4" (3.5"-5") high efficiency wanted please

[sumaudioguy]

Hello All-

Am searching for the 4" (3.5"-5") that will produce about 107dB or more on less than 50 watts from somewhere near 100Hz up to 3kHz or so. I have this old Panasonic 4" nominal that is 97dB for 1 watt with Fs of 80Hz and it will handle 10 watts RMS which is 107dB at 10 watts.

Does anyone know of anything like this or better out there? Two of us have been looking for days and best thing so far is this:

Atlas Sound - FC104

This Atlas will do 104dB on 10 watts which is the power limit for this driver. Would really like 110dB on 50 watts as a goal. 50 Watts is +17dB over the 1 watt rating so a 93dB sensitivity speaker handling 50 watts would work. Really want something more like 96dB for 1 watt and handling 50 watts. That is 113dB and really plenty loud.

Yes I know there are lots of about 4 inch drivers making about 90dB for 1 watt that will handle 100 watts or more but that is not what is needed. Low power consumption is critically important for this design so high efficiency drivers are needed.

Am trying to build a LOUD speaker. Have a 98dB woofer and a 96dB tweeter but have not found a midrange. Looked at hundreds of possibilities and not much so far. No horns or compression drivers will be used.

Here is the tweet and woof for those interested:
Vifa DX25TG09-04 1" Fabric Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com
Eminence Sigma Pro-18A-2 18" Cast Frame Driver | Parts-Express.com


There are so many here on DIY with so much experience maybe someone will be able help.

Thanks in advance for suggestion!

=SUM

[planet10]

>94 dB for a 4" is VERY rare (i don't recall seeing any that actually make that)

4", 97 dB and 80 Hz is a bit hard to believe.

dave

[badman]

Change your requirement to 300Hz- 3k and your goal is much more likely... but it's hard to cram that much sensitivity into a small driver like that, pro systems where efficiencies like these are found are usually 6.5" or 8"s for that range. MCM 55-1200 is about as likely as anything. Long since out of production.

[CLS]

Originally Posted by sumaudioguy

....

Am trying to build a LOUD speaker. Have a 98dB woofer and a 96dB tweeter but have not found a midrange.

.....

Then why 4" for mid?

Eminence has some 6" or 8" mids with very good reputation here (alpha-, beta-... etc.). I believe they can play louder and cleaner than 4".

And please note that the dome tweeter you choose is rated at 4 Ohm, thus the ultra-high voltage sensitivity. Converted to (wattage) efficiency, then it'd be 3 dB down and furthur away from the woofer

[ScottG]

The last 2.. (..well, in stock anyway.)

http://solen.ca/pub/cms_nf_catalogue...u2=15&niveau3=

[planet10]

Originally Posted by sumaudioguy

97dB for 1 watt

Vifa DX25TG09-04 1" Fabric Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com

Why the need for a mid that is 3.5 dB more efficient than the tweeter?

dave

[sumaudioguy]

The data sheet for the tweeter says 93.5dB for 2.83 volts and not 96.5dB as shown on the parts-express web page. Two errors, one theirs (typo) and one mine ( not checking more closely). There are other tweeters that are more efficient. If someone has a favorite high efficiency tweeter please link that also

That panasonic was very popular back in its day (~1979) and was rated 99dB but that was with more averaging than realistic. It turned out to be better represented by 97dB at 2.83 volts and 8 ohms. Lots of manufacturers used it. Very light carbon paper cone and 3/4" voice coil. An ideal speaker from a design point of view.

High efficiency is needed because only very low power is available with 50 watts being the biggest amplifier. Think solar powered audio!

ScottG- great link- thanks!

Cannot change the frequency range much, maybe as high as 150Hz for the bottom end but that would be about it. Lots of "midranges" start about 300Hz but will not work in this system, 1 woofer and 2 satellites.

Am barely considering a 6" but that gets kind of big and problematic for this particular design. Satellite size needs to be pretty small.

Thanks everyone- keep it coming.

=SUM

[spind]

If you can stretch it to 6" then AE Speakers has a couple new ones that may be of interest.

Steve.

[sumaudioguy]

5.25" is a lot more likely than 6" or greater.

[badman]

Originally Posted by ScottG

The last 2.. (..well, in stock anyway.)

Solen Electronique Inc.

I've used their big brother, which is a kicker mid, as dynamic as they come. But gee what a pricetag on this one!