[michael hurd]

I can't imagine that you've seen very many horn designs then...

Any driver will perform better after putting a horn in front of it.

I'd rephrase that to "Any driver will perform better after putting a 'PROPER' horn in front of it.

Case in point, the same driver that can be used in a small sealed box will not necessarily work better in a tapped horn, however it may work fantastic in a big bass horn. ( folded or straight )

It's all in the parameters. Same goes for a driver that works well in a sealed box, it may not be any good at all in a vented box.