Mid Range driver which one the best?

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first_1st

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orchestraspeaker.com
#1
Please suggest me for driver to use in 6 L Seal Cabinet on list below Which one the best concern on mid range only (use in 3way speaker)

Vifa P13WH00 5" Mineral filled polyCone
Vifa PL14WJ09 PREMIUM LINE 5" mid-Woofer
Zaph Audio ZA14W08 5" Mid/Woofer
SEAS Prestige MCA15RCY (H1262) 5.5" Coated Paper Midrange

Regards
Natthawat
 
#8
doug20 said:
I was going to create a thread but I guess I will just ask it here.

Im also looking for he absolute best midrange driver, 300Hz to 5000Hz would be nice.
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"Absolute best" is very tough to define 😉

Do you need something with a lot of power handling? Off-axis response requirements?

Another brand I'd put up there with ATC and SS is a company called Hybrid Audio Technologies...they were started by someone in the high-end car stereo world, but their stuff also does really well at home 🙂
 
#9
yes,I have 4 non "S" and one "S"(for center channel).I beleive they no longer make DIY "S" versions?I got mine from Chris at Solen and he is great to deal with.The Volt is like $750 or so(CRAZY!!!) and I donnot think they have sold many?
 
#12
mclsound said:
yes,I have 4 non "S" and one "S"(for center channel).I beleive they no longer make DIY "S" versions?I got mine from Chris at Solen and he is great to deal with.The Volt is like $750 or so(CRAZY!!!) and I donnot think they have sold many?
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I think Volt sells the vast majority of their drivers commercially to the likes of REL, PMC, Quested Audio and a number of p.a. manufacturers. The diy market seems to be very low on their horizon.
 
#13
I don't think there is a "best" midrange driver. It is essentially a meaningless question.

Put a high priced driver with the wrong woofer or tweeter and it will not perform well at all. You will conclude the midrange is junk!

In order to answer that question you must look at all of the intended drivers, woofer, mid, and tweeter, and get their polar plots. Then determine where the best crossover points are based on that polar data, frequency plot dead on, and their resonance points. There are other factors, too, like SPL levels, cone diameters, etc.,, but let's look at these first.

You want the crossover of the mid no lower than 1 to 2 octaves above the resonance point. Same goes for the tweeter. Then the selected crossover points' polar plots should compliment each other driver.

In other words, you need to consider the whole picture, which includes drivers and cabinet, proposed crossover points, among a host of lessor factors that are still important if you want to have a system worthy of the effort you are putting into it.

I suspect that you might be going about this the wrong way.
 
#15
planet10 said:
Best is very dependent on context.
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Yes it is, but not impossible to compare between them (drivers, 2 or more, and giving to each factor a weight or score to measure total points for each driver. Is like designing a software to choose between various options in this case drivers). There are many mid drivers the best in their own class. Let's say, only as one example, you want (Natthawat) a 100W or max SPL, that you can not get with low SPL or with a 30W. Second example, if you don't like metallic cones or a lot of breakup you give more consideration to paper or polypropylene, being polyglass (Focal) in the middle. 3rd. Size, I see you are looking at 5/5.5" drivers.

DAVIS ACOUSTICS 13MRP
http://www.ritlab.jp/shop/product/speaker/data/davis/13mrpa.html
 
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#16
Has anyone tried the David Chaffey drivers ? I have the 7" Ref and 9.5" Ref and they leave every other cone mid that I have tried way down the ladder of goodness. They aren't exactly cheap but they are superb, nicer than the Illuminator and about the same price. They don't have any glaring faults except for their looks, they are so pretty it is a crime to put them in a box. Luckily they work great on an OB, the 9.5 incher is the ducks nuts.
 
#17
exurbia said:
Has anyone tried the David Chaffey drivers ? I have the 7" Ref and 9.5" Ref and they leave every other cone mid that I have tried way down the ladder of goodness. They aren't exactly cheap but they are superb, nicer than the Illuminator and about the same price. They don't have any glaring faults except for their looks, they are so pretty it is a crime to put them in a box. Luckily they work great on an OB, the 9.5 incher is the ducks nuts.
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That should take us to the 5"s price of Suggested Retail: $ 396.09
DC Gold Audio : N5R [N5R] - $ 396.09
Anyway where is the (r&d or) T/S specs, impedance, output, phase curves and all for these. (Is that a service payed buy the consumer?)
 
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#19
Charles Darwin said:
I think Volt sells the vast majority of their drivers commercially to the likes of REL, PMC, Quested Audio and a number of p.a. manufacturers. The diy market seems to be very low on their horizon.
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dont forget,PMC has 2 levels of mid-Volt and Vifa.I was told that if one was to look at 3" soft domes(some of the most natural sounding drivers produced) the Volt and Atc "S" are close.It has alot to do wit price range and for $$$ that Vifa is good and cheap,the ATC can be controversial,I use 2 so I can get greater SPL and with less stress on one driver.I believe you need to know what your after:
1-budget
2-your comfortable SPL range,eg. 80-100db(vifa is perfect)...100-110db(ATC non"S")...110+(ATC"S"/Volt)...this is for listening range and then once in a while you will crank them up for you and a friend/or Home Theater
3-speaker design(2-way,3 or 4 way)
4-purpose(2ch,SACD,Home Theater,all of these)
Through my trials of both DIY and consumer(PMC,Krell,Paradigm,Athena)..one thing to keep in mind...DIY is for you and consumer is just for trying out.
You will always regain your money back with consumer speakers,but with DIY you will have pride.
 
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