PHL 1220 driver question

[woody]

I have been thinking about buying a pair of PHL 1220 0r 1230
mids and would like to know how they sound compaired to the
Audax Pr170zo. I would also like to hear from anyone who has taimed the Audax PR170zo harsh upper midrange.

Thanks in advance,


Woody AKA bob12345678

[Peter Daniel]

I have 4 pcs. of PHL 1230 which I bought almost 3 years ago, still didn't do anything about them. I was suggested by Kimon Bellas from Orca to get those drivers as a substitude for Triangles, which they stopped importing (and me having to order 6 voice coil kits for Triangles, untill finally I got 2 with proper alignment).

Somehow, Triangles seem to be better made, but still, they are double in price. People say good things about PHL and Kimon Bellas was quite excited when he was recommending them.

What tweeter are you planning to use?

[thylantyr]

What is the application? 2way, 3way, etc.

I've haven't tried the 1220 model,
but have tried the 1120 in which
case PHL claims it's the best sounding
6.5" PHL midrange and my ears seem to to agree that they sound nice - lol.

I also have a PHL 1660 which
has slightly better lower end midrange, higher power handling, but a tad less sound quality vs. 1120
but at times it's seem hard to distinguish between the two - lol

I also have PR170M0 which is a great midrange, maybe beating out the
1120 in sound quality by a hair,
but you sacrifice power handling, lower x-max, but it cost 1/2 the price of 1120 - lol

So which one did I chose for my 4 way? I used the PHL 2520 - lol
Why? 100db sensitivity, great low
end midrange, a perfect driver to
mate with SA8535 ribbon, and this
beast is able to handle my bridged
Adcom 555II for 600W during testing.
I cross it over around 150hz - 220hz
18db slope (active crossover).

This driver makes my cement floor
vibrate at high spl - lol

Drum solos are excellent, crack!
bang! most people who audition
one driver seem to have a blinking
problem when listening to my jazz tunes - heheh

[Nelson Pass]

Both the PHL 1120 and the Audax PR170MO are
excellent, but I believe the Audax is a bit smoother
on the top, in fact it can often be used without a
low pass filter. The PR170X0 is nearly identical in
performance, but uses the TPX material instead of
paper. I prefer the paper slightly over it, but you
might not.

Ther aerogel materials from Audax excel in stiffness
vs weight, but they appear to have some vibrational
modes at the top end which limits their appeal. I hope
they find a solution to this.

[woody]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will try an Audax 170m0
as the 170z0 is a little harsh an Nelson points out. But here is the strange thing in a horn and with a tube amp the 170zo sounds
ok but with a small SOZ that driver sounds realy harsh where as
a silicon oil damped Radio Shack 40-1197 sounds wonderful with
the SOZ.

Regards,

Woody AKA bob12345678

[Nelson Pass]

Part of the clue is that SOZ has almost no damping,
so silicone damping brings a lot to the party.

(Silicone Damping Icon)

[RAYSIMMONS]

Nelson have you built a speaker using the PR170M0....if so could you describe the application.

[Nelson Pass]

Several speakers. I keep pairs of drivers in modular
boxes that I can stack, and between 5 channels of
active filters and/or the Vidsonix passive unit, I can
play all day every day.

The PL170M0's are really very nice, good down to about 300-
500 Hz and up to about 6 Khz. They work well with others,
and stack well in MTM arrangements.

They are pretty happy with 6 dB/oct crossovers, and you
often will get good performance with just a cap, and no
rolloff on the top. This works because they have a pretty
smooth rolloff on both ends, and the cone doesn't have
obnoxious modes.

They are very efficient and can take a lot of power.

I have used them in 3 and 4 way systems, usually with
Raven R2's, PR120's, or PR130's on the top. In 3 way
systems, you need a woofer that is efficient and will make
it cleanly up to at least 300 Hz. There's not many 15 inch
woofers that will go up that high and still sound good,
although the older Altec woofers and the Audax PR380's
have done a pretty good job at it.

The most "impressive" system I've made with the PR170M0
was a stacked set with a PR130 in the middle, PR170M0's
above and below it, and PR380's above and below them in
9 foot transmission lines. The efficiency was about 100 dB,
the system was about +/- 3 dB 20-20K, and could take all
the power you might throw at it.

Everybody really seemed to like them, or maybe they were
afraid that a bad review might cause me to turn it up....

[Peter Daniel]

Any comments on Raven R-2, Mr. Pass?