Go look at hifi compass to see how distortion increases in say a textreme driver, I'm looking at the MW19... Admittedly they don't quite hit 110db but it's very obvious the distortion would be below -45 from 400 to 3000Hz. If you're judging on HD alone the 5S117 is about -35db from fundamental in the same range, and that's being generous to it. 10fb is huge and the 5S117 just isn't in any kind of comparable league to the other high end suggestions here.
If your not in need of low end/excursion.
You would be hard pressed to find a lower distortion mid then the B&W LF26743. 804D3 5" mid driver.
Low and linear impedance, high sensitivity, very low LE, and a nice and well behaved FR.
And as mentioned above the 8nmb420 is a really nice driver same with the 6nd430.
If discussing other size the new Bliesma 3" mid domes looks very interesting too.
Pushing a low sensitivity driver to high spl is bound to bring up distortion no matter how you run it.
Just take a look at what the purifis that everyone raves about does when theyre pushed 10 db up to where a high sensitivity driver is at 2.83V.
All of the sudden they do not look that impressive after all..
And if you look at the 6nd430 you can see the same concept in the surround, already done long before purifi.
You would be hard pressed to find a lower distortion mid then the B&W LF26743. 804D3 5" mid driver.
Low and linear impedance, high sensitivity, very low LE, and a nice and well behaved FR.
And as mentioned above the 8nmb420 is a really nice driver same with the 6nd430.
If discussing other size the new Bliesma 3" mid domes looks very interesting too.
Pushing a low sensitivity driver to high spl is bound to bring up distortion no matter how you run it.
Just take a look at what the purifis that everyone raves about does when theyre pushed 10 db up to where a high sensitivity driver is at 2.83V.
All of the sudden they do not look that impressive after all..
And if you look at the 6nd430 you can see the same concept in the surround, already done long before purifi.
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Honestly I read that and threw it out the window. 'here's our results but it's 10dB better than that' sounds so damn suspicious! Have you heard these drivers? THD isn't the end all but it's certainly a good indicator, it's would be interesting to compare these to 'domestic' units... Similar to the faital pro and other professional pa gear, it seems time and time again that it's actually the better value but them everyone continues building with SS/seas/vifa/SB etc
Yes always compare with the fundamental frequency at the same level. The thing purifi achieve that I haven't seen other drivers do is exceptionally low thd across the frequency of a mid woofer. I.E. for a 2 way build the drivers released so far would be exceptional and possibly unmatched, so they're worth raving about. The surround pattern on the driver you link is nothing like what purifi have done and doesn't achieve the same goal.
I only recommend purifi on the basis that there's a 4 inch midrange in the works. Given their engineering approach I see no reason not to expect their midrange to be equally excellent.
As for bliesma... Well I need someone to explain what they're seeing that's so good in the measurements, I haven't heard them and definitely don't see anything to get excited about
Doing that is normal to get the distortion on the same graph as the frequency response.
Professional PA drivers are generally much better value for money than domestic ones.
The only domestic drivers I buy these days are tweeters.
Here at home I've got two pairs of speakers which are generally very similar: 5.5-6L ported, 5" drivers with same F3 (65Hz). One holds some highly regarded Audax aerogels which retailed at over £60, the other Faital 5Fe120s for 20 quid a pop.
The Audax ones aren't even playing in the same league...
Professional PA drivers are generally much better value for money than domestic ones.
The only domestic drivers I buy these days are tweeters.
Here at home I've got two pairs of speakers which are generally very similar: 5.5-6L ported, 5" drivers with same F3 (65Hz). One holds some highly regarded Audax aerogels which retailed at over £60, the other Faital 5Fe120s for 20 quid a pop.
The Audax ones aren't even playing in the same league...
I also have a pair of 5FE120 and also buy just tweeters from home division
. I never considered 5FE100 since you get everything that 5FE120 has but without demodulation rings in magnet.What tweeters did you pair your Faitals with ? I have few domes and a pair of AMT's but would like to know your experience.
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The market is quite competitive, the typical customer does not buy 1 or 2 pairs but 50 or more. Price vs value is an important consideration as is reliability.
Tolerances must be low so single drivers can be swapped quickly while on tour without having to worry about aberrations.
Customers are also usually quite knowledgeable and always had the measuring equipment at hand even long before it became affordable to all due to digital.
Years ago the place I worked for rented some space to a PA hire company and they measured every single driver to ensure it was within spec before they built it into a cab and again afterwards.
The only problem back then was that we had to wait for line sources to come about before manufacturers focused on smaller (ie 5 or 6 inch) drivers.
In fairness, the aerogels may be highly regarded by some but I've never shortlisted them and they don't measure well. May be interesting to do a like for like price wise comparison bit I would expect 5" pro drivers to be dedicated mid rangers whilst domestic are Midwoofers... If we can come up with a pair to compare I'm happy to buy and measure... U less we can find a single source that has performed measurements on both?
^There are no PRO 5" midwoofers, only midranges. Midwoofers start at 10" in PRO audio.
Anyhow, thread is about 5" midranges so it wouldn't be a bad idea to stick to that.
Kii Three uses THIS midrange. TLHP was the only source where you could get it for about 18 euros. Anyone discovered some shop where it is still available regardless of quantity ?
Anyhow, thread is about 5" midranges so it wouldn't be a bad idea to stick to that.
Kii Three uses THIS midrange. TLHP was the only source where you could get it for about 18 euros. Anyone discovered some shop where it is still available regardless of quantity ?
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Wide dispersion was the goal i presume ? I had 19tff1 with Seas L12RCY but wasn't too pleased with it's sound so i swapped it for Morel MDT30s which is almost the same diameter (94mm) as little Seas. I reworked the crossover and was very pleased with the sound ever since. Nowadays i'd be using CAT 378
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