A Subjective Blind Comparison of 2in to 4in drivers - Round 4

Select the driver that you think sounds the best.

  • A

    Votes: 10 24.4%
  • B

    Votes: 5 12.2%
  • D

    Votes: 3 7.3%
  • E

    Votes: 11 26.8%
  • F

    Votes: 12 29.3%

  • Total voters
    41
  • Poll closed .
Founder of XSA-Labs
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I heard the ac130f1, JHC! it was nice in a Continuum Transmission LIne.
Very smooth, very detailed. Not much in the way of BSC; too bad they were not closer to a wall. I now believe that drivers have moved on from the past.

XRK I am trying to marry a Dynaco a25 woofer to a Phase Tech PC60 tweeter using the existing xover from the PC60. Sounds pretty good but is light on top. The Shure cartridge I use is a bit light on top too. I figure if a woofer works well without a crossover it's response is surely good enough to use with one.

If I were to send a pic of the xover could you perhaps tell me how to mod it, maybe remove a resistor? There are 7caps, 3 coils, and 4 resistors!

Is there a design for this Continuum TL available?

Sorry, I am not able to help you with technical passive XO questions - don't know enough to do it. I am just starting to look into passives but have played with active DSP a lot.
 
For these threads, i would be grateful if you could add a link, on the first post, to the post which contains the reveal of the drivers, and their FR plots.

For example, in round 3, I wanted to see your plot of the Visaton B80, and was pleased that it matched the manufacturer's plot nicely (that is: flat) - but I had to click around a lot before I found it.
 
xrk971,

For next round if you interested then besides the usual 320Kb compressed sound clips uploaded to diyA domain what about upload of full resolution recorded clips too to my cloud drive and shared, your newer better system setup quality had given us certain problems since round 3 and maybe full resolution will help a bit : ) maybe it don't help but then it has been tried.
 
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Joined 2012
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Is there an ETA for the next round of driver tests? No rush of course. I appreciate the amount of effort and time it takes to make the measurements, make the recordings, upload the data, and make a new thread. :up:

Is there an ETA for the next round of driver tests? No rush of course. I appreciate the amount of effort and time it takes to make the measurements, make the recordings, upload the data, and make a new thread. :up:
I was planning on doing it sooner, but a couple of things came up (my own speaker builds and day job) and now I am on travel for next few days. I think maybe next Saturday is probably a good ETA for when I can get to it. I am close and have all data except the new data for the Tang Band W2-852SH. I also don't have "stress test" (96dB at 0.5m) harmonic distortion data and would have to reinstall all the drivers to obtain that. Debating whether or not I have time to do that.

@Byrtt - thanks for the offer to host the high res files. I may take you up on it. For consistency, I will probably post the usual 320k mp3 on diyAudio and on your cloud driver for those interested.
 
your newer better system setup quality had given us certain problems since round 3 and maybe full resolution will help a bit : )

I have been wondering what's going on since round 3... As far as I can remember, in round 2 the clips are not too different with the reference. In round 3 X mentioned that he made some changes that make the reference will sound different. I didn't understand fully but I ignored the issue because I didn't really need to listen to the reference...

But Jeshi and others had mentioned the importance of comparing to a reference, and I have been confused why the clips are way behind when compared to the reference, and relatively compared to the round 2 (where the clips are more similar to the reference)...

And I think the box cannot be too small, because IME I have never been able to get away with small boxes.
 
I love being able to listen to the drivers and select one for purchase. I can stay in budget and satisfy my craving to experience something different. Over time some drivers will get more play time than others. I've built a slotted baffle shelf and stuck it into my closet. It holds five open baffles and keeps them safely out of the way. I may have to build another!

I really enjoy the Dayton PS95-8. It images beautifully and the midrange is very expressive. It's only flaw is the top end. Regardless of how much I angle it on some music there's too much sibilance. I have to listen around it. My teenage boys say "this speaker has more treble than your other projects" but they also enjoy the ninty-fives. It's full of life and fun to listen to.

Since the basket offers open access to the back of the cone I'm going to paint it (the back only) with dammar. Dammar reduced sibilance on piezo tweeters I've painted in the past. I hope the effect is similar. If the sound changes appreciably I could send the driver in for measurements - assuming X has the time - to see if anything else changed with the frequency response other than just the treble.
 
Founder of XSA-Labs
Joined 2012
Paid Member
I love being able to listen to the drivers and select one for purchase. I can stay in budget and satisfy my craving to experience something different. Over time some drivers will get more play time than others. I've built a slotted baffle shelf and stuck it into my closet. It holds five open baffles and keeps them safely out of the way. I may have to build another!

I really enjoy the Dayton PS95-8. It images beautifully and the midrange is very expressive. It's only flaw is the top end. Regardless of how much I angle it on some music there's too much sibilance. I have to listen around it. My teenage boys say "this speaker has more treble than your other projects" but they also enjoy the ninty-fives. It's full of life and fun to listen to.

Since the basket offers open access to the back of the cone I'm going to paint it (the back only) with dammar. Dammar reduced sibilance on piezo tweeters I've painted in the past. I hope the effect is similar. If the sound changes appreciably I could send the driver in for measurements - assuming X has the time - to see if anything else changed with the frequency response other than just the treble.

I would be glad to measure dammar'd drivers for you.
 
I coated the back of my PS95 with dammar last night. The cone really soaked up the varnish and has a darker satin finish compared to the matte cardboard look it had. I left the front alone.

Letting it dry 24 hours. The goal is to reduce sibilance. Either it helps, doesn't help or I screwed up the driver. If I screwed up the driver I'll use it in a small kitchen countertop speaker or something similar. It's hit and miss when modifying drivers. Dammar reduced sibilance on piezo cones so my fingers are crossed. Subjectively, I'll let you know how it sounds.

FYI, I tried the pre made equalization settings in iTunes (more treble, less treble, more bass, etc.) and they suck.
 
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I have the UMM-6 from Dayton that I like very much. Right now I am using the UMIK-1 from miniDSP more as it has been calibrated by 3rd party. Dayton also makes a calibrated mic called the iMM-6 that plugs in your iPhone (I assume comes with app?) for $14 - pretty cheap and probably fine for basic surveys. I have not tried myself but may get one of those phone mics.

Dayton Audio iMM-6 Calibrated Measurement Microphone for Tablets iPhone iPad and Android

Just added that to my cart for the next PE order.
 
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UMIK-1 from miniDSP does come with factory calibration file. I bought mine thru Cross Spectrum Labs and for an extra $25 or so, they provide a value added calibration service that is better than the factory cal. My UMM-6 worked well but I got a lot of snide remarks and questions about the validity of my microphone measurements from disbelievers when they see some of my measurements that don't match factory frequency response measurements from certain driver manufacturers.