Faital Pro LTH102 horn observations and concerns

[usa_satriani]

The soft ketone polymer that Faital uses for diaphragms sounds nice, but they tend to break up at a lower frequency than the best drivers with Titanium diaphragms > i.e. the B&C DE500 and the older RCF 1" Neo.
Tbh, I have my doubts about the 3P phase plug in the 18Sound 1" drivers.

Wrt (lack of) mid and treble details/refinement I (re)quote:
"The HF108R version has a thicker membrane and a more rigid clamping system. These details allow a more controlled movement, reducing the distortions and making less nervous and metallic the mid/high freq."

Due to the greater thickness of the already highly damped ketone polymer, the sound velocity of the material (roughly between 2000-2700 m/sec) may be too low for adequate reproduction of upper mids and treble.

For comparison:
Aluminium: 6320 m/sec
Beryllium: 12900 m/sec.
Titanium: 6100 m/sec.

As I spent quite a lot of money in audio, I can afford to buy a mid price CD to compare...
I also intend to ask a friend to bring back a pair of heil ess from the states. Even as a decorative object, they are not very expensive.

But as said, metal diaphragm tend to sound metallic, so perhaps there is more pros with mylar.
Anyway, happy to try...

 

[usa_satriani]

For those who speak French or want to use Google translate

https://forums.melaudia.net/showthread.php?tid=6933&page=6

Looks interesting the nsd1095n indeed.

https://audioxpress.com/article/voi...-s-nsd1095n-compression-driver-and-xt120-horn

Taking into consideration all the objective measurement data, the Eighteen Sound NSD1095N compression driver is clearly a well-engineered 1” compression driver, exhibiting good performance, outstanding build quality, and featuring a number of proprietary features (TiN-coated Titanium diaphragm, phase plug, and Nomex former coating), all typical of a high-profile pro sound OEM such as Eighteen Sound.

 

[kipman725]

NSD1095 CSD and THD is very good.