Affordable, good and *available* full range drivers?

[navin]

what do you guys consider fullrange? 100-20k at 90db min acorss the entire range?

 

[falcott]

Re: FE206E ML TL

The FE206E (and 208E) has already been designed.

http://www.quarter-wave.com/Project05/Project05.html

Thanks for the link, but I was thinking of building Voigt Pipes. Can anyone provide dimensions & details about using the FE206E with them?

 

[rcavictim]

what do you guys consider fullrange? 100-20k at 90db min acorss the entire range?

For a small driver ~80-100 to 15K qualifies in my book. The sensitivity has nothing to do with range but will affect distortion and definitely matters if the goal is a single driver speaker to run off a low power tube amp. For this application I like to see better than 95 dB.

A larger 12" FR would not be FR to me if it didn't go down to 40 Hz.

 

[Nuuk]

A larger 12" FR would not be FR to me if it didn't go down to 40 Hz.

Don't try one on an open baffle then!

 

[navin]

For a small driver ~80-100 to 15K qualifies in my book.... For this application I like to see better than 95 dB....A larger 12" FR would not be FR to me if it didn't go down to 40 Hz.

so this really means mostly 4" or larger drivers. the smaller "widerange" drivers I know cant do 95db at 100hz. are not larger drivers prone to beaming?

 

[polsol]

Just my tuppence worth but what ever happened to the Altai drive units as were used in the Kappellmeister DIY loudspeaker? Are they still available or, more to the point, were they any good?

Regards,

 

[jomor]

Check this too

http://home.new.rr.com/zaph/audio/audio-speaker11.html

 

[Timn8ter]

I have just found a spreadsheet on the web for calculating Pipe dimensions.

Please be aware that the Excel spreadsheet based on Weems criteria is not accurate. You'll get much better results from learning to use MJK's MathCAD worksheet.

 

[Nelson Pass]

Re: Pioneer full range

Which Pioneer driver are you refering too and where is it available?

Taht would be the BU20FU20-51F, and it's available from
Parts express, although you can also check MCM and Madisound.

More information is available on the article on www.firstwatt.com

 

[rcavictim]

so this really means mostly 4" or larger drivers. the smaller "widerange" drivers I know cant do 95db at 100hz. are not larger drivers prone to beaming?

Drivers that can do 95 dB at below 100 Hz are very hard to find I think. The output on most drivers drops like a stone below about 150-200Hz. The manufacturers use 'averaged SPL' at 1w/1m between the range limits to get a better sensitivity specification that can be misleading when expecting good output at the lowest octaves IME.

HF beaming is bad on some large drivers and makes them unsuitable for FR operation. Besides beaming is the doppler distortion issue of the bass moving the HF source towards and away from the listener. Some of the drivers in 12" size from makers like EV or Jensen from the Golden Age in the 50's/60's I have had a chance to play with offer high efficiency and are claimed to be full range. They do not have a significant beaming problem and the doppler is also acceptably low. Wizzer cones were often employed and I think cone profiles and stiffness were used to advantage as well. I wish the best of these vintage FR speakers with efficiencies in the high 90's were being manufactured today. They can be just the thing for low power tube amp applications, the reason they were designed some 50 years ago.

I've found commercial sound reinforcement drivers tend to have higher sensitivity specs but don't tend to go low enough for home use in the 12" and 15" sizes. An Fs of 55 Hz on a 15" driver is not good for nice low bass. There are of course exceptions.

 

[Bricolo]

you can't have a very light cone and a low Fs

 

[johninCR]

RCA,

While you're forming the manufacturers' wish list for high efficiency, full range drivers, please tell them to include some with higher Qts. FR drivers suitable for OB is a very short list indeed. I know of only the Pioneer BU20 and the Supravox, and the Pioneer doesn't have a high enough sensitivity. Are there any other good ones to add to the list?

 

[Variac]

An Fs of 55 Hz on a 15" driver is not good for nice low bass. There are of course exceptions.

Yup , there are quite a few that go down to around 40hz.
That really does work pretty well for home audio

 

[Swedish Chef]

Yup , there are quite a few that go down to around 40hz.

JBL 2235 and 2215 comes to mind. Both are pretty hard to beat in the LF department. 2205/2225/2226 will not go that deep but offer awesome midbass and are plenty enough for all but the most demanding home systems IMO.

/Magnus

 

[johninCR]

Magnus,

Does JBL make any wide range or full range drivers that are available to DIYers?

 

[MIKET]

Let me add 1 more to the list

The Eminence BETA 12 LT, here are the specs.
Nominal Basket Diameter 12", 304.8mm
Impedance 8 ohms
Power Rating 225Wrms
Resonance 45Hz
Usable Frequency Range 45Hz - 8kHz
Sensitivity 99dB

Thiele-Small Parameters
Resonant Frequency (fs)45Hz
Impedance (Re)7.37 ohms
Coil Inductance (Le)0.83mH
Electromagnetic Q (Qes)0.55
Mechanical Q (Qms)6.44
Total Q (Qts)0.51

I have used this driver in a 5 cu ft. enclosure with a super tweeter FT17H crossed over at 9Khz, sound good in a large room, doesn't work well in a small room.

 

[ScottG]

with a gainclone and a pipe I'd stop at this driver..

Veravox 5x

http://www.boxen-baustelle.de/de/dept_57.html

Flat freq. response through-out the mids with an excellent CSD (decay-rate).

 

[rcavictim]

Re: Let me add 1 more to the list

The Eminence BETA 12 LT, here are the specs.
Nominal Basket Diameter 12", 304.8mm
Impedance 8 ohms
Power Rating 225Wrms
Resonance 45Hz
Usable Frequency Range 45Hz - 8kHz
Sensitivity 99dB

Thiele-Small Parameters
Resonant Frequency (fs)45Hz
Impedance (Re)7.37 ohms
Coil Inductance (Le)0.83mH
Electromagnetic Q (Qes)0.55
Mechanical Q (Qms)6.44
Total Q (Qts)0.51

I have used this driver in a 5 cu ft. enclosure with a super tweeter FT17H crossed over at 9Khz, sound good in a large room, doesn't work well in a small room.

Yes Miket,

This is one of the exceptions i could not think of that I'd really like to try. I think this is the one Mike Hammer uses in his popular Hammer Dynamics custom.

 

[JVA]

Falcott
creative sound salutions which is headquartered in the same town I live,has an up and coming 4 inch which can be used fullrange or in linearrays.
I heard these drivers in a small vented Griffith type closure and sounded exl.
should be out soon.

 

[MIKET]

Beta 12LT

Price is reasonable for the Beta 12 LT.
Parts Express has them for a good price.
I would recomend a box made with at least 1 1/4" thick walls and lots of bracing.
The driver can move a lot of air and that can make cabinet design a bit fussy.
I belive a TL would work nice with this driver.