which is driver better?

[mondogenerator]

right i have two sets of loudspeakers i have built:

1)
audax ap130zo, HDA 5 inch midbass driver and audax tw25f3

19l sbb4 alignment

and...

2) visaton al130 and gc20

design in progress

Comnparing the two sets, in temp boxes at least, the visatons have better low end bass and the tweeter is far superior, but i recently noticed that some VERY low bass sounds better defined from the audax's(or at least i think it does)

since the resonaance of the audax is about 57hz and the visaton is 40hz i was surprised. i put it down to one of two things: either the lower moving mass and lesser max of the audax contribute to better defdinition, OR: the audax has higher harmonic distortion resulting in a seemingly elevated low response.

I wonder if anyone has any opinions on both(or either) of these drivers, or their distortion figures, if indeed these are all that important or audible..
Thanks Greg]

[richie00boy]

What is the tuning frequency in each case? Is the Visaton box also 19 litres?

[mondogenerator]

tuning on the audax set up is sbb4...umm i think around 55 hz

and tuning on the visaton is 45hz

both designed for maximally flat response, although the audax sbb4 alignment is tuned at Fs it just so happened to be pretty close to flat anyway due to the Qts of the driver, visaton is tuned a little higher than Fs.

Anyone used these drivers? opinions on either or both....someone has top be out there that has tested and/or used both these midbass drivers at some point? surely ? lol

theyre really both pretty good set ups, maybe not 'audiophile' as such but as near as youll get for the money

[Mario Pankov]

I do not have any experience with Audax drivers, although some look quite well built for the price. I have listened to a few projects with the Al-series and especially the Al130 ( I have never heard the Al130M version ).
What I did like is the resolution and clarity of this driver. It has a very good price/performance ratio, Visaton has the most advanced sound test lab in Europe. When compared to a Seas Excel driver, the Visaton sounds warmer and I would prefer it over the Seas. The manufacturer`s freq. response is quite smooth for a metal cone driver and does not match with the real freq. response of this driver - yes it has a quite strong breakup of about 9db, it starts at aprox. 5Khz. I have listened to a MTM config. with two of these and a visaton tweeter, the tweeter was screaming like a pig but this was due to a crossover mistake. Overall i would expect a very nice performing speaker for a reasonable price.

[Shaun]

About maximally flat response: depending on in-room placement, this can result in a final response (native response plus boundary reinforcment) that has a bump around the bass region. This could explain the perceived better bass definition of the Audax vs the Visaton. The loudspeaker that extends lower is more susceptible over its bandwidth than the one which has a higher low-end roll-off.

[mondogenerator]

Originally Posted by Shaun

About maximally flat response: depending on in-room placement, this can result in a final response (native response plus boundary reinforcment) that has a bump around the bass region. This could explain the perceived better bass definition of the Audax vs the Visaton. The loudspeaker that extends lower is more susceptible over its bandwidth than the one which has a higher low-end roll-off.

ok well ta guys...

as the visaton has a moving mass of something like 15g if i recall correctly and the audax more like 10g i personally prefer the bass response of the AL130 and the definition is good,but i have to say that with the correct crossover and if a F3 of 55Hz is acceptable that the now unavailable audax AP130Zo(HDA cone) has inproved resolution of reproduction, albeit with a raised 'average' mid range response due to very smoothly controlled breakup...which a very low low q notch (say -2 or 3 d[B])could solve. the only thing i DONT like about the audax is the polymer chassis(although its very non resonant) and the high(ish) Fs.

The 200mm AP200ZO ws probably the most agile 8" bass driver i have heard, but also is unavailable to buy anymore and sadly has the same polymer chassis.

Its a shame audax has ceased production, there really was no higher priceerformance ratio to compete with audax, the HDA cones really are high definition, beyond paper for strength and very close in weight.


unfortunately i have one HDA driver with a damaged cone i had to repair with araldite!!

If anyone has any of these in the UK and they want to sell them...PM me lol

[richie00boy]

I just so happen to have a single AP210Z0 spare... still boxed. Yours for £25 delivered.

[mondogenerator]

Originally Posted by richie00boy

I just so happen to have a single AP210Z0 spare... still boxed. Yours for £25 delivered.

tempting...though was really after a AP130Zo ...but ta anyway