recommend me a 8" FR driver that has >90db sensitivity and >0.6 Qts

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audiocats

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Joined 2011
#1
I have a GE music distribution satellite speaker (from the 60's, was probably part of a Sutton system), I did some mod to it and would like to use it for background music purpose.
It had a 8" woofer and a paper cone tweeter inside, xover was done using a 5uf bipolar cap. The original woofer was quite boomy.

Currently it is running with a mod-podged 8" Quam ceiling FR driver. I left the paper cone tweeter in there, but disconnected. The sound from the Quam is quite ok, no more boomi-ness, clarity is good enough, but as usual, I wonder if there is any higher grade yet still relatively economical 8" FR I can put in there.

The little 12CU5 amp in the cabinet doesn't generate much power, so the sensitivity of the driver has to be high enough, say, at least 90db; And since it is more or less an open-back cabinet (perf board back cover), I supposed the the Qts requirement is similar to the open baffle, at least 0.6.

I have not been able to find anything <$50/driver that looks promising, (other than the Betsy but it is sold only in pairs, and I only need one).

Any recommendations?
 
#5
Thanks guys, the Monacor looks interesting but that is definitely OB material, the Qts is high for a semi-open-back which might lead to boomi-ness.

I don't want to spend more than $30 for the driver, $50 tops, therefore the AN 8" in out. (The cabinet is made of rather thin material so there is a bit of resonance, installing serious Hi-Fi driver in there will be kind of wasting $).
I am mainly looking to improve the detail-retrieval & resolution of the mid-range. The Quam in there right now is a "$15 when brand new" kind of speaker, the sound is quite ok but details are kind of lacking (can't expect too much from ceiling speakers I suppose), I suspect a $30~50 driver should bring enough improvement without wasting the drivers potentials.
 
#8
but if its like the original crap BOFU surround, then will rot in five years - BOFU could have been a decent cheap driver save for the surround. I'm too old and bad shape to think about 5 years more. Could something be smeared on the front and rear of the GRS surround to extend the useful life?
 
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#9
You're looking for a guitar speaker. The Eminence 820H is over your budget, but it's got the efficiency and a pretty wide bandwidth. You'd need the tweeter above 4KHz.
I've done high efficiency speakers with guitar drivers and they're fantastic. They just need a little sparkle from a tweeter above 4KHz typically, otherwise they're really close to full range, but without the honky nose (noise) of something like a Lowther.

How about a real winner like the Philmore SP800?

I have a pair of the Pioneer BuFu's. They sound much better the further away you get. Starting at about a mile.
 
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#10
Betsy
Wild Burro Audio Labs - Fullrange Speakers - The Betsy & Betsy-K Drivers

Re 5.9 ohms
Fs 49.630Hz
Sd 22.966
BL 4.166
Qms 4.567
Qes .945
Qts .783
Spl 92.4db
Vas 86.387L
Mms 8.916g

freq_chart.jpg
 
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#13
mlise said:
You're looking for a guitar speaker. The Eminence 820H is over your budget, but it's got the efficiency and a pretty wide bandwidth. You'd need the tweeter above 4KHz.
I've done high efficiency speakers with guitar drivers and they're fantastic. They just need a little sparkle from a tweeter above 4KHz typically, otherwise they're really close to full range, but without the honky nose (noise) of something like a Lowther.

How about a real winner like the Philmore SP800?

I have a pair of the Pioneer BuFu's. They sound much better the further away you get. Starting at about a mile.
Click to expand...

how low does a guitar driver usually go? 80Hz?

Don't want to add a tweeter. Tweeter=$$, good crossover cap=$$.....
 
#14
in my fake Druid and with a narrow strip of bonded Dacron between the whizzer and main cone, I thought BG20 sounded pretty good on Muddy Waters "Folk Singer" - the APT80 tweeter shown below was not hooked up. I heard some treble roughness but for the price, performance was good.

limited sim using hornresp
l3V1vZF.gif

Xe6He6A.jpg
 
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#16
Looks like the Visaton is the most promising at this point, except the Qts part.

If nothing else turns up, I might contact WBA to see if they have any single Betsy available, preferably some kind of factory second (doesn't meet spec but no major flaw) at discounted price. I only need one driver anyway so there won't be any "driver matching" issue.
 
#18
freddi said:
but if its like the original crap BOFU surround, then will rot in five years -
Click to expand...

Don't know. Interesting! This is the first I've heard about the BOFU's surround. I was under the impression that the foam rotting issue had long since been solved by the late '90s when I bought the first pair of three that I have. These were OK the last time I checked, but that's been a couple of years ago. I hope they're still good, it's looking like I might finally be able to get back to building speakers pretty soon if we have a reasonably dry Summer.

If the surrounds are bad though, I doubt I'll be able to replace them as I'm starting to shake pretty good when I do tedious things now. I could hardly use a soldering iron the other day, something I use to do almost daily up until around 2002.

GM
 
#19
audiocats said:
but there is no way for me to confirm whether that is the case with the driver I happen to buy (if I buy one). Too much uncertainty.
Plus, it seems to be super cheap, even cheaper than the Quam that is already in there...
Click to expand...

True, but all that have posted measurements have been plenty high enough for open back. What can I say, 'beggars can't be choosers' and at your price level, cheap ceiling speakers are pretty much it unless you can find an old accordion surround 'FR' driver from decades ago that came out of a console. Another option would be some from the large RPTVs that were popular up to ~2004. All that I've seen in 50" - up sizes were 8".

GM
 
#20
Have you looked for some used/vintage stuff, either locally (thrift stores) or Ebay? Assuming this is something you'd consider of course. You may find some inexpensive singles, American drivers like EV or University. Their budget lines pretty much guarantee you a high Qt and those mostly had cloth or paper surrounds AFAIK, often still in serviceable shape for years to come. Look for EV 'Wolverine' and 'Michigan' lines.
 
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