen’s Ian Schneller and composer/violinist Andrew Bird. The Sonic Arboretum installation had its debut at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2010 and in 2011 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The installation included a collection of 76 different horn speakers and Specimen’s Custom Hi-Fi Tube Amplifiers. The Sonic Arboretum exhibited again at the International Contemporary Art Museum, ICA Boston in 2015, where the specially designed Specimen ICA Calla Horns System made its debut.
Design & Construction
These horns are entirely handmade at our shop in Chicago, IL. The bases are made of premium quality Baltic birch plywood. The horns are made from recycled newsprint, dryer lint, and shellac, making them by far the most eco-friendly Specimens to date. Dryer lint is one of earth’s greatest squandered resources and we are now putting it to use. It has incredible strength from all the interlocking fibers.
Considering these for the Sonic Arboretum, it seemed logical to have the horns integrate well with nature. These materials accomplish this as they create their own foliage-like effect. They actually work exceedingly well in any botanical setting. They almost look as if they have grown in place.
Compatibility and Placement
All Specimen Horn Speakers can be paired with my hi-fi tube amplifiers for a beautiful symbiosis. Or they can be used with virtually any other system and achieve excellent results.
Specimen Horns are designed to work well elevated as a typical bookshelf speaker, out in the open, or even placed on the ground to achieve a more spatially expansive installation, as in the Sonic Arboretum exhibitions. The sound of Specimen Horns has been described as “holographic” in that the sound seems to be coming from behind the enclosure, making it difficult to identify the sound source. This can evoke the sensation of the instrument being in the room with the listener.
