This driver was featured in Voice Coil this month. One of the best compression drivers I've seen measured and the best 3" diaphram driver meaurements I've seen. Less than .5% THD in the 1-10k test band @ 104db/1m. Clean waterfall plots all the way through the upper octave. Extension out to 20k. 112db sensitivity.
I'd like to see higher spl measurements but it's better than anything else measured in the last 6 years I've seen in Voice Coil. It looks like it might be a real winner for very low compromise high efficiency systems.
http://www.18sound.it/Products/Articles/Detail/catid/4062/eid/5008/nd3st
I'd like to see higher spl measurements but it's better than anything else measured in the last 6 years I've seen in Voice Coil. It looks like it might be a real winner for very low compromise high efficiency systems.
http://www.18sound.it/Products/Articles/Detail/catid/4062/eid/5008/nd3st
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18Sound has a Titanium Nitride deposition process which they use on high end compression drivers:
NSD4015N 4" diaphragm 1.5" exit,
NSD1480N 3" diaphragm 1.4" exit,
NSD1424BTN 2.4" diameter 1.4" exit,
NSD1095N 1.75" diameter 1" exit.
I wonder why 18Sound did not combine their TiN process with the new motor and suspension described on this ND3ST.
The SPL bumps on the ND3ST measurements would suggest a need to listen to the ND3ST on a horn, or wait for a trusted reviewer to perform listening plus measurement tests.
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With a crossover of 1.6Khz or higher mounted on medium depth horns, the TiN diaphragm NSD1095N gets exceptional reviews.
I use the Faital HF108 on a PVR WG35-25 because the Keytone Plastic diaphragm is smooth from 1.1kHz to 18kHz. I suspect this trades less "detail" than a NSD1095N for wider usable BW.
NSD4015N 4" diaphragm 1.5" exit,
NSD1480N 3" diaphragm 1.4" exit,
NSD1424BTN 2.4" diameter 1.4" exit,
NSD1095N 1.75" diameter 1" exit.
I wonder why 18Sound did not combine their TiN process with the new motor and suspension described on this ND3ST.
The SPL bumps on the ND3ST measurements would suggest a need to listen to the ND3ST on a horn, or wait for a trusted reviewer to perform listening plus measurement tests.
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With a crossover of 1.6Khz or higher mounted on medium depth horns, the TiN diaphragm NSD1095N gets exceptional reviews.
I use the Faital HF108 on a PVR WG35-25 because the Keytone Plastic diaphragm is smooth from 1.1kHz to 18kHz. I suspect this trades less "detail" than a NSD1095N for wider usable BW.
Attachments
I haven't listened to this combo yet (execpt plugging it into the headphone output of a small radio with a series cap) but I have made an informal measurement without any EQing of a Faital HF10AK (also Ketone polymer) on an Eighteensound XT1086:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/mult...ifi-speakers-eighteensound-4.html#post4607060
This looks quite promising as well, doesn't it ?
Here you will find some mesurements of the driver on a small Faital horn including distortion measurements @ 105 dB SPL (from the German DIY mag Klang & Ton):
https://www.adamhall.com/shop/gb-en/downloads/file/id/-802491784
OTOH the ND3ST does indeed look very promising from the VC measurements but I guess it will not be available below $ 400. But all the Eighteensound drivers that I was holding in my hand had an exceptional build quality and a big "must have factor" so far.
Regards
Charles
Edit:
For those who are interested in measurements of the 18sound NSD1095n on an XT1086 horn - mentioned by LineSource - you will find a review in this issue of VC magazine:
http://www.pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/15_Mfrs_Publications/40_Voice_Coil/2010/2010_12_Dec.pdf
The response is exceptionally smooth up to 15 kHz. Higher up it gets a little "nervous". Series consistency seems to be very good as well. What I don't like that much is the distortion performance but I am not quite sure whether some of it comes from the nearfield measurement. The SPL is at the upper end of the usable range for the microphone used.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/mult...ifi-speakers-eighteensound-4.html#post4607060
This looks quite promising as well, doesn't it ?
Here you will find some mesurements of the driver on a small Faital horn including distortion measurements @ 105 dB SPL (from the German DIY mag Klang & Ton):
https://www.adamhall.com/shop/gb-en/downloads/file/id/-802491784
OTOH the ND3ST does indeed look very promising from the VC measurements but I guess it will not be available below $ 400. But all the Eighteensound drivers that I was holding in my hand had an exceptional build quality and a big "must have factor" so far.
Regards
Charles
Edit:
For those who are interested in measurements of the 18sound NSD1095n on an XT1086 horn - mentioned by LineSource - you will find a review in this issue of VC magazine:
http://www.pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/15_Mfrs_Publications/40_Voice_Coil/2010/2010_12_Dec.pdf
The response is exceptionally smooth up to 15 kHz. Higher up it gets a little "nervous". Series consistency seems to be very good as well. What I don't like that much is the distortion performance but I am not quite sure whether some of it comes from the nearfield measurement. The SPL is at the upper end of the usable range for the microphone used.
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I wonder, too (it looks like thers is breakup in the top octave). Hopefully they will do a TiN or a Be version in the future.
Interestingly the traditional PA crowd often don't prefer the cleaner breakup drivers because they are so used to the Ti breakup in 3" and 4" models. I remember the first user reviews of the TiN models all complained about "lack of air and top end transparency"...
OK, I see. Thanks
Would you recommend 1.4" TiN drivers for power HiFi purposes ? I wonder if a 1.4" TiN driver would be an improvement over my 1" Ketone polymer one. A slight disadvantage of the 1.4" drivers is the fact that I would have to use a horn with diffraction in order to achieve a horizontal directivity as wide as the XT1086 /1" driver combo.
Regards
Charles
Would you recommend 1.4" TiN drivers for power HiFi purposes ? I wonder if a 1.4" TiN driver would be an improvement over my 1" Ketone polymer one. A slight disadvantage of the 1.4" drivers is the fact that I would have to use a horn with diffraction in order to achieve a horizontal directivity as wide as the XT1086 /1" driver combo.
Regards
Charles
I haven't had a chance to listen to a Ketone polymer CD, except the one in the Faital 8HX200 coaxial which I liked.
I think for HiFi, 1.4" is overkill, more exactly any larger diaphragm than 2.5" or so. Smaller dome should result in less breakup when properly done. Probably a CD with low compression ratio is best. And for smaller domes polymers seem to work very well.
Are you using a Faital CD?
I think for HiFi, 1.4" is overkill, more exactly any larger diaphragm than 2.5" or so. Smaller dome should result in less breakup when properly done. Probably a CD with low compression ratio is best. And for smaller domes polymers seem to work very well.
Are you using a Faital CD?
Yes, I am using the HF10AK on a Eighteensound XT1086 waveguide. This one is also somewhat relying on diffration in the horizontal but much less so than many other ones. It doesn't narrow before it is extending - it does only have a slight kink.
I once listened to a studio monitor that is using the same horn (CD used is unknown to me) and that one sounded fantastic.
Regards
Charles
Only seen some mention/measurements of the 4" drivers.
I'm starting to think the measurements were done at 94db rather than 104db. VoiceCoil is a great resource but they do make mistakes more often than I'd like.
The 4015ti2 compared to the ND2080 wasn't very different distortion wise once eq'd. The distortion measurements shown for the ND3ST look similar to other high-end compression drivers messured around 95db.
They're probably the best dome drivers out there besides JBL. Truextent Beryllium(JBL aftermarket, Radian, 18 Sound) is your best bet for domes and DCX454, Axi2050, HF1440 for ring radiators.
According to member PVRX, the Mundorf Pro AMT and TPL200 measured and sounded much cleaner than any compression compression driver they tested.
I'm starting to think the measurements were done at 94db rather than 104db. VoiceCoil is a great resource but they do make mistakes more often than I'd like.
The 4015ti2 compared to the ND2080 wasn't very different distortion wise once eq'd. The distortion measurements shown for the ND3ST look similar to other high-end compression drivers messured around 95db.
They're probably the best dome drivers out there besides JBL. Truextent Beryllium(JBL aftermarket, Radian, 18 Sound) is your best bet for domes and DCX454, Axi2050, HF1440 for ring radiators.
According to member PVRX, the Mundorf Pro AMT and TPL200 measured and sounded much cleaner than any compression compression driver they tested.
Ehm..with a little delay
D) but yes, they actually do it, in the ND3SN:Eighteen Sound - Professional loudspeakers
unfortunately, for some time by now, there is no longer any reference available about this product in online stores or on the net in general, but only 18sound main site... or at least, I am unable to find it any more
. Maybe it went out of production, dunno...