That’s awesome 👏. Thanks for sharing. There was a full range company that used a special tin foil on their drivers back in the day. How do they sound? frequency better or worse? Just curious. Thanks again. Jeffyes, I do this frequently and described it for everyone how to DIY:
Constrained Layer damping:
A hint I got here from the forum as a key to good sound from sandwich structure.
Now used silicone sealant for applying aluminium foil to the paper cone.
Finger snipping test shows enhanced damping due to the properties of the silicone.
Work goes faster than with the household glue I used usually.
just read from post one of the thread
@Jeffrey 01
due to lower distortion and better transient response you get a very clean sound like with electrostatic speakers.
Once Kef and Leak used aluminium foil to achieve distortion reduction in the 60ies.
So its all known from loudspeaker history.
Their use of expanded foams at the same time for the core of the cones is not necesssary.
Paper gives you damping and the foil the stability as a composite material.
So ideal usable especially for fullrange drivers. You can get resonance free drivers.
due to lower distortion and better transient response you get a very clean sound like with electrostatic speakers.
Once Kef and Leak used aluminium foil to achieve distortion reduction in the 60ies.
So its all known from loudspeaker history.
Their use of expanded foams at the same time for the core of the cones is not necesssary.
Paper gives you damping and the foil the stability as a composite material.
So ideal usable especially for fullrange drivers. You can get resonance free drivers.
That’s awesome news. I will have to try it on a set of full range drivers in the next project I do with small 3 inch drivers That are very bright. Thanks again. Jeff
The Fountek FE85 is a strong contender.
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-3-fullrange/fountek-fe85-3-aluminum-cone-full-range/
I used 12 of these in a shaded array:
Thread 'Shaded Array - Twelve 3” Full Range drivers with 35Hz-25KHz & high output'
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...e-drivers-with-35hz-25khz-high-output.412154/
The TB W4-1337SDF 4” is also an excellent if pricey choice:
Post in thread 'Your favorite 4-5” midrange driver?'
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/your-favorite-4-5-midrange-driver.407224/post-7878683
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-3-fullrange/fountek-fe85-3-aluminum-cone-full-range/
I used 12 of these in a shaded array:
Thread 'Shaded Array - Twelve 3” Full Range drivers with 35Hz-25KHz & high output'
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...e-drivers-with-35hz-25khz-high-output.412154/
The TB W4-1337SDF 4” is also an excellent if pricey choice:
Post in thread 'Your favorite 4-5” midrange driver?'
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/your-favorite-4-5-midrange-driver.407224/post-7878683
I know that it's not the OP's goal, but a slightly bigger driver can make a lot of difference. I think all 2.5 to 4" drivers are not fit to be used alone, they need a woofer. The best is still the old Alpair 7.3 (but NLA). The Pluvia 7 is close. But i use a 5.5" cone (nominal 6") Alpair 10.3 for my bookshelfs. It's still a relative small speaker, but it can stands on it's own without the need for a sub in most cases. I use it at my desk and it does the job perfectly for me. The driver is also NLA, but there are modern variation of it in the line up (Pluvia11) that do similar things.
But it's true that a fullrange driver is always a compromise (like all speakers). A 2 way does things better in some aspects and it may be what you want If you want a cheap 2 way that sounds decent, look at the Overnight Sensation or C-Note kits, they do sound quiet decent and are cheap to buy as kit and are hard to better for that price and size. But if you want a single driver fullrange of max 4", use the Pluvia7 if you ask me.
But it's true that a fullrange driver is always a compromise (like all speakers). A 2 way does things better in some aspects and it may be what you want If you want a cheap 2 way that sounds decent, look at the Overnight Sensation or C-Note kits, they do sound quiet decent and are cheap to buy as kit and are hard to better for that price and size. But if you want a single driver fullrange of max 4", use the Pluvia7 if you ask me.