Dual concentric?

[Tony.ca]

Hi guys,

What are these dual concentric drivers and why are they so expensive? tannoy makes them I think.where can I find more information about this kind of drivers.

Thanx,

tony.

[Nuuk]

The tweeter is placed at the centre of the main driver so the point source of both drivers is the same.

If you don't want to buy Tannoy, Eminence sell drivers that can be made into dual-concentrics by screwing in a tweeter module.

[Cal Weldon]

Another name for dual concentric is Coaxial.

Selenium makes a couple as well.
12 and 15

Cal

[Cal Weldon]

The linking still doesn't work for me. If you're looking for info, Google it.

Cal

[Brett]

Dual concentrics are made by (new and/or vintage), and in the order that I remember them,

Tannoy
Selenium
P.Audio
Fane
PHL
Radian
McCauley
Eminence
Beyma
SEAS
EV
BMS

as well as a few others I don't recall that this point in time.
I have owned, and still own some Tannoys, have some EV's on the way, and have heard a few of the others. If you buy a newer one, get a big Pro driver, with a seperate HF section so you can pick what you want to use. For 1", I'd go Beyma CP380M.

[dwk123]

Brett, any opinion on whether any of the current batch of pro coax driver can come close to the magical Tannoy experience? (Leaving aside things like the McCauleys which are expensive enough that you'd just get the Tannoys anyway). The P-Audio cones look good, but I'm less sure of the compression drivers. I've heard good things about the Radians too.

Also Brett - on a slightly different coaxial note, are you still using the BMS 4590's? I've been playing with some Unity style projects, but I'm starting to think that a 4590 in a round Tractrix or maybe a Geddes style elliptical OS horn would be a more straightforward way to go. Do you think they can hit say 400Hz in a Tractrix for low-power domestic use?


To the original poster, you probably need to distinguish between coaxial drivers in general and the Tannoy dual-concentric drivers specifically. The Tannoy drivers and speakers are expensive largely because they've earned their way to the top of the 'food chain', and command a premium price. Tannoy does make 'dual concentric' studio monitors at a much lower price point, but they aren't seen as having the same magic as the high-efficiency paper cone units. the Adire HE series projects based on the Eminence coax drivers are regarded to be pretty darn good for the money, if you're looking for a taste of the technology.

[Brett]

Originally posted by dwk123
Brett, any opinion on whether any of the current batch of pro coax driver can come close to the magical Tannoy experience? (Leaving aside things like the McCauleys which are expensive enough that you'd just get the Tannoys anyway).

Not experinced enough with the current 'new' drivers to comment with any authority. But by the sound of the one McCauley I've come across, if the SQ translated to the DC's as well, I'm not sure the Tannoys would even go close to winning. I've used some of the P.Audio DC's in boxes other people have designed for foldback etc only, so no idea what they'd sound like in a domestic setup.

Tannoys are not 'magical' to me. they're good, and better than a lot of stuff out there, but a mystique seems to have surrounded them, and in most of the instances I've heard them, it's not warranted. The Alnico Red and Gold series are the best to my ears, with the earlier mud-magnet 3828's not being far behind. I've not liked any othe other's I've ever heard, except the Westminster TW amd the TD10.

The P-Audio cones look good, but I'm less sure of the compression drivers. I've heard good things about the Radians too.

I've used a couple of the P.Audios in MI and PA setups and they've been OK. We have some SMB10's coming and I might try them to see what they sound like in a hifi setup if I get the chance. The 440/450 series compression drivers are quite good for the money, but still Ti diaphrams which I don't like much domestically.

Also Brett - on a slightly different coaxial note, are you still using the BMS 4590's? I've been playing with some Unity style projects, but I'm starting to think that a 4590 in a round Tractrix or maybe a Geddes style elliptical OS horn would be a more straightforward way to go. Do you think they can hit say 400Hz in a Tractrix for low-power domestic use?

They can do 400Hz domestically in a 270Hz flare round trax, and in the Aria hypex. Sound pretty good, but when I get back home next year, I'm going to try a 500Hz flare (340Hz flare rate) like the Edgars as I feel this might give a more even balance, especially in the top end.

I got an email last week which I think was from you (now I've seen this post) asking about the 4590's, but I accidentally deleted it before I could reply and I couldn't remember your name and moniker. Ping me again if I can help further with these.
I'm also very interested in what you're doind with the Unities, as this is the next area I want to try with horns. that and conical mids, except they're so damn big.

To the original poster, you probably need to distinguish between coaxial drivers in general and the Tannoy dual-concentric drivers specifically. The Tannoy drivers and speakers are expensive largely because they've earned their way to the top of the 'food chain', and command a premium price.

I tink they're expensive because they were about all that was available for a long time, and they developed a cult status in Asia, which drove the prices up, especially as they're not that common.

Tannoy does make 'dual concentric' studio monitors at a much lower price point, but they aren't seen as having the same magic as the high-efficiency paper cone units.

The DMT215 - II is reputed to be a killer speaker, if a bit ugly.

[djdan]

PAudio have a wide range of very good coaxial speaker . I like BM series becouse are cheap but the sound is clean and similar with other brand-name drivers . A good point is the quality of the titanium membrane , very light and very strong . Even it will be used at low frequencies ( 1200Hz ) the sound is clean and without distorsion .

I've made a project with a coaxial loudspeaker - PAUDIO BM-12CXA .
http://www.difuzoare.ro/modules.php?...=article&sid=4
( Sorry , only in romanian language ! )

It is very cheap project and the performances are incredible .

[dnsey]

The special (unique?) feature of Tannoy DCs is that they are supposedly phase-coherent. The 'origin' of both HF and LF is in the same plane, unlike many coax drivers which have separate HF and LF motors.

[usekgb]

The Tannoy's have seperatee motors as well. The "Dual Concentric" is basically a fancy way of saying coaxial. The HF section is horn loaded through a small flare, which comes out of the middle of the LF section where the dust cap would be. Tannoy makes some really nice, well engineered stuff. I've been playing around with an Eminence Beta co-ax with a B&C DE-25 mounted to it, but haven't been able to make it sound as sweet as the Tannoy System 10 studio monitors.

Cheers,
Zach