I was wondering if you guys could educate me on the topic of horns in the car audio environment. I am looking into incorporating them into my truck (S-10) when I start working on the front stage, most likely with some Dayton Reference or AA 6.5's in kicks. What I would like to know is the basics on horn install in a car, what to look for, if you can go passive, or active is a must, the basics of an active install, what kind of equipment is the best, stuff like that.

Any info that can be provided would be awsome

-Thanks

Hmm.

Install can be easy or it might be hard depending on a few things: size of horn body (mini vs. full body), how tall you are, and what you use to mount them. I found zipties are really convenient and seem strong enough to hold up but I'm not sure for what amount of time. You mount them off-axis, parallel to the floor, and try to make the dash continuous with the top of the horn body so the sound flows up onto the top of the dash. TA is not incredibly vital with horns, but EQing is. They tend to be peaky and the more EQ bands the better. You can go active or passive, the most popular passive sets coming from ID. Obviously active would be nicer due to the greater amount of flexibility. I ran Illusion Audio CH-2 horns for a while and they would still be in my car if they didn't take up so much room, so make sure they can fit before buying them. When selecting a mid for going active, try your best to find one with high sensitivity and a good amount of output.

I have not owned horns but I have helped install a few. I have to mention they can be a monster to EQ out. Some cars seem to do fine with them and a few others I have seen just have a peak in the 1.6Kmhz area. If they are done right they can be stupid loud and very clear. There was an install a few years ago I really liked that was actually using normal soft dome tweets, horns, and mid -bass. It really had the high highs that seemed to be lacking in a few of the other horn installs I have heard.

To add to the original post, for those of us with trucks, what are the typical dimensions of a full body and mini horn? In trucks sometimes we are limited in leg space and knowing the size of the bodies would help.....

To add to the original post, for those of us with trucks, what are the typical dimensions of a full body and mini horn? In trucks sometimes we are limited in leg space and knowing the size of the bodies would help.....

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The ID's and a couple other companies can be trimmed down, while my Illusion's couldn't. In my truck (small little tacoma), width wasn't the problem, it was the depth and stupid AC blower.

This should give you an idea:

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/page.php?page=fullhorn

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/page.php?page=minihorn