amplifier for compression driver

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#2
#6
woody said:
What type output levels will you need ? If you aren't going
much above 98 db Nelson's Amp Camp Amp might be all you
need. It will only be about 3W into 16 ohms but that might be
all you need.
Click to expand...

I know horns/compression-drivers are very efficient drivers, but isn't that a bit too little? 98dB is ear-shatteringly loud at those frequencies, though.
 
#10
You can run 8ohm compression drivers out of the headphone socket on most devices, and get reasonable SPLs.

I'd say the amplifier must be low-noise. If you can hear any hiss on normal speakers, there'll be +10dB (maybe more) on the compression drivers. That can be a lot.

Apart from that, so long as you've got enough clean power to get the SPLs you want, you'll be fine.

FWIW I run a 3" compression drivers on the 2nd channel of an NU6000DSP as part of my PA system. There's an annoying amount of background hiss on that, but power is adequate.

Chris
 
#13
Tube amps can be very quiet, they aren't usually particularly noisy.

One thing I would be VERY careful about, though, is to avoid amps that might have a turn-on or turn-off "thump" -- if you use those to directly drive a compression tweeter, it can damage the diaphragm from the near-DC pulse. One way around it is to drive the compression driver through a series capacitor (something like 33uF or so), but best might be to choose an amp that doesn't thump when it turns on or off.
 
#14
with a horn driver.. I measured the p-p voltage when I am playing it louder than I can listen to it... it was just over .65 volts !!!!!!! .. The driver I measured was a Great Plains 902-8A so any set amp with 2 or 3 watts is enough for home use with power to spare !... 2.83v = 1 watt at 8 ohms....

Good lord can you hear all the ringing?
 
#16
Class A or another amp with low crossover distortion is probably not a bad idea. You will usually listen at such low power levels - compared to direct radiators - that the low-level behaviour (crossover diustortion and noise) of the amp becomes important.

Regards

Charles
 
#18
Hiss or noice is a real problem with copression drivers. I have JBL 2445 and 2404 and have tryed 3110 2.1 board from Kina and 4xT1 from HiFiMeDIY. Bouth have to much hiss. Bouth amps work and sound very good. But 111db/1W is soo sensitive that you can hear anything.
The 3110 can be altered to 20db gain and that helps. T1 must be restricted wit L pad resistors that works when the eq is before the power amplifier.

So now with about 14db atunation from LPad I have very silent background hiss. In Najda preamp DSP prosessor ja still restrict hi and mid by about 7db so I can still inprove. And the sound is very nice given that I have done tens of hours DSP analysing and filter design.

I think this is the end of the road for D amps for me in the upper register. But I don`t think that there is a better alternative than D close to the base register as there you need a lot of power reserve and low down hiss is not reproduced.
 
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