Hi
i am starting a new open baffle project and am looking for an open baffle midrange with high efficiency that can cover
500-2000hz . i am considering running them naked AKA no baffle, possibly in a MTM configuration, so two midrange drivers would be used.
candidates i have read about so far are :
Audax PR170MO
great reputation , amazing efficiency , but ridiculous 0.5mm driver exursion (???)
PHL1120
looks good , 96db efficiency, 2mm xmax
B&C 6MD38, 96db , 2mm xmax
18sound 6ND430 92.5db , 2mm xmax
Acoustic Elegance TD6 Dipole 91db , 3mm xmax .
these are all 6.5" drivers as i think that size would suit the OB best , considring 1st dipole peak and the other drivers used.
smaller driver is also possible .
below the midrange i will fill in with two Acoustic Elegance TD15LO which play from 80 to 500hz but could go higher .the low bottom is covered by a boxed sub.
tweeter is Beyma TPL150 , at this time just with the open back , but i plan to either build a dipole horn/waveguide for it, or to purchase one that will shortly be available.
crossovers and correction will be done by a DEQX so high slopes and EQ is not a problem.
any experience and/or comparison and opinion about the mentioned drivers or others that fit the requirement is much appreciated .
Malcolm
i am starting a new open baffle project and am looking for an open baffle midrange with high efficiency that can cover
500-2000hz . i am considering running them naked AKA no baffle, possibly in a MTM configuration, so two midrange drivers would be used.
candidates i have read about so far are :
Audax PR170MO
great reputation , amazing efficiency , but ridiculous 0.5mm driver exursion (???)
PHL1120
looks good , 96db efficiency, 2mm xmax
B&C 6MD38, 96db , 2mm xmax
18sound 6ND430 92.5db , 2mm xmax
Acoustic Elegance TD6 Dipole 91db , 3mm xmax .
these are all 6.5" drivers as i think that size would suit the OB best , considring 1st dipole peak and the other drivers used.
smaller driver is also possible .
below the midrange i will fill in with two Acoustic Elegance TD15LO which play from 80 to 500hz but could go higher .the low bottom is covered by a boxed sub.
tweeter is Beyma TPL150 , at this time just with the open back , but i plan to either build a dipole horn/waveguide for it, or to purchase one that will shortly be available.
crossovers and correction will be done by a DEQX so high slopes and EQ is not a problem.
any experience and/or comparison and opinion about the mentioned drivers or others that fit the requirement is much appreciated .
Malcolm
I went from the PR170M0 to the 6ND430, both OB, at some point with the same baffle. No regrets. You can definitely push the 6ND lower on a narrow baffle. I too was looking at the PHL and B&C, but then I got a good deal on the 18Sound, so I went with that. I suspect any of these will work well. The B&C and 18Sound have been measured on Zaph's site, and AFAIR both measured pretty well.
Saurav thanks for the comparison.
dewardh , i am going active . picking the driver i like for performance reasons , well , that is what my thread is about .
i try to find out how the mentioned drivers perform .
efficiency is an important criteria for me and has an influence on performace , but is certainly not the only one.
practical experience with the mentioned drivers or others is what i am looking for.
bigfishe , Tannoy sells drivers ? do you have a link ?
why do you recommend them ?
dewardh , i am going active . picking the driver i like for performance reasons , well , that is what my thread is about .
i try to find out how the mentioned drivers perform .
efficiency is an important criteria for me and has an influence on performace , but is certainly not the only one.
practical experience with the mentioned drivers or others is what i am looking for.
bigfishe , Tannoy sells drivers ? do you have a link ?
why do you recommend them ?
What does "sensitivity" have to do with driver performance in an active system ? ? ?
thanks bigfishe , but i am not looking for a coax widebander .
high sensitivity has certainly something to do w/ driver performance for me .
if only in the choice of amps i can use,
and also related,
the resulting headroom that you get w/ higher efficiency that is needed for eq on open baffle .
with high efficiency i can use low power class A , or tube amps.
the other drivers i use are highly efficient.
i am still wondering what other people use for hi effi midrange or how the drivers i mentioned compare?
high sensitivity has certainly something to do w/ driver performance for me .
if only in the choice of amps i can use,
and also related,
the resulting headroom that you get w/ higher efficiency that is needed for eq on open baffle .
with high efficiency i can use low power class A , or tube amps.
the other drivers i use are highly efficient.
i am still wondering what other people use for hi effi midrange or how the drivers i mentioned compare?
Drivers on OB are almost always limited by excursion, while high excursion and high sensitivity are rarely found in the same driver (almost never with "quality' also thrown in). Not sure what you mean by "headroom" . . . max SPL, max excursion and required amplifier power are all inter-related and everything should be balanced . . . there is no point in having "extra" (headroom) of any one thing, as the system will still be limited elsewhere. What (and how much) are you willing to sacrafice in order to use antique amplifiers?
Picking a midrange for OB is very difficult. Most are not very symmetric when you compare radiation to the front and rear of the driver. If you can't measure them yourself, you should try to at least get accurate and detailed impedance measurements. You should look for a very clean impedance curve in the passband, because it appears to be a reasonable indicator of non-symmetric resonances.
Rigid cone drivers seem to do better in general. I am yet to encounter a paper cone driver that is usable up to about 1.5 khz.
Rigid cone drivers seem to do better in general. I am yet to encounter a paper cone driver that is usable up to about 1.5 khz.
Malcolm,
you should possibly include the Supravox 165 LB or even the Supravox 135 LB. While both are fullrange drivers, they combine 95 dB efficiency with 3 mm Xlin.
Rudolf
you should possibly include the Supravox 165 LB or even the Supravox 135 LB. While both are fullrange drivers, they combine 95 dB efficiency with 3 mm Xlin.
Rudolf
Malcolm,
You could also consider Beyma 8M70; these are midrange speaker with good efficiency (95 dB), good Qts for open baffle.
Excursion is limited (1mm) but for 500 Hz and higher this is plenty.
Actually I am building this set up right now: TPL150 with 8M60 (older type which I have four of) in MTM open baffle.
Two 8M's will get close to the efficiency of the TPL150.
These 8M's are very good looking drivers; good chassis, good roll surround, and frequency response looks very good in the data sheet.
Beyma specs are very reliable in my experience. Excellent quality for the price.
You could also consider Beyma 8M70; these are midrange speaker with good efficiency (95 dB), good Qts for open baffle.
Excursion is limited (1mm) but for 500 Hz and higher this is plenty.
Actually I am building this set up right now: TPL150 with 8M60 (older type which I have four of) in MTM open baffle.
Two 8M's will get close to the efficiency of the TPL150.
These 8M's are very good looking drivers; good chassis, good roll surround, and frequency response looks very good in the data sheet.
Beyma specs are very reliable in my experience. Excellent quality for the price.
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