Getting ready to buy some subs. Which is the preference here, folded horn like the B-52's or a front loaded. You guys haven't lead me wrong yet(except for budget) so I figure I would put it to the vote.
those are scoops, and I don't think they are really horn loaded. They are a front loaded driver with a horny port. They are still used today with mostly with reggae bands.
with most fully horn loaded drivers, you can't see the driver at all, it's buried somewhere in the foldings of the cabinet.
I like the sensitivity of the horns, but I really haven't hear any. I have heard front loaded and isobaric etc. So I am really not sure. From what I have read the front loaded follows the music better, but the horns project better. I seen pro's and con's to each. Thought about buying a couple JBL drivers and design/build a cab of each type to check which I liked the best, but really don't have that much free time right now.
Getting ready to buy some subs. Which is the preference here, folded horn like the B-52's or a front loaded. You guys haven't lead me wrong yet(except for budget) so I figure I would put it to the vote.
...was most irritated when I felt more bass behind the sub rather than on the dancefloor...
This is just a gut level guess...when you get to the bottom octaves, say below 150Hz and most certainly below 100Hz all sub configurations are omni-directional. They do radiate via the enclosure almost as much as they do the cone. It just takes too big a horn to be practical at the lowest frequencies.
The only system I've heard of that provides significant directionality at the lowest octaves is made by Mayer Sound. They claim about 20db front to rear (which is very significant) in a cardioid or super cardioid pattern. It uses technology very similar to the way a microphone achieves directionality only it functions in reverse.