List of Full range driver manufacturers?

[irishpatrick33]

I am looking to find some sort of extensive list for full range driver manufacturers. I find it extremely difficult on my own.

My parameters are as follows: 8ohm or higher, high efficency, and high Q rating (open baffle).

I would prefer an impedance higher than 8ohm, but I would settle if required.

Any and all information is appreciated. If you know of an online dealer, I would appreciate that too.

 

[marchel]

What size?

 

[irishpatrick33]

8ohm or higher
6" or larger
95dB efficiency or higher (92dB for 16ohm)
Frequency capable of around 45Hz

I really would like to see as many options as possible. Because I don't want to find out 6 months later I missed a much better option.

 

[Dirk]

Hi,

There are a lot of full range drivers, with quite detailed info, on the site of this German distributor (if you don't know German, you can still look at the pictures):

http://www.spectrumaudio.de/breitband.html

Regards,
Dirk

 

[irishpatrick33]

8ohm or higher
6" or larger
95dB efficiency or higher (92dB and up for 16ohm)
Frequency capable of around 45Hz
Costing less than $1,200 for a pair of drivers
High Q rating making them ideal for open baffle

 

[el`Ol]

Getting 45Hz in an "honest" way means you need really large baffles. The Supravox 215 Signature Bicone comes into my mind. Nielsio is going to sell his ones because he wants to upgrade to something really expensive http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138105
If you go the mainstream way of narrow baffle plus bass support almost any fullrange driver has a low enough Fs to allow any Qts.

 

[irishpatrick33]

Thats part of the trick. Finding reasonably priced speakers capable of low end performance.

There are plenty of other issues though. Whether it lack of online presense by manufatcurers, lack of a comprehnsive list, or lack of dealers.

It's hard to find these drivers because of all this. But drivers exist that fit the bill. Hemp Acoustics, Senon, Moth Audio, etc. all make some.

But even when you know who makes them it's still not easy. Hemp Acoustics has a website showing MANY models, but they provide no information on them. I can't find Moth Audio drivers anywhere. And I personally want to do all my homework so I get the best driver possible. But I need help since there's many roadblocks in the way.

 

[tinitus]

Spectrum Audio in Germany have a 12" chinese SENON YD1256U

Could be interesting to try a pair in 2.5way, but may need supertweeter...and subs

Fs/46hz, 90db, Qts/1.33...27 EUR

Looks quite nice

edit, a small 5-6" fullrange with a couple of "filler" woofers might be worth a try
Supravox have some nice options

Visaton have some cheap woofers, and in US maybe Goldwood
Fore quality woofers MOREL may have a couple of interesting alternatives

 

[lowtherdream]

Not all fullrange, but a good list to start

http://audiotools.com/drivers.html

You can find lowther fullrange drivers for under $1200/pair

http://www.commonsenseaudio.com/lowther.html

the doc and projects are here
http://www.lowtherloudspeakers.com/homeindex.html

 

[irishpatrick33]

Thanks for the ideas guys. Unfortunately not much help. The Lowthers disqualify themselves due to the Q.

The sad part is I have a pair of Visaton B200's in my closet. But their impedance disqualifies them.

 

[Scottmoose]

AFAIK, there are no current production drivers that meet your requirements. Getting one unsupported FR unit down to 45Hz itself is hard enough (not impossible, but extremely difficult, needing either a very high Q & low Fs or a reasonably modest Q, low Fs & a very large baffle), but given the mechanical inefficiency of a dipole, it also needs large excursion, further reducing your options. On top of that you're demanding high efficiency, and ~16ohm impedance. Oh, and reasonable price. And the Mona Lisa. And... you get the picture. Your criteria are so restrictive you are effectively demanding something that doesn't exist.

About the only units that come close to what you are demanding would be a pair of PHYs -the H21LB15SAG (love that French nomenclature) http://www.phy-hp.com/English/Products/H21lb15_E.html They have most of what you want & are intended for use on baffles. However, they're slightly out of your price range & are wide-band units, not full-range -they need a supertweeter from 10KHz up. No bad thing either; you get the benefits people desire from FR & a somewhat cleaner HF. But that's about the only thing out there that is in the region of what you want.

 

[el`Ol]

but given the mechanical inefficiency of a dipole, it also needs large excursion, further reducing your options.

A large OB in fact works rather like an infinite baffle than as a dipole above the baffle cutoff frequency, what abandons the need for high excursions. To see what large is, have a look on that:
http://www.phy-hp.com/English/Communication_E/Com_E_Baffle_Plan.html

 

[one1speed]

After reading through all of this, I agree with others. A good full ranger with bottom end support is at the top of my list.

One other thought is a coax. I don't have any specs, but with a horn tweeter in the middle, they are quite efficient and the woofer can move a lot of air. There are a lot of options with this from older Altec units to more current P-Audio. They do fit into your price range as well.

However, I'm not sure the coax direction will really offer the "magic" of a full ranger. With your price range, you could get into some pretty nice drivers if you open yourself up to ideas a bit.

You could try adding one of the H-frame woofers to fill in the bottom end. They're said to mate quite well.

It may help others if you post your reasons for these specs, such as your amps, music type you'll listen to, rough room info, etc.

Best of luck on your quest.

 

[Scottmoose]

A large OB in fact works rather like an infinite baffle than as a dipole above the baffle cutoff frequency, what abandons the need for high excursions. To see what large is, have a look on that:
http://www.phy-hp.com/English/Communication_E/Com_E_Baffle_Plan.html

A simplified drawing of that baffle + the link is found on the page I mentioned... It's one of the few reasonably sized OBs I know of. Opened out fully, I make it down ~ 7db at 45Hz. Of course, one can flap those wings to suit & shift to a quasi U-frame. YMMV. Still not as efficient as a box, although better than some.

 

[Nelson Pass]

A large OB in fact works rather like an infinite baffle than as a dipole above the baffle cutoff frequency, what abandons the need for high excursions.

I have recently finished with a baffle of comparable size. Besides
WAF (not a problem in my case) at some point they start sounding
like wall-mounted speakers.

I got more satisfaction going down to the 3' X 5' range and smaller,
where I can experience more of the "rear wall illumination"

 

[freddi]

I don't have much open baffle experience but rear wave is probably a bigp art of the package - adding one or both wings to this little Silver Iris 2'x3' baffle cut down on "aiir" and thickened its tonality

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2531/siframeqk7.jpg
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/656/onoffwxh2.jpg

hey Nelson - whats your take on open baffle vs rear loaded horn so far?

 

[irishpatrick33]

There is so little information out there that people think such drivers do not exist. I couldn't find much searching online myself. This is why I asked for help. THANKS DIRK!


PHY, Fertin, EMS, and Festrex all qualify... but are a bit too expensive.


Ciare HX201
Hemp FR8C
Audio Nirvana Super 12 Cast Frame
Moth Audio

ALL QUALIFY! DC Gold might make one as well, but I need to see the entire specs.


The Moth Audio driver is the one driving me nuts. It likely is my preferred driver. But I can't find anything about it anywhere. They must have gone out of business.

Also, Ecologic Acoustics has an entire line that they provide no information for. I emailed them and got no response.


If anybody knows where I can get that Moth Audio driver.... PLEASE let me know. Also if you have information on Ecologic Acoustics entire line, please pass that along. Ecologic Acoustics bought Hemp Acoustics if you aren't aware.

 

[planet10]

Hemp FR8C

Direct experience with Visaton B200 and HA FR8c puts the B200 quite a bit ahead to my ear (1.2 x 1.1 m baffle)

dave

 

[irishpatrick33]

Thanks Planet,

That was my next step, finding out about the drivers now that I have identified them. Still drives me nuts that I own brand new B200's and can't use them.


Does anybody have experience with the Ciare HX201, Audio Nirvana Super 12 Cast Frame, or Moth Audio driver?

I really want to know about that Moth Audio driver!

 

[el`Ol]

Does anybody have experience with the Ciare HX201, Audio Nirvana Super 12 Cast Frame, or Moth Audio driver?

The Qts of the HX201 is lower in independent measurements than given on the company´s website, so good for OB only with bass support. One strength in contrast to other fullrangers is that it can play really loud. Plenty of sensitivity and power handling and no whizzer fluttering in the wind. I don´t have listening experience with the B200, but they measure similar and need a similar FR compensation against the treble rise. I find that compared to the HX201 the HX160 has better capabilities of playing complex music, maybe because of the somewhat smaller decay in the 2kHz region of the HX201 (the B200 also has).