What is the best full-range driver?

[headnail]

Thought I'd throw in my (novice) 2 cents worth...

I personally believe that the Fostex 206En is a pretty decent full-range driver that has quite a bit of potential... it delivers and does not leave a gaping hole in your balance (unless of course your balance is pretty high ). While the stock driver sounds alright, I think a few mods really help it realize its potential. A friend carried out some (no coating) planet10 mods on it (phase plug, etc...) and the result was a drastic improvement in virtually every aspect. Mind you my observations are based on "intermittent" listening sessions, if you are interested I can probably get him to share his impressions as well (he can go into details with regards the improvements that he has observed).

Having said that, I also consider the 126En to be a fairly decent driver considering it's size and price... place it in a pair of decent backloaded horns and you have yourself a pretty decent budget set-up (went though quite a few horn designs before settling on one that really felt right).

All the drivers above have been fed with SE 6P14P (EL84) based amps (soon to be replaced with "beefier" GU 50 based ones ).

My personal favorite driver although is a custom built Bulgarian driver - Ether There is a thread in the forums regarding the same....I think there are a few pairs in England, if you get the opportunity you might find it interesting to give them a listen...

Having lugged the 126's around friends houses quite a bit, I've also come to realize that it's also important to find a driver that "fits" a given system (source, amp etc..)...on some systems the 126s sounded absolutely horrible...

Good luck with your search!

[Scottmoose]

I wasn't aware I was a 'secret agent.' How interesting. I haven't recieved a paycheck from the Secret Intelligence Service or Security Service, or anyone else for that matter, so I must be doing something wrong. Come on, be a man, state your accusations outright rather than hiding behind insinuations, so I can humiliate you with my rebuffal.

[CastleJohn]

Originally Posted by cotdt

MA 10.2 is a bit laid back on the upper mids and highs.

If by "laid back" you simply mean lower SPL compared to lower down the frequency spectrum, that doesn't bother me. What upsets me is a spiky response full of high peaks and low troughs. I usually find speakers too pronounced at the top end, so "laid back" might be a good thing for me if I understand you correctly.

John.

[CastleJohn]

Originally Posted by Scottmoose

I wasn't aware I was a 'secret agent.' How interesting. I haven't recieved a paycheck from the Secret Intelligence Service or Security Service, or anyone else for that matter, so I must be doing something wrong. Come on, be a man, state your accusations outright rather than hiding behind insinuations, so I can humiliate you with my rebuffal.

I think what the good fellow means is that the voices which dominate this forum are pushing their wares and therefore need to be taken with a pinch of salt. The whole point of diyAudio is for *amateurs* to share ideas and opinions.

Furthermore, Scottmoose, it was your advice originally that led me to build a pair of Saburos with FE126 drivers, a project which took up a huge amount of my time and yet ended up with me selling them on ebay for less than the cost of the parts. I don't hold anything against you, but it would be nice to hear more from amateurs, including their opinions, which let's face it, is what we're asking for, isn't it?

[CastleJohn]

Originally Posted by DYNABLASTERTUNERS

For emotion in vocals I would not use metal cones, because it does everything right almost textbook, but no emotion and naturality, it's rather sterile and clinic, for electro and techno okay, but for vocals not.

Yes I've heard this said before, in respect of metal tweeters. But it means nothing unless you can say which particular drivers you're commenting on. Unless you're prepared to tell us, you shouldn't have bothered posting.

[DYNABLASTERTUNERS]

I think it's obvious, but okay, Alpair 7 metalcone is clinical driver that does everything right but without emotion, for example Tang Band polypropilene cone is way better in that field, and I would everytime prefer this polypropilene W5 over Alpair metalcone, but in this forum you will hear from the same persons almost always hyperhyping MA(and bashing TB and almost everything else), and that is what bothers me, and not just me... and there are so many other drivers that are superb, especially for 1000$...

this is now way offtopic, so I will stop here.

[Scottmoose]

Originally Posted by CastleJohn

I think what the good fellow means is that the voices which dominate this forum are pushing their wares and therefore need to be taken with a pinch of salt. The whole point of diyAudio is for *amateurs* to share ideas and opinions.

I wasn't aware I sold any drivers. How interesting.

Furthermore, Scottmoose, it was your advice originally that led me to build a pair of Saburos with FE126 drivers, a project which took up a huge amount of my time and yet ended up with me selling them on ebay for less than the cost of the parts. I don't hold anything against you, but it would be nice to hear more from amateurs, including their opinions, which let's face it, is what we're asking for, isn't it?

The design is free. The advice (you'll have to remind me) is freely given, based on the information provided. People take it or ignore it as they wish. I certainly get nothing out of it, nor do I make any guarantees about whether people like anything I do or not. Many do. Some don't. That's life. I'm slightly mystified why you think somebody should hold something against me for that. Incidentally, I'm an amateur too, but I'll happily cease attempting to help people on the forum as far as I can if you think that will be of greater benefit.

[Scottmoose]

Originally Posted by DYNABLASTERTUNERS

I think it's obvious, but okay, Alpair 7 metalcone is clinical driver that does everything right but without emotion, for example Tang Band polypropilene cone is way better in that field, and I would everytime prefer this polypropilene W5 over Alpair metalcone, but in this forum you will hear from the same persons almost always hyperhyping MA(and bashing TB and almost everything else), and that is what bothers me, and not just me... and there are so many other drivers that are superb, especially for 1000$...

this is now way offtopic, so I will stop here.

The W5-1611SA is a nice driver; I regularly point to it as a good jack of all trades wideband unit. I haven't heard the ferrite magnet SAF they've had to introduce since the price of neodymium rocketed, but I'd anticipate broadly similar results as the spec. is largely the same.

You'll have to quantify 'emotion' since it doesn't mean anything technically. What do you mean by 'emotion', and what aspects of drive unit behaviour are responsible for its changing performance? You can't just point to a metal cone and say 'that doesn't have "emotion" but a cone of x material does.' You could just as easily state 'all plastic cone drivers quack like a duck.' That's twaddle too. It doesn't work that way. What metals (and other materials) are we talking about having xyz characteristics? What cone profiles, and how do these affect the behaviour of the various materials? What suspension and motor designs and how they affect it in turn? What FR, distortion performance and characteristics have a bearing on our individual preferences?

[thunk303]

I have built and use really decent sounding OB's, ported MTM and a small commercial bookshelf speaker. BUT, my A7.3's (with a cheap 10w Class D amp connected to my PC) still do more right than any of my others systems.

I have no idea why and my multiways (15"-6"-1") have room for improvement, but every time I turn on my 7.3 TL's I just want to listen to more music (of any type). Also, I am still surprised by how much bass the 7.3's produce, but more so by how well they produce it. I think my best description would be cohesiveness?

As a last note, for the price, the 7.3's will give years of enjoyment so even if they get bought and replaced at some point, they will make a fantastic second system.

Best of luck.
Dean

[Bob Brines]

Originally Posted by DYNABLASTERTUNERS

Yes it's my opinion, not influenced or biased at all... I'm not an "secret" agent like you two, everyone in this forum knows that because it's more than obvious, and it's more than annoying... nothing personal, but everything has its toleration limits.

You can now degrade and negate this statement in multiple ways, but the truth stays, and you know it.

Of course Dave and Scott are hawking their wares. So do I. There are others who have vested interests in their opinions. You learn the players and read through any vested interests and find the real information. I am interested in learning and passing on my expertise.

No one is going to get upset over a statement of honest opinion. However, if your intent is to punish or light off a pi$$ing contest, than that is another matter.

Bob