2 way speakers - 6.5" or 10" driver?

[jrhilton]

Here is a quick question for everyone, is it possible to make a good quality 2 way speaker using a 10” driver instead of the ‘classic’ choice of a 6” / 6.5” driver with tweeter. Lots of people on the internet say it’s very difficult because a 10” driver gives poor sound dispersion and hence is very difficult to get a clear and wide stereo-image, compared to a 6.5” driver. Yet lots of 10” drivers have some impressive specs…….(lets forget problems such as the extra enclosure size that is necessary!!)

Anyone any opinions about using a 10” driver as apposed to the classic choice of 6.5”, has anyone had any success using a 10” driver in a two way design?

[Mr Evil]

I have made some 2-way speakers with very large woofers before. Dispersion is definitely something you need to consider, but depending on how you like your speakers to sound, it need not be a problem.

With narrower dispersion, you will hear more direct sound and less reflected sound. This tends to make the large woofers sound darker and less airy than smaller ones. This may be considered bad, but on the other hand it reduces the room's influence on the sound.

Nevertheless you still need to choose a lower than normal crossover point, which makes it hard to find a tweeter that will cover a wide enough bandwidth.

[SY]

The problem is not the narrow dispersion per se; the problem is what happens in the crossover region as you transition from a driver with narrowing dispersion to the tweeter, which will (by virtue of its geometry) have wider dispersion. Get the on-axis response right and the reverberant energy will be wrong.

[bhg41088]

What about a Horn tweeter?

[SY]

Well, you'll want to pay close attention to what the dispersion is on your proposed baffle at crossover and at an octave above and below. I'm the wrong one to give advice here, though, since I dislike the sound of most horn tweeters.

[5th element]

Get the on-axis response right and the reverberant energy will be wrong.

Surely though, if the bass driver has off axis performance to keep up with the xover point specified then this wont be a problem?

You would only get a problem if the bass driver would go up to 1000hz off axis but up to 3000hz on and you xovered at 3000hz?

[jrhilton]

Mr Evil, SY, many thanks for the info, it’s made me think twice of going down the large driver rout, I think I may stick with the 6.5” option, for the time being anyway…thanks again!

[SY]

jr, I think that's wise. It's a common commercial format and it's gotten to be so for a reason.

5th, the problem is geometry- no conventional 10" driver will have good off-axis response at frequencies where it's practical to cross over to a normal tweeter. Now, if you can use a tweeter that works well at 1kHz, you've got options. But the vast majority don't; 3K is about as low as you'd want to take most 1" domes.

[Kensai]

How would an OB configuration affect the problems with the larger woofer? I'm using 8" woofer in my small baffles and I dont' think I'm having any of these issues, but then again, it is still a pretty small driver (and I am considering finding some larger ones to try grabbing an extra .5 to 1 octave response at the bottom (I'm down 3db about 45hz and probably more like 12 at 35hz).

Also, for mating a tweeter, why not go planar, like a BG Neo 3 or 8 or a scavenged Monsoon satellite? They all have fairly narrow dispersion (except the PDR versions of the BG Neos, though that's mainly in the high freqs with dispersion widening as the frequency rises) and will go relatively low (the BG Neos are listed at PE down to 2khz, but BG's spec sheets show designs using them down into the 500-700hz range; Monsoon satellites from the last generation made go down into the low 200s before rolling off, which they do steeply, only presenting anything audible down to 180hz before just not responding at all in my testing, though I have fed them a fairly high level 20hz signal directly without damaging them in the slightest, so they could be run full with just a coil on your large woofer).

Just some thoughts . . .

Kensai

[Salas]

I would use a Volt 10 inch along with a B&C DE65 in B&C ME10 horn. Then hook up a 2A3 Amp. Bliss.