which of these drivers would you recommend?

[piro]

well yes, I'm building a 2-way system, and, having chosen my tweeter, I'm now looking at midranges/woofers.
So I narrowed it down to three:
Audax HM170G8 *link* (47.5 $)
Seas L18RNX *link* (67 $)
Vifa P17WJ/P17SJ (not much difference) *link* and *link* (40 $)

So? What say you?

Btw, the tweeter is Vifa DXT25.

[5th element]

What is the tweeter?

[piro]

DX25TG
and *link*

[5th element]

Man was I a complete idiot and not see what you'd said at the bottom i had just woken up but thats no excuse

Well with that tweeter your not going to be limited using any of the driver with regards to one of them needing a suitably low xover.

The first of the two vifas is marginally easier to work with with regards to xover work. If you dont have any measureing programs etc then that ones the choice out of those two.

The audax is between the two vifas with workability, but all in all, all three are quite easy to use.

The Seas driver is gonna be much harder to deal with then the other two unless you have good measuring equipment and simulation software. It has the potential to be the best out of the bunch but only if used correctly.

For a novice id suggest the first vifa, for someone with experience the seas alu cone.

[Bose(o)]

I'd go with either the P17WJ or the Audax driver, have you looked at their HD-A models?

[piro]

So the best driver sound-wize is the seas?
I don't have any equiptment but all there is to do is set the xover point as far away from that bump as possible, ain't it so?
Another thing, what did you mean by "alu cone"?
and which is next best sounding driver? not in terms of workability but in sound quality.

[5th element]

workability and sound quality go hand in hand. If you can work the drivers well then they will sound better. As I said the before the Seas alu (aluminium coned driver, this is why you get the nasty peak at about 10khz, stiff driver = resonance at some frequency like a tuning fork) has the potential to sound the best IMO, but only if you use it correctly. If you dont then it wont sound as good as it could. The other drivers will give better results with less then perfect crossovers

Also id recommend reading something about loudspeakers before you actually go ahead and make anything.

Bafflestep is one issue you will need to look out for which I wont discuss because its been talked to death already so do a search here or on google.

[TNT]

Hi!

Check this project which seems to be well appreciated - they choose Vifa PL18WO09-08.

It's in swedish but You can probably pick up some info:

http://www.hififorum.nu/artiklar/hfls1/del2/part2.html

happy hunting /

[TheoM]

There is something to be said for a driver that does not need a lot of tweeking in the crossover. The deeper you cut with filter (crossover) elements the more secondary issues arise. My point is that all things being equal (which I know they are not) that if you can get close to flat with a very simple crossover you are better off than absolutely flat with a high order crossover and a bunch of notch filters etc.

... just one man's opinion...

[Zaph]

Hello,

I just posted a design using the good ol' Vifa P17. You can get a pretty good 4th order rolloff using only a few components on it.


Vifa Classic Combo

Sound quality wise, any Seas metal cone driver is going to be a large improvement on the Vifa P17.

A word about the Seas H1224 - You can't have it. . It's not available anywhere. You can have the H1142 however. Both are L18RNXP's but let it be known that the H1142 is the lesser of the two. The breakup node is a lot lower, making this woofer only work well with very low crossover points. I don't think one can be substituted for the other either.

I've been checking around and never really found out why nobody sells the H1224, but I suspect the H1142 underwent some improvements and will not be replaced until current stock is depleted. If anyone can actually get their hands on the H1224 somewhere, let us know. I've been looking for one. Or at least fill us in with the real story, as I'm unsure of all of this.