Thanks for this test!Hello,
Thanks to a new french horn / acoustics company, I had the chance to compare and try different 1 inch compression drivers.
The company audio horn makes really interesting horns, they can be 3D printed or carved in wood thanks to CNC. I was interested in the X-shape horns which look like modern JBL horns and are true CD horns.
I sent him all my compression drivers and he kindly tested them on his 33cm horn, the X33. This can load as low as 1000hz so it is interesting to test the limits in terms of distortion.
CDs I sent are :
Faital HF108R which was the one I was using on STH100 horn from 1800hz
Faital HF10AK
BMS 4552ND to check how they would compared to the new 5530 ND
He had already tested the famous 18S 1095N and the 5530 ND
All the Data can be found here :
https://audiohorn.net/test/compression-driver/1inch/
As this is a CD horn, the raw response is a bell. All the CDs have to be EQed and the SPL adjusted at the same level to have realistic comparison.
Then the frequency response will be more interesting to look at by looking at the polars.
Other data which is a really good indication is the distortion plots.
Then of course the behavior in terms of time, the decay.
18s 1095N
5530nd
45552
The results speak almost by themselves :
-hf10AK has a lot of problems below 2khz, so this one is not really worth
-HF108R is ok if you don’t go too low, the highs are not as clean as BMS or 18s products
-18s 1095N is the best 1 inch CD you can find if you want to play as low as 1000hz : distortion levels are the lowest measured
-BMS 5530nd is cheaper and better than older BMS 4552ND
My conclusion was that I sold my HF108R and STH100 and bought a couple of BMS 5530ND and a couple of X25 horns as I like to go 3 way.
Then I did my own measurements and tunings.
I will provide the data on my google drive, the measurements are of course not as good as the professional ones but they give a really good idea of what is going on.
When my friend who owns the HF10AK was here for the summer holidays we immediately confirmed that the hf10ak is not good below 2khz, this you can measure and hear by yourself. I think he will get a pair of 1095N on his X-shape X33 as he is doing a 2 way speaker with a 12” Faital speaker and crossing at 1000hz is the least bad option.
So now let’s go back to my 5530nd and Audiohorn X25 :
To finish the Horn you need to add roundovers to avoid midrange narrowing, otherwise the directivity control will not go as low as possible.
it is easy to check that the raw response is a bell and that break up occurs soooooo late
it is easy to use REW auto EQ at the lowest level of the bell
this is exported to Rephase
Convolution filter is generated, here LR48
Then it is measured, I even tried to make my own polar by making a 1m80 stand with a turntable base.
I am happy to see that I almost get the same as the manufacturer, I only have a problem at 18khz (the polar loses a bit of control) which I am sure is not audible.
I am also trying to use my PHL 1140 in a cardioid with a front waveguide. Then I did the polar of both speakers playing down to 400hz. With the gating at 3.3ms I could not do better.
Now the subjective listening.
It is really precise and clear. Cymbals hits but without distortion. thanks to this 90° CD horn staging and ambiance in my semi treated room is really good. It sounds a little bit like my EQed Hifiman HE1000 Stealth. HF108R was good but it has a little sense of smoothed sound. You have more crisp and sparkle now.
I am very happy to recommend BMS 5530ND and Audiohorn X-Shape Horns.
My personal data are joined and here is the raw data from rew
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AWzq2e-I7cqv6NSKWMpLhJUMNxPU30GH?usp=sharing
I also ordered the X-25 horns originally to be used with the Kartesian Cmp45_vTLHP. I'll probably order/use the BMS 5530Nd after reading this test.
There are some controversies with kartesian products on french forums.
BMS will probably be more reliable and product quality consistency will be better.
BMS will probably be more reliable and product quality consistency will be better.
One more reason to go for the BMS. I've read about decentering of the membrane during assembly?
My return window for the kartesian has long expired so I'll test them anyway. I'll also buy one BMS 5530Nd to compare though. The end result is way too important as it's my main system for music and movies.
My return window for the kartesian has long expired so I'll test them anyway. I'll also buy one BMS 5530Nd to compare though. The end result is way too important as it's my main system for music and movies.
Has anyone here experience with FaitalPro HF106/107 or even the bigger HF1440? Compared it to drivers llike BMS or DE360?
The Faitals look great on paper (no impedance hickups till 20kHz) but I don't trust these Faital measurements (cause they regularly measure less good as they tell you).
The Faitals look great on paper (no impedance hickups till 20kHz) but I don't trust these Faital measurements (cause they regularly measure less good as they tell you).
I've used the HF-201 and the HF108 and both are more or less like the datasheet, the thing about the datasheet is that they use a lot of smoothing on the curve and publish it in low resolution. But the general info is right on spec, and some of those compression drivers were measured by Vance Dickason at Audio Xpress https://audioxpress.com/article/Tes...ession-drivers-coupled-with-LTH102-60-50-horn
As you can see from the measurements, the HF1440 performs well comparatively to 20k.
But there is a resonance making a large hole in the 1-2khz range 10 db ish, which can make it challenging when doing a passive xo.
The diaphragm resonance at 14khz is visible in the impedance curve and spectograms obviously, just datasheet that is smoothed, but compared to many large diaphragm drivers it performs well past that too.
https://audiohorn.net/test/compression-driver/1.4inch/
HF1440 has some strange measurements. This hole in the 1kHz area ... what's the reason for that? Also the decay at 12kHz - a pitty. Better a bigger resonance at 17kHz ...
Otherwise a very interesting driver!
Otherwise a very interesting driver!
The HF1440 is a very good sounding driver that can be crossed very low in a domestic system if a suitable horn is used. I was surprised how loud they can play cleanly at 400Hz!
What horn did you use? It would already be great to start at 600Hz!
I'm also interested in the HF1440.
On paper and some comments I've read it would appear to be a good fit for what I want.
I feel like doing some more compression driver rolling🙂
1.Something that can reach to around 1000Hz, maybe a bit below on an un-named 1st order XO - essential to keep phase rotation down.
2. Would work in a MEH 50 or 60° horn.
3. Can go high enough nicely to satisfy younger ears .
4. Sounds great across that frequency range for hifi use (will never see PA / very loud use).
Waddaureckon?
(Background - I got the BMS4550s to sound pretty reasonable in the end.
The Vitavox S2s I'm currently using are great at everything above, apart from the HF extension requirement.
Waiting for the Peerless by Tymphany group buy is a longish wait, so want to play with something before then)
I have a new pair of B&C DCX50 for sale, cheap. Preferably to be picked up in Mid to South Europe somewhere.
It's most likely the product of the soft polymer, the annular shape of the diaphragm and the phase plug/channels.
There's a reason why hard domes + annular slit phase plugs are (still) widely used: they're generally much easier to work with, especially when using passive crossovers. Even with 18Sound's CD horns a ND3N only needs a cap and inductor to get a flat response.
Custom 'channels' for BMS coaxials:
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It measures quiet good: https://audioxpress.com/article/test-bench-faital-pro-s-new-hf1460-pro-sound-compression-driver-1
But it's not cheap at all, at 625€ more ore less (depending on the shop)
But it's not cheap at all, at 625€ more ore less (depending on the shop)