seas or scan speak

dejo · 12th June 2004, 10:01 PM

I once again have a question for those of you much more in the know than myself.
I am considering building a 2.5 way or mtm (no great preference) but am considering the scan 8945 or the seas w18e001 or w17e001. Do any of you have hands on experience with these drivers and how does the bass and mids compare with each other. Also is it worth the extra money over the regular vifa pl series and seas normal line. any advise is greatly appreciated.

Jay · 13th June 2004, 09:28 AM

I don't have enough experience with these large diameter expensive drivers but from listening observation the SS have a 'better' bass while the Seas have 'better' mid.

The point is, it is not a matter of which driver, but a matter of which design. And may be preference. To my preference, any of those drivers can achieve equal bass quality down to 40Hz depends on the design so if I have to design the speaker myself I will choose the Seas.

Is it worth the extra money over the regular PL? Hmm... I believe that in the right hands it should. (At least I know that I'm not yet at the end of the world)

Petter · 13th June 2004, 07:02 PM

Is it worth the extra money?
Yes, definitely. Particularly if you are only building a few. For a large manufacturer, probably not as evidenced by taking a look at pretty much any of the crap out there.

My understanding is that the Seas has a stiffer cone which can potentially lead to lower distortion. However, it does suffer from some pretty serious breakup in the upper end and if you are using standard analog crossover, it is harder for you to take that into account (probably need some sort of extra filter, take a look at the reference designs which I belive Seas offers).

The ScanSpeak units are also very high quality. Perhaps I like them better for historical reasons (I got started with SS first), or perhaps it is because they offer more models which allowed me to put find units more suited to the old concrete cabinet I had ...

Having said this, it should be clear to you that both units are capable of exquisite performance, and it is more likely that you will want to choose based on which other units you are connecting to. With a ScanSpeak, perhaps it would be wise to consider a complementary SS tweeter or perhaps a Focal unit? For the Seas, perhaps you want to stay within the same family or go for a ribbon tweeter from Orca or equivalent?

Good luck!

Petter

12th June 2004, 10:01 PM	#1
dejo diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: arkansas	seas or scan speak I once again have a question for those of you much more in the know than myself. I am considering building a 2.5 way or mtm (no great preference) but am considering the scan 8945 or the seas w18e001 or w17e001. Do any of you have hands on experience with these drivers and how does the bass and mids compare with each other. Also is it worth the extra money over the regular vifa pl series and seas normal line. any advise is greatly appreciated.

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13th June 2004, 09:28 AM	#2
Jay diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jakarta	I don't have enough experience with these large diameter expensive drivers but from listening observation the SS have a 'better' bass while the Seas have 'better' mid. The point is, it is not a matter of which driver, but a matter of which design. And may be preference. To my preference, any of those drivers can achieve equal bass quality down to 40Hz depends on the design so if I have to design the speaker myself I will choose the Seas. Is it worth the extra money over the regular PL? Hmm... I believe that in the right hands it should. (At least I know that I'm not yet at the end of the world)

13th June 2004, 07:02 PM	#3
Petter diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Scandinavia	Is it worth the extra money? Yes, definitely. Particularly if you are only building a few. For a large manufacturer, probably not as evidenced by taking a look at pretty much any of the crap out there. My understanding is that the Seas has a stiffer cone which can potentially lead to lower distortion. However, it does suffer from some pretty serious breakup in the upper end and if you are using standard analog crossover, it is harder for you to take that into account (probably need some sort of extra filter, take a look at the reference designs which I belive Seas offers). The ScanSpeak units are also very high quality. Perhaps I like them better for historical reasons (I got started with SS first), or perhaps it is because they offer more models which allowed me to put find units more suited to the old concrete cabinet I had ... Having said this, it should be clear to you that both units are capable of exquisite performance, and it is more likely that you will want to choose based on which other units you are connecting to. With a ScanSpeak, perhaps it would be wise to consider a complementary SS tweeter or perhaps a Focal unit? For the Seas, perhaps you want to stay within the same family or go for a ribbon tweeter from Orca or equivalent? Good luck! Petter

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