http://www.zaphaudio.com/smalltest/
Way to Go Zaph!!
That little RS52 looks pretty sweet..
The HiVi makes me wonder what a modified rear chamber could do for it..
Way to Go Zaph!!
That little RS52 looks pretty sweet..
The HiVi makes me wonder what a modified rear chamber could do for it..
I read his new tests over the weekend - I am very impressed with the new layout he uses and the rating system - very informative and user-friendly.
I am even more convinced than ever that he has one of the best DIY sites out there, and I hope he continues this type of service to the community for years to come. I have made virtually all of my driver buying decisions based on his tests.
Another first-rate job John - thanks a million and keep up the good work!
P.S. - any idea when the RS90 will be out? Looks like it has some decent potential.
I am even more convinced than ever that he has one of the best DIY sites out there, and I hope he continues this type of service to the community for years to come. I have made virtually all of my driver buying decisions based on his tests.
Another first-rate job John - thanks a million and keep up the good work!
P.S. - any idea when the RS90 will be out? Looks like it has some decent potential.
sdclc126 said:
I am interested with the what the faraday ring does to the driver. Listening to two wide range drivers with faraday ring it seems the sound is a bit soothed. Violins don't sound that real. It does seem to reduce distortion in the lower frequency range and the bass is notibly cleaner.
Another interesting thing about drivers with faraday rings is that the impedance curve seems flatter, and the impedance phase seems close to zero ant the higer frequencies.
batch variation .
The test results posted by John on his site are very useful in several ways , and I thank him for sharing this information with us.
I would phrase that as :-
"valuable for knowing the real specs of a production sample instead of those claimed nontheless"
Even from the quality- conscious manufacturers there have been significant variations in some parameters from one production-run , or batch , than another , and particually when the company relies on other suppliers for production-ready materials . For the lesser-quality brands , there has been significant variations between samples all from the same batch , often owing to less than meticulous assembly of the lesser visible and hidden components . Despite this , knowing a sample's measured data provides a good start point for further evaluation .
The test results posted by John on his site are very useful in several ways , and I thank him for sharing this information with us.
salas said:
I would phrase that as :-
"valuable for knowing the real specs of a production sample instead of those claimed nontheless"
Even from the quality- conscious manufacturers there have been significant variations in some parameters from one production-run , or batch , than another , and particually when the company relies on other suppliers for production-ready materials . For the lesser-quality brands , there has been significant variations between samples all from the same batch , often owing to less than meticulous assembly of the lesser visible and hidden components . Despite this , knowing a sample's measured data provides a good start point for further evaluation .
Mail-order .
Try buying via Mail-order from one of the US suppliers , such as Madisound ; Parts Express : Speaker City , or who-ever has the drivers you want on their web-site .
Or , does the Custom's Department impound loudspeaker drivers sent into your country ? , or Tax excessively ?
Apparently "Bravox" manufacture some good quality drivers , but also lesser so , as they manufacture to what-ever specification/price their major customers ask for .
Try buying via Mail-order from one of the US suppliers , such as Madisound ; Parts Express : Speaker City , or who-ever has the drivers you want on their web-site .
Or , does the Custom's Department impound loudspeaker drivers sent into your country ? , or Tax excessively ?
Apparently "Bravox" manufacture some good quality drivers , but also lesser so , as they manufacture to what-ever specification/price their major customers ask for .
69stingray said:
There's a good reason I didn't test the DA135 - it's the same reason I didn't test the Accuton C89 or the Skaaning SK-130: nobody sent me one. These tests are supported by the community. I don't actually buy drivers myself, loaners are sent in by others. Well, I do buy some, but I certainly don't buy all of them. My own resources only go so far.
Hi Zaph,
Your work is very nice, the tweeter mishmash was an excelent job, but I think that on the 6.5" and 5.5" drivers test you could write a bit more your comments about how the driver sound (example, if they are good or not at dynamics, transient response). I know that some of that info can be extracted from the graphs, but sometimes the graphs can be misleading, since our hearing is a complex system, and sometimes what looks better is not what sounds better to our ears.
And ok, value is important, but for example, I can buy for a reasonably good price an B&W 601 loudpeaker, that is (although not hi-end) a good performer, and have a sound that I like. Don't have the work to design a crossover, design the cabinet and etc. Sometimes I get afraid to buy a set of drivers, build a loudspeaker, spend more money than on a B&W 601 (and a lot of time not only building it but importing the drivers from another country) and don't like the performance. What will I do with the drivers ? No one would buy it. I would have to live with them for the rest of my life, or put them on a trash can.
At least, a better tweeter than the 601's tweeter I already know. I've heard one Seas 27TDFC, and it's very very good. Not the best that I've heard, but definately a high performer (as your review indicates). But about the mid driver, it's a tough choice.
Your work is very nice, the tweeter mishmash was an excelent job, but I think that on the 6.5" and 5.5" drivers test you could write a bit more your comments about how the driver sound (example, if they are good or not at dynamics, transient response). I know that some of that info can be extracted from the graphs, but sometimes the graphs can be misleading, since our hearing is a complex system, and sometimes what looks better is not what sounds better to our ears.
And ok, value is important, but for example, I can buy for a reasonably good price an B&W 601 loudpeaker, that is (although not hi-end) a good performer, and have a sound that I like. Don't have the work to design a crossover, design the cabinet and etc. Sometimes I get afraid to buy a set of drivers, build a loudspeaker, spend more money than on a B&W 601 (and a lot of time not only building it but importing the drivers from another country) and don't like the performance. What will I do with the drivers ? No one would buy it. I would have to live with them for the rest of my life, or put them on a trash can.
At least, a better tweeter than the 601's tweeter I already know. I've heard one Seas 27TDFC, and it's very very good. Not the best that I've heard, but definately a high performer (as your review indicates). But about the mid driver, it's a tough choice.
Mogar, have you ever built a speaker? The 601, although good in its class, is easily bettered by DIY at less than half the cost.
John, like everybody here I'm a great fan! Can't you get manufacturers to send you their drivers? I'm sure all the big ones at least know about what you're doing. It seams to me some free publicity is never a bad thing.
John, like everybody here I'm a great fan! Can't you get manufacturers to send you their drivers? I'm sure all the big ones at least know about what you're doing. It seams to me some free publicity is never a bad thing.
keyser said:
Maybe, but since we don't have a single store that sells good quality drivers (not even on-line), we have to buy from sources like madisound. And the import taxes for this kind of stuff is about 90% over the price of the driver + shipping.
Factory made loudspeakers they not only go out of their original country for less than a store price, also they get less taxes when they arrive here. So, in practice, we pay more to make a diy speaker (comparing with a factory made loudspeaker).
And there is something that the B&W speakers usually have that is had to find even in other brand speakers. Fast transient response, good dynamics and warm sound. I personally don't like "analytical" systems, but musical systems, and I consider most of B&W speakers very musical.
I've already heard some loudspeakers based on Scanspeak and Seas drivers, and they didn't impress me. Among them, the Opera and Sonus Faber speakers. The only speakers that I really liked that weren't from B&W were the GamuT L5 speakers. Based on the top drivers from Scanspeak, but exclusive versions with tweaks. And from what I've heard from other loudspeakers with Scanspeak revelator drivers, the Gamut drivers do sound better than the avaliable to DIY community.
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