driver selection help

SamClassA · 30th August 2006, 05:32 PM

Hi all,
I'm about to start my 2nd speaker project and need some help in deciding what drivers to use. I will be building a 3 way design, 10", 5" and a 1". My budget for the drivers is about AU$600 approx for all 6 drivers. So I'm after the best performing drivers that can be purchased in this budget. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Once I decide on the drivers, I will move over to the Enclosures and Xover designs. So what do u think???

badman · 30th August 2006, 06:41 PM

What sort of goals do you have for the speakers? There are quite a few choices in that price range, though I'm not sure what drivers are available to you without disastrous shipping costs. Are you looking for high efficiency? Deep subwoofer style bass? What speakers have you enjoyed in the past? One combo I think you could do very well with would be Eminence Alpha 6A and the new peerless HDS tweeter.... then you'd have a pretty darn good amount of budget left to find a good high efficiency woofer, you'd probably want 96dB so that it has inherent baffle step correction, and just cross over to the mid at that frequency. I'd suggest a 15" though, a high efficiency 10" is a midrange, not really a midbass or bass driver.

The alpha and the peerless have low distortion and are reputedly good sounding (you can get away with a 2k XO with the peerless, a big plus) and are 93dB efficient.

But you won't get super deep bass from a 93dB 3 way with a flat 8 ohm load like this would turn out to be.

noodle_snacks · 30th August 2006, 10:53 PM

Given your assumed level of experiance, i think that it would be a very good idea to build this as a sub/sat combo, Design, or use an existing design for the top 5in + 1in tweeter. Then using an active crossover cross in to a subwoofer on each side. Doing things this way imho has a much higher chance of success (3 way designs can get very complicated very quicky), and you can do things in stages, instead of one big project without anything listenable for a long time. I would also suggest that you pick drivers that have been used in a published design before (for the 1in and the 5in), or common drivers, your chances of help are much higher this way, or if the worst came to the worst you could scrap your enclosures and use someone elses design completely.

Andy G · 30th August 2006, 11:03 PM

Peter from RZ Audio http://www.rzaudio.com/about_us.htm is probably your best bet for DST (Vifa, Peerless) drivers.

Have fun !

noodle_snacks · 30th August 2006, 11:10 PM

http://www.acousticconcepts.com.au/ is also good for Seas drivers.

Andy G · 30th August 2006, 11:12 PM

did you know that Acoustic Concepts, aka Aranmar Acoustics will soon be carrying the "Hemp" brand drivers?

noodle_snacks · 30th August 2006, 11:15 PM

Interestingly enough, most of the lobbying done against growing hemp in western countries (the THC content of select breeds is low enough that it is useless to smoke or bung in a bong) was supposedly done by dupont, since nylon was a primary competitor.

Andy G · 30th August 2006, 11:43 PM

Yep, the big companies, synthetics, fuel, etc etc have a lot to answer for by holding back development in many areas, just to protect their products from competition. It stinks !!

But this is not a political arena, so I say no more !!

noodle_snacks · 30th August 2006, 11:50 PM

Hey Andy, didn't you build something with hte peerless hds and seas 27tdfc kind of like i did? How did you go?

Andy G · 30th August 2006, 11:58 PM

you mean these? Peerless 850439 x 2 + Seas 27TBFC/G

The guys loves them !, and yep, I think they turned out rather nice !!

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/gradds/brettHT.jpg;)

30th August 2006, 05:32 PM	#1
SamClassA diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2006	driver selection help Hi all, I'm about to start my 2nd speaker project and need some help in deciding what drivers to use. I will be building a 3 way design, 10", 5" and a 1". My budget for the drivers is about AU$600 approx for all 6 drivers. So I'm after the best performing drivers that can be purchased in this budget. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Once I decide on the drivers, I will move over to the Enclosures and Xover designs. So what do u think???

30th August 2006, 06:41 PM	#2
badman Custom Title diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Sunny Tustin, SoCal	What sort of goals do you have for the speakers? There are quite a few choices in that price range, though I'm not sure what drivers are available to you without disastrous shipping costs. Are you looking for high efficiency? Deep subwoofer style bass? What speakers have you enjoyed in the past? One combo I think you could do very well with would be Eminence Alpha 6A and the new peerless HDS tweeter.... then you'd have a pretty darn good amount of budget left to find a good high efficiency woofer, you'd probably want 96dB so that it has inherent baffle step correction, and just cross over to the mid at that frequency. I'd suggest a 15" though, a high efficiency 10" is a midrange, not really a midbass or bass driver. The alpha and the peerless have low distortion and are reputedly good sounding (you can get away with a 2k XO with the peerless, a big plus) and are 93dB efficient. But you won't get super deep bass from a 93dB 3 way with a flat 8 ohm load like this would turn out to be. __________________ I write for www.enjoythemusic.com in the DIY section. You may find yourself getting a preview of a project in-progress. Be warned!

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30th August 2006, 10:53 PM	#3
noodle_snacks diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hobart, Tasmania	Given your assumed level of experiance, i think that it would be a very good idea to build this as a sub/sat combo, Design, or use an existing design for the top 5in + 1in tweeter. Then using an active crossover cross in to a subwoofer on each side. Doing things this way imho has a much higher chance of success (3 way designs can get very complicated very quicky), and you can do things in stages, instead of one big project without anything listenable for a long time. I would also suggest that you pick drivers that have been used in a published design before (for the 1in and the 5in), or common drivers, your chances of help are much higher this way, or if the worst came to the worst you could scrap your enclosures and use someone elses design completely.

30th August 2006, 11:03 PM	#4
Andy G diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Newcastle, Australia	Peter from RZ Audio http://www.rzaudio.com/about_us.htm is probably your best bet for DST (Vifa, Peerless) drivers. Have fun !

30th August 2006, 11:10 PM	#5
noodle_snacks diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hobart, Tasmania	http://www.acousticconcepts.com.au/ is also good for Seas drivers.

30th August 2006, 11:12 PM	#6
Andy G diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Newcastle, Australia	did you know that Acoustic Concepts, aka Aranmar Acoustics will soon be carrying the "Hemp" brand drivers?

30th August 2006, 11:15 PM	#7
noodle_snacks diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hobart, Tasmania	Interestingly enough, most of the lobbying done against growing hemp in western countries (the THC content of select breeds is low enough that it is useless to smoke or bung in a bong) was supposedly done by dupont, since nylon was a primary competitor.

30th August 2006, 11:43 PM	#8
Andy G diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Newcastle, Australia	Yep, the big companies, synthetics, fuel, etc etc have a lot to answer for by holding back development in many areas, just to protect their products from competition. It stinks !! But this is not a political arena, so I say no more !!

30th August 2006, 11:50 PM	#9
noodle_snacks diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hobart, Tasmania	Hey Andy, didn't you build something with hte peerless hds and seas 27tdfc kind of like i did? How did you go?

30th August 2006, 11:58 PM	#10
Andy G diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Newcastle, Australia	you mean these? Peerless 850439 x 2 + Seas 27TBFC/G The guys loves them !, and yep, I think they turned out rather nice !! http://users.tpg.com.au/users/gradds/brettHT.jpg;)

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