A Subjective Blind Comparison of 2in to 4in drivers - Round 4

Select the driver that you think sounds the best.

  • A

    Votes: 10 24.4%
  • B

    Votes: 5 12.2%
  • D

    Votes: 3 7.3%
  • E

    Votes: 11 26.8%
  • F

    Votes: 12 29.3%

  • Total voters
    41
  • Poll closed .
Hmm, I use mine XO at 700Hz and it sounds really good. Ideally just above 1200Hz gets into much lower distortion. How does stacking them let you go lower? Don't have to drive them as hard?

Here is example at 700Hz XO:
478111d1429359989-rockin-kazba-dipole-k-aperture-z-baffle-dipole-rs225-amt-fast-xo.png


Corresponding harmonic distortion:
478112d1429359989-rockin-kazba-dipole-k-aperture-z-baffle-dipole-rs225-amt-fast-hd.png


Impulse Response:
478113d1429359989-rockin-kazba-dipole-k-aperture-z-baffle-dipole-rs225-amt-fast-ir.png


The bass here is provided by the KaZba (Karlson Z-baffle) dipole with dual 8in RS225-8's in push-pull.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...zba-dipole-k-aperture-z-baffle-dipole-11.html
 
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And some says 1500 Hz, some 1800 Hz (to avoid those distorsions and turbulences ) But many agree after measurement no to go below 1500 Hz. I heard some design with a 10" or 12" below... Something works bad here : the subjective feeling of fastness and micro dynamics give a bad match with the paper drivers I heard. But after a horn in the highs there are testimonals to say it's the best treble unit ever made for (relative) high efficienty

I surmise they stacked to move more air to play it at the lowest FR this driver is able avoiding a too thin sound !
 
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Jay,
Sounds as you have some fun there 😎 think xrk971 did a good job and probably also because we listen to previous winners here it got very hard to predict letters to sound clips even there is a real difference but much less as in previous rounds.

To me the previous round is harder. May be because of the less control in place, even with Barleywater's files I'm sure I can do 100/100 of Foobar ABX blind test with any of the two files in this round 4.

I think we must learn from SY and the other guys that small different can create bias in an uncontrolled test. What I have noticed is the importance of SPL level. A slight higher SPL, and the perceived quality will be higher because it will have greater impact and dynamic.

Get little confused because predictions you made at post 138 and postponed vote for preference sound, how have that to do with driver building tech plus specs and what others have guessed the letters paired a sound clip, you only need to make a vote for what of the five clips is your preferred sound not a third txt-file 🙂.

I know 😀

I postponed vote because I knew I will listen to the files again. And I knew I would listen again because I was still puzzled with TG9-10F relationship :bigeyes: [I think the TG9 is controversial. Many here like this driver very much. If it is THAT good and cheap, we already have a winner]. Not to mention my speakers and the fact that I haven't heard the third clip.

So, even tho I know what I like best at the moment, as long as I will still listen to the files with different system there will be possibility I will change my preference. I have done this many times on this site. Cheap desktop speaker or headphone is usable, but there are things that my Sennheiser can do better [e.g. the room reverberation on piano clip was not heard with the cheap headphone]. And there are things that my speaker can do better than the Senn [e.g. the exotic vocal of the 10F was not heard on the Senn, B80 was sweeter].

My champion here actually is/was the 10F coz I have planned a 4way system using this driver where the lower driver will be similar sounding [fiberglass]. Whatever the result of this round, 10F is still the best match for my drivers [I wanted the ATC dome, but too expensive].
 
Brave? Maybe... I'll admit it was my second choice. I voted different due to hearing one driver that didn't have an apparent rise in HF (more in line with the original song played back) and voted for that one for overall tonality. But I actually liked the midrange on my number 2 and 3 better. Always compromises to be made, right?

So like Jeshi I liked it too.
 
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for a nice inexpensive tweeter from ~1K2 upwards, consider a decent compression driver on a K-tube

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Brave? Maybe... I'll admit it was my second choice. I voted different due to hearing one driver that didn't have an apparent rise in HF (more in line with the original song played back) and voted for that one for overall tonality. But I actually liked the midrange on my number 2 and 3 better. Always compromises to be made, right?

Unfortunately I don't know or remember what your number two and three are... But yes, compromises... And preference can change with different systems... Reminds me why in the old days I always use piano to judge sound quality...

With my Senn I could hear room reverberation clearly but not with cheap headphone. Reverberation is very important for piano...

With most music with piano, the piano should grab your attention before other instruments because it is usually the most beautiful...

When I listen to Adele with my speaker, I always noticed and enjoyed the piano, not the vocal. But with many systems the piano is not "noticed" at all. The same when I heard the second clip with cheap headphone yesterday, I forgot if there was piano there...
 
Wesayso I think we voted for different drivers. Maybe my notes where confusing since I listed them in reverse order with my pick at the bottom.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...2in-4in-drivers-round-4-a-11.html#post4443362

I guess I am not taking this round so seriously since I think this approach has limits so I am not so convinced that my pick here would be the same as my pick if I had the drives in hand. I do think these tests help weed out drivers we would be disappointed in though. So I think my top3 here would all be drivers I would be happy to own.
 
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IMHO, this list can be split in two according the listener tastes :

A & F : soft, casual, warmer

B&D&F : more hifi : better resolution, tones, dynamic, clearer (and yes D is definitly not so bad 😉, honor is safe for it now !)

Maybe according the room & the system you can only have a preference for one of the two ! In my good damped listening room, It seemed someone putted me Nutella paste in the ears with A, and marmelade with F ! (marmelade is lighter but still a plug of wax !)

What is the max SPL those toys can output in a sealed cabinet ?
 
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Wesayso I think we voted for different drivers. Maybe my notes where confusing since I listed them in reverse order with my pick at the bottom.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...2in-4in-drivers-round-4-a-11.html#post4443362

I guess I am not taking this round so seriously since I think this approach has limits so I am not so convinced that my pick here would be the same as my pick if I had the drives in hand. I do think these tests help weed out drivers we would be disappointed in though. So I think my top3 here would all be drivers I would be happy to own.
I think Jay was talking about you (and me) liking the one driver that's now finally recieved a vote. I think we both had it high in our ranking. But with Jay you never know. He keeps calling them names that I can't follow 😀. Our first place vote was different, I know.