I had a message today which is worthy of wider consideration, particularly also as a result of my not having familiarity with JBL drivers.
Lowther are really brilliant because they give us what we want in the sonic areas we want it. This is why for listening and musical appreciation and indeed for performance, Lowther brings music alive. However, as my correspondent says, using that for mixing is misleading.
I'm a musician and I'm trying to find an alternative to my lowther DX3 for mixing. I love them, so everything seems work fine, but the result, when I listen to my work in a normal system of reproduction, is not as good as I expected.
I'd need to try alternatives, maybe less pleasant sounding but more capable of made me able to do a better work.
I found some time ago a couple of JBL fullrange, a signature D208. One was scratching, the other had a broken cone, both with damaged dustcap.
I restored them, new spider and new surround, and I bought a pair of titanium 2" tweeter diaphragm to obtain a dustcap.
The question is that I'm very doubtful on which kind of adhesive can I use to assembly the dustcap to the voice coil former. Everything is ready to work, but I have to resolve this last step.
Please have you any kind of advice about this argument? I'd like to transmit as more information as possible from the paper voice coil former, the speakers sounds good to me and I have no limitations in restoring, I don't want to reach a like-as-new pair of JBL 208, I just have to try if I have found a more adeguate speaker for my mix.
Thank you in any case, I'm impressed about your experience and capability (building voice coil... I can't imagine it!!)
The Lowther DX3 is not made for a forward facing environment. The PM6C might be the acceptable compromise between auditory excitement and flatness.
Here's the frequency response I measured of a PM6C in an infinite baffle, a DX2 and the PM6C in a Lowther TP1 horn.
Lowther units are made for different applications in different acoustic environments so one has to buy the right unit and use it in the right way.
I've been measuring microphones so have needed as flat a speaker as possible. The green line is a Tannoy 611 measured with a measurement microphone.
(I've been measuring responses of AKG D200 D202 D222 and D224 mics and others)
So it's the Tannoy 611 that I use for mixing purposes.
Here's the response of another Lowther PM6C as against the version modified by Horning removing the whizzer and to which is added a tweeter at around 6kHz from memory.
Here's the response of a Coral Flat 8 and a Tannoy DC100
Tannoy Gold 10 inch, Lynx 12 inch and DC100
Philips 8 inch with and without the dustcap removed
For mixing purposes a fullrange should be as flat as it can be. I would have confidence in my Lowther TP1s with DX2, and other Lowther cabinets with PM6C forward facing, possibly Coral, and possibly some Tannoy dual concentric units. My favourite drivers are the white 97db "Lowther challenge" units from David Louis Audio in China but they are not manufactured at present.
With regard to the enquiry above and the adhesive to use on a dustcap, if one's got one unit with a dustcap and one without, then measure it on and off axis, and try a phase plug too. If gluing a dustcap I'd use cyanoacrylate, superglue. It can be undone with acetone. For other things I use Copydex, a latex glue that can be peeled off if necessary.
Best wishes
David P