bonding/sealing magnet to speaker fram

[jamikl]

I have some brochures in front of me of an epoxy putty
which they say sets hard as steel and will not let go. The
product is branded Pratley. Would this be a suitable product
for the above application. They also make another putty which
is supposed to set like hard rubber and is for vibration damping.
I wonder if this would be suiitable for use on stamped frame
speaker baskets. If anybody familiar with these products can
shed any light I would appreciate your response.

On another tack I would appreciate any thoughts as to whether
any of the cheaper Lowthers, dx55 or the ceramic version would
be useful in an open baffle or are they too shouty and too
excursion limited for volumes up to about 110 - 112 dB. They
would only be used above 200 - 300 Hz. I really have to get this mid and upper range sorted. Thanks,
jamikl

[fwater]

The epoxy is just fine for helping with a better bond twixt frame & magnet. I rough up the painted frame in the area where the bond would take place, which I'm not shure is really pertinent, but is so quick and easy that I say why not. Others may chime in about whether the rubbery material is suitable for vibaration controll on the legs of the frame, but common sense tells me that anything massive (heavy for its size) like plumbers putty, clay, or the preferred DuctSeal will be fine.

While not exactly an authority on this subject, I can relate that highpassing a fullrange on an open baffle will dramatically increase power handling. I'm not positive that 110dB will be automatic, but the Lowthers do have higher sensitivety, so I predict yes. Shoutiness will be a matter of opinion. There are ways to address this if it is too offensive to your ears, some being with physical mods, the others electrically with notch or shelving filters. I prefer the former method with cone treatments or addition of phaseplugs or even experimenting with a veil of absorbant material such as poly batting. IMHO, though, it would be painful for me to mod such an expensive driver in any way. Start with nothing at all, and make intelligent decisions after hours and hours of break-in and getting used to their sound. Good quality equalizers are sometimes put to use with great success as well.