As the poll suggests virtues of both drivers please? Can't seem to edit Poll but should read Lii Audio Fast 8
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Mark Audio CHN110 should also fit your description, is very cheap (£55 pounds tva included) for what it is and has a very balanced response i think.
KJF Audio has them, and they are based in Warwickshire countryside, United Kingdom so they would be obtainable.
Of your list i would vote for the W8. Lii drivers look very good on paper, but their published specs seems to be very untrustable as the reality of measuring drivers shows way worse specs i heared from many sources.
KJF Audio has them, and they are based in Warwickshire countryside, United Kingdom so they would be obtainable.
Of your list i would vote for the W8. Lii drivers look very good on paper, but their published specs seems to be very untrustable as the reality of measuring drivers shows way worse specs i heared from many sources.
Thanks. I should have stated they are for BLH cabinets designed for an 8" driver. I doubt if a smaller cone would load them properly. Great driver though.
Putting a random 8" driver in that cabinet won't load then neighter right. You need to design a cabinet to the specs of the driver, as each driver has different demands, also with BLH's. The chamber behind the driver has to have the right volume, and the throat opening also to do it right.
And for horn loaded cabinets, the TB W8-1772 is the one you want, not the TB W8-2145. That driver has a way to high qts (0.45) for BLH's. Those cabinets want drivers with a QTS below 0.35 and preferable between 0.2 and 0.25. Idem with that Lii Audio Fast 8 driver that has an even higher qts (0.62) in it's published specs.
And for horn loaded cabinets, the TB W8-1772 is the one you want, not the TB W8-2145. That driver has a way to high qts (0.45) for BLH's. Those cabinets want drivers with a QTS below 0.35 and preferable between 0.2 and 0.25. Idem with that Lii Audio Fast 8 driver that has an even higher qts (0.62) in it's published specs.
Driver size per se is irrelevant as its specs, in-room acoustics dictate all box alignments, so if its specs dictate a smaller BLH it can be made to 'fit' good enough by adding a series filter, but too small is like making a too small shoe 'fit', i.e. got to do [significant] structural mods.
GM
What GM said; as a minor addition, from recent semi-personal experience (a non-commercial project I'm involved with with a handful of friends), I could not in conscience recommend the Lii drive units. On that basis, of the two, I would go with the TB. Note however, as has been pointed out, size as such is irrelevant: a horn is optimised to a given set of driver characteristics (or should be), or at least a given region of characteristics, so you would be well-advised to check the drivers you are looking at line up with what the horn was designed for.
The Cabs in question are Lowther Acousta 115. I bought them as a way of acquiring an instant BLH. The empty cabs are cheap compared to the drivers they use. I was trying to match the parameters of the original PM6A as closely as possible. TBH the BG20s sound lovely in them but felt I would like to play with another set of drivers to see if I could extend the top.
What horn? While most horns tend to dominate the load, it is not the driver size that determines what fits,
Joan, the FH, for instance supports a number of 6-8” drivers.
We are now in a world of many, many more decent FRs. None of us can try them all, but some of us have much broader experience.
Before choosing a driver, we really need to know what horn?
dave
I built some of those. Not again.
Best 1st guess would be to look for a driver with T/S similar to the appropriate Lowther (PM6A, WAXX suggests it has a Q too high to be in a horn)*. But unless the cabinets are done spectacularily or they just fit you, it might be worth considering starting from scratch with a modern design.
*(it has been shown that Qt alone is not a determinant of suitability for horn loading. Using modern horn design simimiulators there are now many horns perfectly suitable for higher Q drivers.
dave
The Acoustas are factory made so originally supplied with PM6As. Currently fitted with Visaton BG20s which are pretty close QTS to the Sixes at 0.46. I think I will hold fire until a pair of them turn up, PM6s that is.
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Just so. A bass horn has more or less the same requirements as a vented enclosure, so if a driver works well in a vented box, it's suitable for such use. If size gets very large, the air-mass load can ultimately cause it to 'stall out' for want of a better phrase, preventing cone resonance and attenuating the HF, but you typically need a large and potentially high-compression design for that to really start hurting.
All I know is the Finished Acoustas cost me £175 with no vat as used. It was a gamble I grant you, put its paying off. Even with the wrong driver the sense of scale, musicality and authority is sublime. I definitely struck lucky tbh.
