Hey Guys!
I'm planning some new open baffle full-range concepts and just want to know which are the best drivers you've ever listened to.
I have a weak spot for vintage paper cones and would appreciate recommendations in this field but modern drivers are also fine.
Right now I listen to a 60s 12" Fane driver which I like a lot.. just asking myself if there are better (paper) ones.
(I know that the word "better" could be ambiguous. Of course there are modern full-range drivers that measure much better but I like the naturalness of paper cones)
Thanks for your answers!
Tim
I'm planning some new open baffle full-range concepts and just want to know which are the best drivers you've ever listened to.
I have a weak spot for vintage paper cones and would appreciate recommendations in this field but modern drivers are also fine.
Right now I listen to a 60s 12" Fane driver which I like a lot.. just asking myself if there are better (paper) ones.
(I know that the word "better" could be ambiguous. Of course there are modern full-range drivers that measure much better but I like the naturalness of paper cones)
Thanks for your answers!
Tim
As if that has anything to do with it. I can understand the "weak spot" part though. Once I owned a pair of FE-103s and the amount of music those little things could put into a room... Yep; sold them anyway.
You are going to get a whole lot of different answers.
Note: i am not an OB fan
Almost all OBs are WAWs with a big woofer and an XO point best determined by baffle size.
So a smaller wideband with good HF. Best, IME, likely one of the Markaudio MAOP, smaller is better except for playing loud. On a budget, CHN/CHP-50. And there are ikely a bunch of really pricey ones that work, say a Sonido FC.
I do have a bunch of Isopohons really only useful on an OB. They are kinda coloured — in a euphoric way.
dave
Note: i am not an OB fan
Almost all OBs are WAWs with a big woofer and an XO point best determined by baffle size.
So a smaller wideband with good HF. Best, IME, likely one of the Markaudio MAOP, smaller is better except for playing loud. On a budget, CHN/CHP-50. And there are ikely a bunch of really pricey ones that work, say a Sonido FC.
I do have a bunch of Isopohons really only useful on an OB. They are kinda coloured — in a euphoric way.
dave
Strictly speaking on open baffle…I would say my Sonido SWR 250 field coils edge out about everything I’ve tried on OB so far.
However, my Lii Audio Crystal 10 (original production not Lii Song) were only different, not necessarily worse.
If you expand the definition of “OB” to allow for a horn or waveguide with no back chamber which I’ve done quite a bit with full/wide bands then things get a little more interesting.
My Lowther DX3 in Oris horns were unbelievable for revealing detail….but the insane beaming that caused the “head in a vice” seating position became intolerable after a while. My Fostex 206e in the same horns were just pretty great all around, but still suffered from the same beaming. They were heavily modified and migrated to Kirishima back horns which I love.
I recently picked up a pair of used Fostex 108ez and threw them onto some wooden conical petal horns with no back chamber. They astounded me with their imaging and sound stage. I heard things on recordings I never heard before.
My “to do” list includes trying a pair of Supravox 215 bicones, L Cao 8 inch alnico and some old Tannoy 12” pepper pots on a pair of OB I’m reworking to be more modular.
However, my Lii Audio Crystal 10 (original production not Lii Song) were only different, not necessarily worse.
If you expand the definition of “OB” to allow for a horn or waveguide with no back chamber which I’ve done quite a bit with full/wide bands then things get a little more interesting.
My Lowther DX3 in Oris horns were unbelievable for revealing detail….but the insane beaming that caused the “head in a vice” seating position became intolerable after a while. My Fostex 206e in the same horns were just pretty great all around, but still suffered from the same beaming. They were heavily modified and migrated to Kirishima back horns which I love.
I recently picked up a pair of used Fostex 108ez and threw them onto some wooden conical petal horns with no back chamber. They astounded me with their imaging and sound stage. I heard things on recordings I never heard before.
My “to do” list includes trying a pair of Supravox 215 bicones, L Cao 8 inch alnico and some old Tannoy 12” pepper pots on a pair of OB I’m reworking to be more modular.
Yes, it does. Old speakers rarely played above 12kHz, and a lot of them had distortion issues playing at high intensity.
Newer designs have better cone material and cone control, extend higher up in the frequencies, flatter FR, cleaner when playing loud, etc... So, yeah, things one could see with measurements.
OP, as mentioned, you will get a lot of different answers. And yes, better highs extension and less beaming will come from smaller drivers.
I had the W8-1772 in OB, supported by a 15" bass. It was quite nice, and the beaming is not as extreme as other 8" drivers.
My favorite best is the SB65. A small 2.5" driver that can render strings, woodwinds and percussion like no other. It extends the highs to almost tweeter high territory, and best of all, you don't need an XO placed in the very sensitive region of 1~3kHz, like a regular tweeter would need.
You're accustomed to the 12" Fane so that little SB65 would need mid bass support to sound closer to what you like.
I had the SBA SB65 in between two SBA race track woofers, placed horizontally (WFW). It was a fun OB speaker.
I've got to try this. Picture/dimensions please!
If OBU (U-frame aka open-back box) counts as open-baffle, I have had incredibly realistic results using older vintage, higher-end alnico drivers, sometimes in combination to extend the power and frequency range. Listening to tiny 8" OBU with equal-loudness-attenuator....
And if cardioid LX (nude fullrange over up-firing midwoofer) counts as OB, then I have some more in the Fullrange Photo Gallery. A nice one is SB65 over alnico 65x250 wall-hung against 4cm-thick acoustic panel.
Last edited:
I don’t have the dimensions handy…posted them in another thread about horns and slot loaded bass at one point I think.
I’m not completely satisfied with the slot loaded bass panels. I think a driver with more xmax and a more powerful magnet is needed… each panel uses (6) 8” buyout peerless drivers. Not sure I want to go back into it again. Tried extending the panels back and it improved a bit. I’ve also added a pair of Fostex T90A and they greatly improved detail and overall balance.
Thanks, I reckoned the translucent floral cone too fragile to push hard OB so the front horn would be of great help, even if it didn't boost above 7khz. I have some drivers stashed away for SLOBs but not enough time to build. For apartment-use variations of push-pull OB (like Celestion SL6000) worked better than I expected, just no deep bass.
I think GlowInTheDarkAudio is onto something when he talks about how wonderful the Zenith 49CZ series drivers are. One of his all time favorites is the 49CZ1064. I found an old console that had the 49CZ950's in it and just completed an OB where I loaded them by installing behind a smaller opening. They are approx. 9" alnico magnet, paper cone with no surround and sound lovely. My hole is approx 5.5" and I also used the 3.5" tweeter with a single capacitor that the console came with. The EL84 amp is actually driving my foamcore board Frugalhorn lite type, XRD "designed" speakers and my Zenith 49CZ950's are being driven by an Amp Camp Mini with my Audio Research SP9 pushing signal to it. Very nice sound. Might want to check out Glow In The Dark Audio's website as he has lots of FR/WB driver reviews as well as tube amp reviews.
I think that during Covid many boatloads of them came to China's eBay named "idlefish market". (Flow has since become a trickle.) Most listings came with videoclip (or one could be requested) so it was possible to survey many hundreds of them very efficiently, to form one's own opinions as to sound quality and brand/make etc. A seller once told me British sold more quickly than German....
Anyway I have collected a bunch of them, and the older/bigger-alnico the better sound -- reflected in price and scarcity. I tend to use them OBU, PP, or LX (over sealed bass) so basically open-baffle. I just now listened to Dvorak New World Symphony and the deep bass drum/drumroll were cleanly resolved by my new older 8" British pair in just 25x25x15cm openback, assisted by an equal-loudness-attenuator which boosted just the frequency extremes (with the wall 1-1.5m behind). I've also used German baffle-plated 7x10 in (same-size) OBU or PP. Again, more expensive magnet ~ better sound. But one really had to hear/diy a representative sample to grok a brand/maker's "house sound".
(Search "vintage" by wchang turns up pages of snippets.)
Last edited:
The Zenith and the Sonido sound very interesting! Unfortunately both seem to be difficult to obtain in Germany.
For me, it's not so much about the upper or lower end. The mids are where the music happens. 😉 .
Actually I run two subs which can support the "full-range" driver up to 200 Hz.
What I'm looking for is resolution, spatiality and "naturalness".
@Vix I've listened to the B200. An outstanding driver... just not built of paper. 😎
For me, it's not so much about the upper or lower end. The mids are where the music happens. 😉 .
Actually I run two subs which can support the "full-range" driver up to 200 Hz.
What I'm looking for is resolution, spatiality and "naturalness".
@Vix I've listened to the B200. An outstanding driver... just not built of paper. 😎
