Lowther PM6C

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I have just picked up a pair of these as they were such a bargain, I couldn't resist. I have installed them in a Fostex 208 cab. The blurb sheet that comes with them says that they need at least 30 hours running in time (presumably until they start to sound even remotely good)

At the moment the bass is a little curtailed and the sound is very bright (previously using Fostex FE206 with the phase plug mod and over a year of use, and sounding fantastic I might add)

What I was wondering was :-

1. As the cabinet is not built for this driver, am I wasting my time.

2. How many hours will it take to loosen them up (am I right in saying that the voice coil excursion is only 1mm ? If so I suspect they will need many hours.

3. Have any of you had experience of this driver and if so I would be interested to hear your views and findings.
 
Puffin said:
What I was wondering was :-

1. As the cabinet is not built for this driver, am I wasting my time.

2. How many hours will it take to loosen them up (am I right in saying that the voice coil excursion is only 1mm ? If so I suspect they will need many hours.

3. Have any of you had experience of this driver and if so I would be interested to hear your views and findings.

1. Probably. It would be better to design an enclosure specifically for the driver. I have a pair of PM6C drivers and they are a Lowther bargain. Very nice in a TL of reflex loaded enclosure. You can find measured T/S parameters for the PM6C on my site under the General Speaker Related Articles link.

2. Probably less than 100 hrs. You should have all of the bass potential right now. Don't get too fixated on the Xmax value, it is really not that important unless the 1812 Overture at high volumes is a requirement for the system.

3. I used them in my Lowther ML TL and with the exception of the PM6A these produced the most bass. In a TL or reflex loaded enclosure you will definitely need a BSC circuit to even out the SPL response.
 
I have just picked up a pair of these as they were such a bargain, I couldn't resist. I have installed them in a Fostex 208 cab. The blurb sheet that comes with them says that they need at least 30 hours running in time (presumably until they start to sound even remotely good)

At the moment the bass is a little curtailed and the sound is very bright (previously using Fostex FE206 with the phase plug mod and over a year of use, and sounding fantastic I might add)

What I was wondering was :-

1. As the cabinet is not built for this driver, am I wasting my time.

2. How many hours will it take to loosen them up (am I right in saying that the voice coil excursion is only 1mm ? If so I suspect they will need many hours.

3. Have any of you had experience of this driver and if so I would be interested to hear your views and findings.

Hi there
I never liked Lowthers ,they are very bright and harsh.I don't know what to sugest...I don't want to be rude..My advice is don't waste to much money,if you don't like them...let them go.But before,make sure you have the correct cabinets built for them,that's very important.Regards Daniel
 
I have just picked up a pair of these as they were such a bargain, I couldn't resist. I have installed them in a Fostex 208 cab. The blurb sheet that comes with them says that they need at least 30 hours running in time (presumably until they start to sound even remotely good)

At the moment the bass is a little curtailed and the sound is very bright (previously using Fostex FE206 with the phase plug mod and over a year of use, and sounding fantastic I might add)

What I was wondering was :-

1. As the cabinet is not built for this driver, am I wasting my time.

2. How many hours will it take to loosen them up (am I right in saying that the voice coil excursion is only 1mm ? If so I suspect they will need many hours.

3. Have any of you had experience of this driver and if so I would be interested to hear your views and findings.

I reckon that some bass is coming out of the 208 cabinet, but not enough to equalize the sound with the upper response. And even in a cabinet designed to optimize the PM6C it most likely will not be enough. Lowther driver break-in is subtle at best. Don't expect big changes in the driver, perhaps, more in your perception/ears. No experience with that particular Lowther but I have DX4 and DX55, and have heard a few others.

Having said the above, I would try a LCR on the Lowther and or notch the peak (7 to 10kHz or so) and see if that helps. If you are more ambitous, you can try the Lowther (with 1000kHz highpass + L-pad) on an open baffle atop the 208 cabinet loaded with a 208E Sigma run wide open.
 
PM6C cabinets

I have to 2nd what MJK says. This is especially true if the cabinets are bass reflex, there is no real chance they will ever work.

When breaking in drivers, I find that about 30 hours at moderately loud (you have to raise your voice slightly to talk over the music), creates 90 to 95 % of the break in.

The 6C's tend to be the most bass heavy, and least bright, of the Lowthers. My guess is your cabinets are just all wrong for these.
 
10 kHz peak

There is a roughly 10 kHz mechanical crossover in the Lowther. Below 10 kHz, the whizzer cone is active. Above 10 kHz the voice coil former is the only active radiator. The peak is the result of this crossover.

Not all Lowthers have it, some are better damped. Depends on the magnet structure & voice coil weight. All that being said, the effect is over a very small range.
 
There is a roughly 10 kHz mechanical crossover in the Lowther. Below 10 kHz, the whizzer cone is active. Above 10 kHz the voice coil former is the only active radiator. The peak is the result of this crossover.

Not all Lowthers have it, some are better damped.
This conclusion seems to be flawed.

Could the mid/bass cone have a real stiffness/compliance that allows the cone to deform when asked to reproduce the higher frequencies? This deformation mechanism is largely responsible for the ragged upper frequency response in all cone drivers.
 
Hi Puffin,
I also did something similar,putting some DX3's into a FE208 cab.Never got them to sound any good so shelved the FE208 cabs and went down the Oris horn route with the Lowthers which IMO is a better suited option.
Though still have the cabs,though must make some space just bought some Hedlund's !
 
Surprised that I am still getting replies to this thread;)

It is 3.5 years since I first posted. I put the Lowthers back in their boxes and have been enjoying the Fostex ever since. I would like to build the Big Fun Horn, but as I like the Fostex so much, I can't really be arsed. Still loathe to let the Lowthers go :confused:
 
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Surprised that I am still getting replies to this thread;)

It is 3.5 years since I first posted. I put the Lowthers back in their boxes and have been enjoying the Fostex ever since. I would like to build the Big Fun Horn, but as I like the Fostex so much, I can't really be arsed. Still loathe to let the Lowthers go :confused:

that's funy, I did not know it was such an old thread
it was cangur4242 who revived it back to live after 3 years of hiatus
I went away from Lowthers few years ago when I made far better sounding speakers ...
http://edsaudiopages.blogspot.com/2010/08/way-i-like-speakers-these-days.html
 
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