2015/2016 What were the best new speaker parts?

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eriksquires

eriksquires

Member
2013-05-10 4:11 pm
  • #1
    Hi Friends!

    I've been doing a lot of parts window shopping for the past six months or so. I've noticed that drivers seem to not change very much, so I thought I would ask this question. What are the most interesting new drivers, crossover components or cabinet parts you've seen over the past year?

    My first contribution to this is the 7" Eton Magnesium/Resin drivers that seem to have popped up over at Madisound for around $680 each.

    [IMGDEAD]https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/images/products/7-308.jpg[/IMGDEAD]

    My second is the uber cheap Dayton phone measurement microphone which sometimes goes for $12. For those running Room EQ Wizard it's a pretty attractive and inexpensive option.

    attachment.php





    Best,


    Erik
     

    Attachments

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    eriksquires

    eriksquires

    Member
    2013-05-10 4:11 pm
  • #3
    Face

    Face

    Member
    2007-05-23 8:38 pm
  • #4
    Budget Be. ;)

    Besides, the $680 woofer listed in your original post uses less copper in it's motor and the same pole piece material as a sub $100 SB Acoustics woofer. The only thing special here is the cone...and even that is up for discussion.

    And as far as $200 or $500 speaker parts being affordable, I would say that's subjective since I know plenty of people who wouldn't spend $50 on a tweeter.
     
    LineSource

    LineSource

    Member
    2003-09-25 12:05 am
    SiliconValley
  • #6
    The newest Satori drivers seem to approach the "no need to spend more" price/value point for most diy.

    Domes:
    TW29RN-B
    RW29RN-B high efficiency

    7.5" Midbass
    MW19P-4:
    MW19P-8:

    9½" woofer ( 2" voicecoil)

    13½" woofer ( 3" voicecoil)

    =========
    In the USA, John at Acoustic Elegance has added a few new drivers to the family. Worth a visit!
     
    C

    CharlieLaub

    Member
    2007-03-13 2:49 am
    Michigan
    audio.claub.net
  • #7
    For something even more down to earth price wise (under $20 each) I have to say I am very interested in these new tweeters from Dayton Audio, available from Parts-Express:
    Dayton Audio ND25FW-4 1" Soft Dome Neodymium Tweeter with Waveguide 4 Ohm
    They combine a 1" dome powered by a neo magnet motor with a 4" waveguide. Sensitivity is on the high side for a dome tweeter, starting above 95dB/W at 2kHz and falling below 90dB/W only at 15kHz or so. Could this be a poor man's Seas DXT?

    The data sheet shows what looks like well controlled directivity above about 3kHz to 4kHz. I am planning to cross over from an AMT midrange that has increasingly poor off axis response above 5kHz using this driver. Based on what I see in the data sheet I am looking forward to giving these a try and I don't have to spend $680 per driver to do it!
     
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    T

    TMM

    Member
    2007-09-01 8:37 am
    Australia
  • #8
    CharlieLaub said:
    For something even more down to earth price wise (under $20 each) I have to say I am very interested in these new tweeters from Dayton Audio, available from Parts-Express:
    Dayton Audio ND25FW-4 1" Soft Dome Neodymium Tweeter with Waveguide 4 Ohm
    They combine a 1" dome powered by a neo magnet motor with a 4" waveguide. Sensitivity is on the high side for a dome tweeter, starting above 95dB/W at 2kHz and falling below 90dB/W only at 15kHz or so. Could this be a poor man's Seas DXT?

    The data sheet shows what looks like well controlled directivity above about 3kHz to 4kHz. I am planning to cross over from an AMT midrange that has increasingly poor off axis response above 5kHz using this driver. Based on what I see in the data sheet I am looking forward to giving these a try and I don't have to spend $680 per driver to do it!
    Click to expand...
    My only concern is that the Fs is a bit high compared to full size tweeters like the SEAS 27 series. As a result the non-linear distortion of the Dayton will probably be high until above 3K. At the end of the day it's still a really cheap tweeter just with a waveguide. To be honest the 27TBCD is really not as good as it could be in non-linear distortion either. If you have the patience you're probably better off trying to put a waveguide on a normal full size tweeter which already has good performance - e.g. XT25, Usher 9950/Dayton RS28, SB29, Seas 27TDFC. None of these are particularly cheap but they are all still good value.

    Something i've tried is putting a Visaton WG148R waveguide on an Sb acoustics SB29RDC-C000-4. Only modification required was to recess the plastic on the back of the waveguide for the raised bolts on the front of the SB29, and add a foam gasket to create an air tight seal. With that combo you could probably cross 1.2kHz LR4 if you wanted to.

    Directivity was basically the same as Zaph's 6.5" waveguide experiment:
    Zaph|Audio
     
    Last edited:
    C

    CharlieLaub

    Member
    2007-03-13 2:49 am
    Michigan
    audio.claub.net
  • #9
    TMM said:
    My only concern is that the Fs is a bit high compared to full size tweeters like the SEAS 27 series. As a result the non-linear distortion of the Dayton will probably be high until above 3K. At the end of the day it's still a really cheap tweeter just with a waveguide. To be honest the 27TBCD is really not as good as it could be in non-linear distortion either. If you have the patience you're probably better off trying to put a waveguide on a normal full size tweeter which already has good performance - e.g. XT25, Usher 9950/Dayton RS28, SB29, Seas 27TDFC. None of these are particularly cheap but they are all still good value.

    Something i've tried is putting a Visaton WG148R waveguide on an Sb acoustics SB29RDC-C000-4. Only modification required was to recess the plastic on the back of the waveguide for the raised bolts on the front of the SB29, and add a foam gasket to create an air tight seal. With that combo you could probably cross 1.2kHz LR4 if you wanted to.

    Directivity was basically the same as Zaph's 6.5" waveguide experiment:
    Zaph|Audio
    Click to expand...

    The waveguide of the Dayton tweeter is small, so I wouldn't use it below 3-4kHz anyway because the pattern will be too omni. When used higher up, it's a good low cost solution without the usual problems of a 1" dome off axis.

    There are lots of people putting dome tweeters in a waveguide of some sort and there are now some products available for doing just that. Like the Visaton WG you mentioned. In the USA there is an 8" SEOS shape wave guide for certain dome tweeters that lets you cross down low around 1-2kHz. I for one am glad to see this direction in driver design.
     
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    bwaslo

    bwaslo

    Member
    2006-05-28 3:54 am
    Portland, Oregon!
    libinst.com
  • #10
    Charlie,

    I tested that tweeter/waveguide informally while at PE a few weeks ago while working on some calibration issues. It did measure rather impressively, I have to say. I didn't run any distortion sweeps or anything (not particularly impressed with those measurements correlation to sound) but the smoothness and off-axis behavior of that combo was surprisingly nice. Too bad it doesn't go lower, though.
     
    C

    CharlieLaub

    Member
    2007-03-13 2:49 am
    Michigan
    audio.claub.net
  • #13
    eriksquires

    eriksquires

    Member
    2013-05-10 4:11 pm
  • #14
    I like the Accuton Cell! I just read that the acoustic center is in front of the baffle, and designed for relatively small enclosures. Very cool features for me. I just wish I was a bigger fan of the Accuton sound. I've never been particularly attracted to speakers using them. I should say the last time I heard them was in a terrible room with terrible electronics and terrifyingly unique taste in music, so I could not judge.
     
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    Ron E

    Ron E

    Member
    2002-06-27 10:41 pm
    USA, MN
  • #15
    eriksquires said:
    My first contribution to this is the 7" Eton Magnesium/Resin drivers that seem to have popped up over at Madisound for around $680 each.
    Click to expand...

    It sure has a "purdy mouth"... I see Eton still does massive (octave band?) smoothing on their driver spec sheets. Probably needs some crossover magic to keep it from "squealing like a pig".

    Probably a better design than the (twice as expensive!) Focal BE W cone....but it can't have much copper in the motor as the inductance is fairly high...
     
    R

    ra7

    Member
    2009-02-07 6:47 am
    Davis, CA
  • #16
    In my mind the biggest advancement in 2015 was the addition of frequency dependent windowing to REW.

    Another big leap for me, personally, was the discovery of DRC (DRC: Digital Room Correction). This software also uses frequency dependent windowing. It goes further than manual correction by correcting at the listening position for neutral sound and using other psychoacoustic processing (DRC: Digital Room Correction) to correct the response at the listening positioning. I'm not saying this is the cure-all, but it does improve the sound dramatically. Check out this thread on DRC to help get started. I have found the ERB template to be the most neutral sounding and a good balance between correction/evenness across the room/artifacts.
    http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...ectrical-loudspeaker-correction-networks.html
     
    eriksquires

    eriksquires

    Member
    2013-05-10 4:11 pm
  • #17
    ra7,

    I've been using miniDSP with parametric EQ's from OmniMic. It works a treat. :) I can select the operating frequencies, tilt, and then let it optimize it. So far for my center channel speaker which is not optimally located and HT subwoofer it's been a very good combination.

    Of course, there's a lot more advanced technology. Dirac also has a software suite (I think comparable to rePhase) which optimizes frequency and time. I'm tempted to try it just to see how my 2-way monitors would change.

    In particular, I like the idea of doing DSP before the DAC's but the post-DAC DSP solutions aren't as bad as you might think. :) I think the miniDSP nanoDigi or something is $170 alone. Dirac solutions are more expensive and limited to 96kHz or so. I guess there's a boatload of math required.

    Best,


    Erik

    ra7 said:
    In my mind the biggest advancement in 2015 was the addition of frequency dependent windowing to REW.

    Another big leap for me, personally, was the discovery of DRC (DRC: Digital Room Correction). This software also uses frequency dependent windowing. It goes further than manual correction by correcting at the listening position for neutral sound and using other psychoacoustic processing (DRC: Digital Room Correction) to correct the response at the listening positioning. I'm not saying this is the cure-all, but it does improve the sound dramatically. Check out this thread on DRC to help get started. I have found the ERB template to be the most neutral sounding and a good balance between correction/evenness across the room/artifacts.
    http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...ectrical-loudspeaker-correction-networks.html
    Click to expand...
     
    R

    ra7

    Member
    2009-02-07 6:47 am
    Davis, CA
  • #18
    Minidsp is a great boon to diyers. I used it for many years. Now I use a PC crossover and convolution. You can do that using external hardware offered by minidsp. The real progress is DRC though. It is free, and it is automatic. You can fix quite a few things using rePhase but DRC's ability to produce neutral sound at the listening position is very powerful, IMHO.
     
    eriksquires

    eriksquires

    Member
    2013-05-10 4:11 pm
  • #20
    Wow, what's with all the Eton hate? There's a lot of strong negative opinions about the motors already. Where did you read about the motor being sub-par?

    Technically part of the home line, I wonder if it is indeed more for show if it's more for the auto upgrade industry?

    Erik
     
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