Audax AM21LB25ALBC 8" Paper Cone Full Range new at Madisound!!

[mctavish]

This looks shiny!!! I wanna get my hands on a pair!

If the response is accurate this is going to be an outstanding driver. Bit confused about the "Hybrid" magnet system though.....


Audax AM21LB25ALBC 8" Paper Cone Full Range

 

[planet10]

In the middle of the SEAS FA22 & the expensive SEAS alnico… interesting. Thanx for pointing it out. Another member of the 8” whizzer cone niche.

dave

 

[mctavish]

I am also a big fan of the accordian surround. The 6 incher looks nice as well.

It is really great to see more main stream companies doing the fullrange thing, giving more choices to us believers

 

[planet10]

Yes, nice to see accordian surrounds making a comeback. If well exectuted they can be nice.

dave

 

[IG81]

I concur with the pleated fabric surround being nice.

I'm always a bit freaked out by unterminated whizzers though, I'd like to see a little lip all around. Maybe it's more my imagination running wild with floppy bell modes, but perhpas a 99¢ tweak might be in order.

Nicely rounded parameters overall, high Qm and a versatile Qt with low Fs.

The response, especially off-axis, isn't the best, but we're talking about a whizzered 8" fullrange afterall. It's no worse than a Philips 9710 or many comparable units I've toyed with.

A lot about this driver reminds me of my old pair of Richard Allan CG10T, which I liked quite a bit.

 

[mctavish]

Its a bit pricey for my wallet.... And like I said, I am a bit suspicious about the whole dual ferrite/neo magnet assembly. I can't tell by the photo's if that is a steel cover over the magnet or not. But all that aside the response looks great for a whizzered 8'' and I would be all over it if it were ~ $150 or so.....

 

[xrk971]

I think it’s about the brand and fact that it’s “made in France” and perhaps this is a French “Lowther”? Not so sure I can justify the price for the performance based on specs listed. It’s very cool looking though in all black. An 8in beams too much for me. A W5-2143 although only 90dB is much smoother and more affordable. Two in parallel will have same sensitivity and probably more dynamics.

 

[IG81]

While 8" fullrange drivers do beam quite a bit, the ones that are "hot on top" (I'd say this Audax qualifies) can have a fairly good in-room power response nevertheless, the trick being to listen somewhat off-axis. Some old pipe/horn designs (Lowther, Decca) had the driver firing at a wall to achieve this.

 

[Retsel]

No phase plug

Too bad that the driver does not incorporate a phase plug. Changing phase plugs on a Lowther allows one to adjust the power response of the high frequencies.

Retsel

 

[planet10]

I'm always a bit freaked out by unterminated whizzers though, I'd like to see a little lip all around. Maybe it's more my imagination running wild with floppy bell modes, but perhpas a 99¢ tweak might be in order.

No whizzer is better but with such a large driver that a whizzer is the easy way to get enuff HF. It looks like the whizzer has a curve too it which does have a similar effect to a flat termination on a straight whizzer.

As another member of the niche 1st represented by lowther a whizzer is de rigo.

Easy enuff to add a phase plug… i haven’t run into any whizzer cone drivers that don’t benefit. 25mm coil means a Visaton B200 or FE16x phase plug could be adapted.

dave

 

[mctavish]

It does indeed have a phaseplug. As does the 6'' model.

Maybe a bit hard to see in the photos.

It was that which impressed me about the driver.

Accordian surround, phase plug, curved whizzer, good sensitivity.....

Looks like a winner

 

[mctavish]

From Madisound: Note the third line-




Non-resonant solid diecast chassis
Paper-Cone Coated
Phase Plug
Textile surround - Accordion-Style
NOMEX-Voice-Coil former - non conductive!
Edgewound flat copper wire - CCAW
Ventilated chassis under spider
Gold plated terminals

 

[planet10]

It does indeed have a phaseplug. As does the 6'' model.

It does. But it is far too short… i have found that they work best when they extend out too, or a bit beyond the top egde of the whizzer.

I wonder if it can be removed and replaced with a longer one?

dave

 

[norman bates]

Yea, that's a deep cone, I think that narrows dispersion a bit compared to a flatty.

After using 8" fullranges, I don't buy into the room response averaging for freq response.
8" with whizzer, on axis fine (2 people wide at 10'), otherwise, no high end.

 

[FullRangeMan]

Yes, nice to see accordian surrounds making a comeback. If well exectuted they can be nice.

dave

The NOMEX VC former also a great choice for FR drivers.
Just dont liked bass under 100Hz looks anemic.

 

[planet10]

Nomex is better for higher power but brings a weight penalty.

dave

 

[FullRangeMan]

NOMEX is a paper or what?

 

[planet10]

I thot Nomex a kind of plastic… Nomex - Wikipedia

Wikipeda says it is an aramid polymer related to Nylon, but they call the sheet form a paper. Muct be a plastic paper.

dave

 

[mctavish]

Apparently this driver has been around for a while, at least since 2011. But this is the first I am seeing or hearing about it....

There is a 2012 edition of Hobby HiFi from jan. of that year with a review of this and its younger brother. Wierd, can't figure out how I missed this one

 

[Ivo]

Hobby Hifi really liked it. Made a simple (but well-designed) bass reflex box for it and their customary intelligent filtering. If I recall correctly, called it simple way to get a high quality loudspeaker. I have made a variation on Hobby Hifi's Da Capo open baffle loudspeaker, using the Ciare CH250. I do my own filter design, but I did try out the Hobby Hifi filtering. Interesting to see and hear what he does and does not filter, he knows his stuff IMO. The Da Capo design is great value (and simply good, regardless of price). If he/Hobby Hifi liked it, I expect I would like the Audax too.