Here's a list of various drivers I've tested. The vast majority are garbage tbh. I don't intend to update this list or publicly rank drivers going forward though hopefully this list provides some benefit to diy builders of the world. I've ranked those which I prefer in the top section. Then beneath are those which I find "good" and below those are garbage labeled "The Ugly". There are a handful of drivers in the ugly section which I intend to retest at different less strain inducing crossover bandwidths though the vast majority of my sentiment is specified here albeit a bit negative. I haven't tested every driver ever and there are certainly many gems to be tested that are not on this list.
Call it conspiracy or what you will... There's an inner circle of pagan colonialist imperialist federalist guitar worshipers who seem to hold chair as gatekeepers of various audio industry related things and speaker gear. These people may also happen to be stingy as hell. That fact aside, as such, many of the best products, high sensitivity low mms cone drivers for example, are disguised within the realm of guitar speaker drivers. Two example companies are Celestion and Jensen. Both make some fine drivers and again some junk... The ladder makes at least a couple drivers that I consider to be among the best and competitive with any I've tested. The brands which I consider to be honest, science oriented and therefore gain the rank of S tier are: Visaton, Fostex, Beyma, Mark Audio and Seas. Of similar quality though presenting a less consistent and or less focused and or less updated product line are Jensen, Ciare, 18Sound, LaVoce, Kartesian, and Faital. Oberton, PHL, and Audax seem to be landfill grade. B&C, Eminence and Celestion exhibit an imperialistic monopolistic political brand identity that I deem gross and reflective of oil baron level greed and orkishness. Through the lines I observe some sort of mining union business scheme clinging to stale traditions as though somehow holy, and claiming both land rights and music as of their own invention. Celestion does make some good products available to the masses... In general my preference is for less landfill quality quantity best business practices stagnant christian values anal retentive control freak bs. Preferable would be zero corporate influence in favor of scientific progress, though also an acceptance that we're dealing with mundane devices here, and if applicable achieve quality through real innovation.
Here's a simplified list of my favorite drivers in order of preference from best to worst. With regards to crossover frequency and driver size selection I am mostly optimizing for midfield level playback.
Sub Woofers // ~0hz-~50hz
-18Sound 15W500
-B&C 8PE21
-Seas H1878-08
-Visaton W200
Low Mid // Mid Drivers ~+40hz-~+1200hz // FR
-18Sound 10NMBA520 // 18Sound 10MB400
-Fostex FE206NV2
-Beyma 8MI100
-Visaton B200
-Seas Exotic W8
Mid Drivers // ~+600hz-~+10000hz
-Visaton B100
-Visaton B80
-Mark Audio CHN-40P // CHN-50P
-Kartesian Wib70_vPA
-Bliesma M74P-6
Tweeters // ~+1200hz-20,000hz
-Seas 22TAF/G
-GRS PT6816-8
-Visaton SC4.7ND
-Visaton DSM50 FFL
Full Range Drivers
-Fostex FE206NV2 // Unnamed favorite
-Visaton B100 // B200
-Mark Audio MAOP 7
-Mark Audio CHN-50P
-Jensen 10 Tornado Classic 100
Compression Drivers:
2":
-JBL
-Beyma CP800TI
-TAD TD4001
1.4":
-Beyma CP755ND Al
-Great Plains Audio 288C
1":
-Faital HF108
-BMS 4552
-Kartesian CMP35_VPA
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Here are two additional lists of drivers which I tested for my project. The "Good" list are drivers which I found to be very performative though inferior to the my "Favorite" drivers. And the "The Ugly" are drivers which I found to be inferior:
Good:
Tweeters:
-Visaton BF32
-Visaton BF45
Bass // Mids // FR Drivers:
-Atlas PD5VH
-Beyma 12XA30ND
-B&C 8PE21
-18Sound 6ND430
-18Sound 10MW400
-18Sound 12NMB1000
-B&C 6MDN44
-B&C 8FMB51
-B&C 8MBX51
-B&C 10PE26
-Beyma 8G40
-Beyma 8MC300ND
-Beyma 8MC500ND
-Celestion CF0820M
-Celestion CN0617M
-Celestion G12H 55/75 Heritage
-Faital 6PR160
-Faital 8PR155
-Faital 8PR210
-Faital W8N8-150
-Fostex FE83NV
-Fostex FE126NV2
-Fostex FE166NV2
-Fostex FF105WK
-Fostex FF165WK
-Jensen 10 Mod 70
-Jensen Classic 100 Tornado 10
-Jensen Classic 100 Tornado 12
-LaVoce FSN020.71F
-Mark Audio Alpair 7MS
-Mark Audio CHN-40
-Mark Audio CHN-110
-Mark Audio CHP-70
-Mark Audio CHP-90
-Mark Audio CHR-70
-Mark Audio MAOP 5
-Mark Audio MAOP11
-Monacor SPH-102KEP
-Oberton 6NM150
-Purifi PTT4.0X
-Purifi PTT6.5M08
-Seas CA18RLY
-Seas CA22RNY
-Seas ER15RLY
-Seas FA22RCZ
-Seas OR002-04
-Seas OR004-04
-Seas OR005-04
-Seas OR006-04
-Supravox 165 GMF
-Supravox 285 GMF
-Visaton SL713
-Visaton W130S
-Visaton W170
-Visaton W250
-Visaton W300
-Wild Burro Betsy
-Zenith 49CZ852
Bass:
-18Sound 12MB1000
-B&C 10MD26
-Beyma 15G40
-Beyma 15P80FE/N
-Beyma 15MI100
-Seas CA22RNY
-Seas L26ROY
-Wavecor SW270WA1
Compression Drivers:
-18Sound 1480A
-B&C DCM414
-B&C DCM50
-Beyma CP22MF
-Beyma CP385ND
-Beyma TPL200
-Celestion AXI2050
-Faital HMF200
The Ugly:
Tweeters:
-Beyma CD1ND
-Beyma CD10ND
-Beyma CD11ND
-Ciare HT050
-Fostex FT17H
-Hivi RT2 Pro
-Seas T35C-002
-Visaton BF32
-Visaton TL16H
Mids // Low Mids:
-18Sound 5W430
-18Sound 8MB500
-18Sound 8NMB420
-18Sound 12W500
-Audax PR170Z0
-Aurum Cantus AC165
-B&C 2NDF26
-B&C 320K/C
-B&C 4NDS34
-B&C 6NDL44
-B&C 6PEV13
-B&C 6PS44
-B&C 6MBX44
-B&C 8FMB51
-B&C 8MDN51
-B&C 10CL51
-B&C 10MD26
-B&C 12MH32
-B&C 12NDL76
-B&C ALT002NDF
-Beyma 10BR60v2
-Beyma 10G40
-Beyma 10MI100
-Celestion AN350
-Celestion G10 45 Creamback
-Celestion G12H Heritage
-Ciare HW210
-Ciare HWG130
-Ciare HWG160
-Ciare PNDI 2.25CP
-Dayton Exciters
-Dayton RS180P
-Eminence Legend 1028K
-ER Audio Mini Panels
-Faital 2FE24
-Faital 5PR160
-Faital 6RS140
-Faital 10FE200
-Faital 10RS430
-Faital 15PR400
-Fostex FE208E Sigma
-Fostex P1000K
-GRS PT5010-8
-Hivi DMBA
-Jupiter 10LAP
-Kartesian Sub120
-Kartesion Wib50_vHP
-Kartesian Wom120
-LaVoce FAN030.71
-LaVoce FSN020.72
-LaVoce FSN021.00
-LaVoce FSN021.02
-LaVoce FSN030.72
-La Voce WSF121.70G
-Mark Audio CHR-120
-Monacor SPX-32M
-Oberton 8M150
-Oberton 10M150
-Peerless NE85W04
-Peerless TA6FC00
-Peerless TC5FC07-04
-Peerless TC7FD04
-PHL 1752NDU
-PHL 2530
-Satori MD60N-6
-Satori MR13P-4
-Satori MW19TX
-SB Acoustic 65WBAC25
-Scanspeak 10F/8424G
-Seas CA12RCY
-Seas FA6RBND/2
-Seas FA22RCZ
-Seas M15CH002
-Seas MCA12RC
-Seas MUR10RB-SL
-Seas U22REX
-Supravox 285-2000 MK2
-Visaton FRS 5 // X // XTS // XWP
-Visaton FRS7A
-Visaton FR8
-Visaton FR8M
-Visaton FR8TA
-Visaton FR13
-Visaton FR 6.5
-Visaton R10S
-Visaton R10STE
-Visaton SC8N
-Visaton SC13
-Visaton SL70NDV
-Visaton SL87
-Visaton TI100
-Visaton TW70
-Visaton W170S
-Visaton WS13E
-Yamaha JA-0801
Bass:
-18Sound 12ND610
-18Sound 15NTLW3500
-18Sound 18W1300
-Audax PR240M0
-B&C 10PE26
-B&C 15NW76
-Celestion TF1525
-Faital 12FE330
-Faital 15HP1020
-Faital 18FH500
-Kartesian Sub250
-Seas A26RE4
-Seas CA26RFX
-Seas ER18RNX
-Visaton AL200
-Visaton W200S
-Visaton W250S
-Visaton WS20E
-Visaton WS25E
Compression Drivers:
-Altec 290
-B&C DE500
-B&C DE980TN
-B&C DE1095TN
-Beyma CP380M
-Beyma CP750TI
-BMS 4591
-Faital HF1440
-Faital HF206
-JBL 2453H
-Yamaha JA6881B
Call it conspiracy or what you will... There's an inner circle of pagan colonialist imperialist federalist guitar worshipers who seem to hold chair as gatekeepers of various audio industry related things and speaker gear. These people may also happen to be stingy as hell. That fact aside, as such, many of the best products, high sensitivity low mms cone drivers for example, are disguised within the realm of guitar speaker drivers. Two example companies are Celestion and Jensen. Both make some fine drivers and again some junk... The ladder makes at least a couple drivers that I consider to be among the best and competitive with any I've tested. The brands which I consider to be honest, science oriented and therefore gain the rank of S tier are: Visaton, Fostex, Beyma, Mark Audio and Seas. Of similar quality though presenting a less consistent and or less focused and or less updated product line are Jensen, Ciare, 18Sound, LaVoce, Kartesian, and Faital. Oberton, PHL, and Audax seem to be landfill grade. B&C, Eminence and Celestion exhibit an imperialistic monopolistic political brand identity that I deem gross and reflective of oil baron level greed and orkishness. Through the lines I observe some sort of mining union business scheme clinging to stale traditions as though somehow holy, and claiming both land rights and music as of their own invention. Celestion does make some good products available to the masses... In general my preference is for less landfill quality quantity best business practices stagnant christian values anal retentive control freak bs. Preferable would be zero corporate influence in favor of scientific progress, though also an acceptance that we're dealing with mundane devices here, and if applicable achieve quality through real innovation.
Here's a simplified list of my favorite drivers in order of preference from best to worst. With regards to crossover frequency and driver size selection I am mostly optimizing for midfield level playback.
Sub Woofers // ~0hz-~50hz
-18Sound 15W500
-B&C 8PE21
-Seas H1878-08
-Visaton W200
Low Mid // Mid Drivers ~+40hz-~+1200hz // FR
-18Sound 10NMBA520 // 18Sound 10MB400
-Fostex FE206NV2
-Beyma 8MI100
-Visaton B200
-Seas Exotic W8
Mid Drivers // ~+600hz-~+10000hz
-Visaton B100
-Visaton B80
-Mark Audio CHN-40P // CHN-50P
-Kartesian Wib70_vPA
-Bliesma M74P-6
Tweeters // ~+1200hz-20,000hz
-Seas 22TAF/G
-GRS PT6816-8
-Visaton SC4.7ND
-Visaton DSM50 FFL
Full Range Drivers
-Fostex FE206NV2 // Unnamed favorite
-Visaton B100 // B200
-Mark Audio MAOP 7
-Mark Audio CHN-50P
-Jensen 10 Tornado Classic 100
Compression Drivers:
2":
-JBL
-Beyma CP800TI
-TAD TD4001
1.4":
-Beyma CP755ND Al
-Great Plains Audio 288C
1":
-Faital HF108
-BMS 4552
-Kartesian CMP35_VPA
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Here are two additional lists of drivers which I tested for my project. The "Good" list are drivers which I found to be very performative though inferior to the my "Favorite" drivers. And the "The Ugly" are drivers which I found to be inferior:
Good:
Tweeters:
-Visaton BF32
-Visaton BF45
Bass // Mids // FR Drivers:
-Atlas PD5VH
-Beyma 12XA30ND
-B&C 8PE21
-18Sound 6ND430
-18Sound 10MW400
-18Sound 12NMB1000
-B&C 6MDN44
-B&C 8FMB51
-B&C 8MBX51
-B&C 10PE26
-Beyma 8G40
-Beyma 8MC300ND
-Beyma 8MC500ND
-Celestion CF0820M
-Celestion CN0617M
-Celestion G12H 55/75 Heritage
-Faital 6PR160
-Faital 8PR155
-Faital 8PR210
-Faital W8N8-150
-Fostex FE83NV
-Fostex FE126NV2
-Fostex FE166NV2
-Fostex FF105WK
-Fostex FF165WK
-Jensen 10 Mod 70
-Jensen Classic 100 Tornado 10
-Jensen Classic 100 Tornado 12
-LaVoce FSN020.71F
-Mark Audio Alpair 7MS
-Mark Audio CHN-40
-Mark Audio CHN-110
-Mark Audio CHP-70
-Mark Audio CHP-90
-Mark Audio CHR-70
-Mark Audio MAOP 5
-Mark Audio MAOP11
-Monacor SPH-102KEP
-Oberton 6NM150
-Purifi PTT4.0X
-Purifi PTT6.5M08
-Seas CA18RLY
-Seas CA22RNY
-Seas ER15RLY
-Seas FA22RCZ
-Seas OR002-04
-Seas OR004-04
-Seas OR005-04
-Seas OR006-04
-Supravox 165 GMF
-Supravox 285 GMF
-Visaton SL713
-Visaton W130S
-Visaton W170
-Visaton W250
-Visaton W300
-Wild Burro Betsy
-Zenith 49CZ852
Bass:
-18Sound 12MB1000
-B&C 10MD26
-Beyma 15G40
-Beyma 15P80FE/N
-Beyma 15MI100
-Seas CA22RNY
-Seas L26ROY
-Wavecor SW270WA1
Compression Drivers:
-18Sound 1480A
-B&C DCM414
-B&C DCM50
-Beyma CP22MF
-Beyma CP385ND
-Beyma TPL200
-Celestion AXI2050
-Faital HMF200
The Ugly:
Tweeters:
-Beyma CD1ND
-Beyma CD10ND
-Beyma CD11ND
-Ciare HT050
-Fostex FT17H
-Hivi RT2 Pro
-Seas T35C-002
-Visaton BF32
-Visaton TL16H
Mids // Low Mids:
-18Sound 5W430
-18Sound 8MB500
-18Sound 8NMB420
-18Sound 12W500
-Audax PR170Z0
-Aurum Cantus AC165
-B&C 2NDF26
-B&C 320K/C
-B&C 4NDS34
-B&C 6NDL44
-B&C 6PEV13
-B&C 6PS44
-B&C 6MBX44
-B&C 8FMB51
-B&C 8MDN51
-B&C 10CL51
-B&C 10MD26
-B&C 12MH32
-B&C 12NDL76
-B&C ALT002NDF
-Beyma 10BR60v2
-Beyma 10G40
-Beyma 10MI100
-Celestion AN350
-Celestion G10 45 Creamback
-Celestion G12H Heritage
-Ciare HW210
-Ciare HWG130
-Ciare HWG160
-Ciare PNDI 2.25CP
-Dayton Exciters
-Dayton RS180P
-Eminence Legend 1028K
-ER Audio Mini Panels
-Faital 2FE24
-Faital 5PR160
-Faital 6RS140
-Faital 10FE200
-Faital 10RS430
-Faital 15PR400
-Fostex FE208E Sigma
-Fostex P1000K
-GRS PT5010-8
-Hivi DMBA
-Jupiter 10LAP
-Kartesian Sub120
-Kartesion Wib50_vHP
-Kartesian Wom120
-LaVoce FAN030.71
-LaVoce FSN020.72
-LaVoce FSN021.00
-LaVoce FSN021.02
-LaVoce FSN030.72
-La Voce WSF121.70G
-Mark Audio CHR-120
-Monacor SPX-32M
-Oberton 8M150
-Oberton 10M150
-Peerless NE85W04
-Peerless TA6FC00
-Peerless TC5FC07-04
-Peerless TC7FD04
-PHL 1752NDU
-PHL 2530
-Satori MD60N-6
-Satori MR13P-4
-Satori MW19TX
-SB Acoustic 65WBAC25
-Scanspeak 10F/8424G
-Seas CA12RCY
-Seas FA6RBND/2
-Seas FA22RCZ
-Seas M15CH002
-Seas MCA12RC
-Seas MUR10RB-SL
-Seas U22REX
-Supravox 285-2000 MK2
-Visaton FRS 5 // X // XTS // XWP
-Visaton FRS7A
-Visaton FR8
-Visaton FR8M
-Visaton FR8TA
-Visaton FR13
-Visaton FR 6.5
-Visaton R10S
-Visaton R10STE
-Visaton SC8N
-Visaton SC13
-Visaton SL70NDV
-Visaton SL87
-Visaton TI100
-Visaton TW70
-Visaton W170S
-Visaton WS13E
-Yamaha JA-0801
Bass:
-18Sound 12ND610
-18Sound 15NTLW3500
-18Sound 18W1300
-Audax PR240M0
-B&C 10PE26
-B&C 15NW76
-Celestion TF1525
-Faital 12FE330
-Faital 15HP1020
-Faital 18FH500
-Kartesian Sub250
-Seas A26RE4
-Seas CA26RFX
-Seas ER18RNX
-Visaton AL200
-Visaton W200S
-Visaton W250S
-Visaton WS20E
-Visaton WS25E
Compression Drivers:
-Altec 290
-B&C DE500
-B&C DE980TN
-B&C DE1095TN
-Beyma CP380M
-Beyma CP750TI
-BMS 4591
-Faital HF1440
-Faital HF206
-JBL 2453H
-Yamaha JA6881B
Last edited:
Yeah, I hear horrible things about those Purifi and Satori drivers. 🤔
Purifi drivers are interesting. Not my preferred style or methodology... Satori drivers are garbage.
I’m interested in hearing more about your observations. I’d also be curious to hear what your daily driver speakers are.
I will post more about my system once I feel things are finalized as far as build. Having tested so many drivers, and also lots of speakers, I have a good grasp of things and what to do and what not to do. It should be easy deduce how my system looks based top performers in the first section of the list.
Interesting to see the 8pe21 listed as a sub but I think I’ve seen this used in a tapped horn before. I do love it as a midrange. I’ve used it 300-3000 and thought it was really nice.
...And robustness under stress.
Sonic pleasantry typically in the form of clarity as opposed to resonant shrillness often in conjunction with a compressed sonic character. Cone mass is the factor that effects this quality the most. Also speaker diameter is a factor. A higher mass midwoofer like the 18Sound 12NMB1000 with an exceptionally high motor strength is simply not as sonically performative as a lower mass cone and less powerful motor Jensen 100 Classic Tornado 12" (or whatever you call it). To my surprise it's also not as robust indicating that their are more and less right ways to design a speaker. Visaton, Jensen, Celestion, Fostex, Beyma in that order seem to know the formula whereas B&C, 18Sound, Faital seem to be copying methods in conjuction with wishful trial and error. The Faital drivers for example are in general seemingly well optimized for flat frequency response. Sonically some units have been inferior to drivers from other brands. In the case of Faital it seems power handling and sensitivity specs are often misrepresented. That said there are products from the latter three that are competitive with the best, though across the board those three aren't as consistent. Furthermore I'm not fond of brands with lots or redundant low quality products which I've observed quite a bit in my explorations. All that said it's been fun having so many options to choose from and I prefer it that way. I'm pretty ocd and can keep track of specs and all of it pretty easily. I also have good ears. For those who don't want to deal with the 'monotony' of sifting through a lot of specs and gear hopefully they can find great enjoyment from the simple formulas I've outlined
Sonic pleasantry typically in the form of clarity as opposed to resonant shrillness often in conjunction with a compressed sonic character. Cone mass is the factor that effects this quality the most. Also speaker diameter is a factor. A higher mass midwoofer like the 18Sound 12NMB1000 with an exceptionally high motor strength is simply not as sonically performative as a lower mass cone and less powerful motor Jensen 100 Classic Tornado 12" (or whatever you call it). To my surprise it's also not as robust indicating that their are more and less right ways to design a speaker. Visaton, Jensen, Celestion, Fostex, Beyma in that order seem to know the formula whereas B&C, 18Sound, Faital seem to be copying methods in conjuction with wishful trial and error. The Faital drivers for example are in general seemingly well optimized for flat frequency response. Sonically some units have been inferior to drivers from other brands. In the case of Faital it seems power handling and sensitivity specs are often misrepresented. That said there are products from the latter three that are competitive with the best, though across the board those three aren't as consistent. Furthermore I'm not fond of brands with lots or redundant low quality products which I've observed quite a bit in my explorations. All that said it's been fun having so many options to choose from and I prefer it that way. I'm pretty ocd and can keep track of specs and all of it pretty easily. I also have good ears. For those who don't want to deal with the 'monotony' of sifting through a lot of specs and gear hopefully they can find great enjoyment from the simple formulas I've outlined
Last edited:
Mostly drivers that failed, burnt voice coils, mechanical noise artifacts, lack of output capability, inaccurate sensitivity ratings, distortion, and or the characteristic shrillness that is least present on electrostatic panels and slightly though minimally present on well designed low mass speaker cones.
Interesting how a couple of the MA drivers are up top, the rest of the product line down in the landfill. What could that big discrepancy be attributed to?
Edited... this is a personal list that I never really edited while preferences after new testing changed here and there. I find the smaller latest gen Mark Audio drivers handle power better. For near field listening the CHN-40P and CHN-50P are among the best I've tested. I'm hopeful power handling improves with later iterations of the larger drivers.
Last edited:
This driver intrigues me. Does it have enough top end to use as tweeter? How low did you feel comfortable crossing it?
I believe I tested it at a 700hz or 800hz crossover frequency. I preferred the Visaton to the Seas cloth mid dome as its a good bit smoother. The mid frequencies aren't going to be pronounced in the way that a large middome like the Bliesma, Visaton B100, Mark Audio minis will be at the same crossover frequency. It's fine as a tweeter.
The Bliesma paper middome is not as extended and smooth, though more pronounced and efficient through the mids. I'm optimistic that the expensive Beryllium Bliesma mid dome does away with some of the shrillness and can extend as a tweeter in the way the Visaton B100 and Mark Audio drivers can. I hope to test that unit some day.
The B100 is quite special and competitive with the best 2" throat 4" vc compression drivers available at a 600hz crossover frequency operating at midfield monitor levels, and especially if mated with a supplementary tweeter like a simple ribbon or low mass dome.
The Bliesma paper middome is not as extended and smooth, though more pronounced and efficient through the mids. I'm optimistic that the expensive Beryllium Bliesma mid dome does away with some of the shrillness and can extend as a tweeter in the way the Visaton B100 and Mark Audio drivers can. I hope to test that unit some day.
The B100 is quite special and competitive with the best 2" throat 4" vc compression drivers available at a 600hz crossover frequency operating at midfield monitor levels, and especially if mated with a supplementary tweeter like a simple ribbon or low mass dome.