That's always what I thought too, needless expense for little if any benefit. As I'm sure you're aware, Tang Band has just released a new line of high end FR drivers with ceramic magnets. It would be interesting to compare them.
If you like the CHR, consider the 10.3 in bookshelf reflex cabinets. I'm using a pair for my bedroom speakers and they are very nice. The sound is unsurprisingly somewhat akin to the CHR70, but more detailed and neutral. They are a little more laid back, and a little more directional, and they can make better bass with in a basic reflex box.
You know what is even more statistically insignificant? One person's opinion.
I would not be so certain that drivers with different types of magnets but the same cone/basket/surround perform exactly the same. From my own testing there are both good and bad TB motor designs using ferrite and neo magnets*, though I have never tested a pair of TB drivers which used the same cone/basket/surround with different types of magnet in their motors. The only test i've done like that was the Vifa TC6FD (ferrite) and TC6FC (neo) and there were significant differences in both linear and non-linear performance - it is also obvious that the motors are completely different architectures and not simply a different type of magnet substituted into the same design. I'm no expert but i'm pretty sure that even for TB drivers that use the same cone/basket/surround, there are differences between the motors other than the size and type of magnet used.
*My personal ranking of motor performance of TB 3" (subjective opinion based on my own objective measurement data)
W3-1878 (neo) - excellent
W3-1364 (neo) - good/excellent
W3-1335 (neo) - average
W3-2141 (ferrite) - excellent
W3-315E (ferrite) - average/poor
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+1.
The A10.x variants also perform impressively in MLTL alignments, which have a far smaller footprint vs the FH-XL (which is very good too).
If you intend to use one driver full range, then I wouldn't recommend getting something smaller than the one you have now. Markaudio drivers are known for their class leading bass performance, possibly no other full range driver provides as much bass from a given sized driver. Going smaller will almost surely disappoint when it is not getting help from a woofer. Beware though that the sound from one MA driver isn't necessarily similar to that of another one. I own metal coned Alpairs and paper coned ones. They are quite different, I have been satisfied with the metal cones for some years, but the paper cones don't work for me. So if at all possible, try to listen to them for yourself before buying. Your taste may well be different than mine.
The tests that XRK did are a good starting point, but they are done with the full range driver as MF/HF driver in a FAST. Although his tests give an idea of the mid and high frequency behavior of the tested drivers, they do not reveal how they (mis)behave when asked to perform full range. But things are never going to get better by asking more from a driver, so if you like a driver from his tests, it might work for you. If you don't like a driver from his tests, it probably won't work for you. Now if you also consider a FAST (do you?) then the tests are fully representative to your situation. However, there are more drivers you can buy than XRK is able to test, so don't limit your considerations to his selection.
The tests that XRK did are a good starting point, but they are done with the full range driver as MF/HF driver in a FAST. Although his tests give an idea of the mid and high frequency behavior of the tested drivers, they do not reveal how they (mis)behave when asked to perform full range. But things are never going to get better by asking more from a driver, so if you like a driver from his tests, it might work for you. If you don't like a driver from his tests, it probably won't work for you. Now if you also consider a FAST (do you?) then the tests are fully representative to your situation. However, there are more drivers you can buy than XRK is able to test, so don't limit your considerations to his selection.
It should be noted that the Alpair 7p that timpert had is not of the same character as the other MA paper cones. I was expecting the same kind of character relative to the metal cones as exists betwen the metal 10 and the paper 10 or the metal 6 vrs the paper 6 but this is far from the case… a bit of a disappointment to me, but some are happy with them. It as if the metal 7 has the character of a paper, and the paper 7 fits the stereotype of a metal (which the Alpair metals do not)
dave
The A7P indeed seems to be an oddball driver, which is not in line with the expectations that the other drivers from MA might give you. One more reason to listen to X's samples from round 3, I had no trouble picking my driver from the lot (I won't tell which one it is though, that will be revealed in two days) and I can confirm that the sound I heard through my headphones quite well matched with what I heard from them at home. Although this is only anecdotal, I think this vouches for the quality of XRK's tests.
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