I have owned some excellent speakers that used dome mids-Dynaudio C5,Sonique Encore that used two of them,Edgar horns,Yamaha NS75Ts,Celestion Ditton 551.None of them had very forward sounding vocals.Certainly nothing like say a wide range/wiizzer coned speaker.
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/SBA-7MD.htm
Troels doesn't tell about or show crossover type. Still this looks like very good mid to me. Fs around 400Hz, running it without xo makes it distort very badly, no doubt. Satori line has also a 5" dome, but the price gets doubled to 500$, Fs 80Hz.
https://hificompass.com/en/reviews/satori-md60n-6
https://www.wagneronline.com.au/sat...audio-speakers-pa/mr13tx-4-106977/1018223/pd/
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Bought a pair last year. I set them in sealed and stuffed wood liquor boxes with a 500hz hp and 4K lp 3rd order filters and just listened after a half day of break in. i did not like them at all. Thought maybe it was me having a bad day so I AB’d them with my own version of mixcube using Scanspeak 10f and set them to the same filters. In the nearfield it was pretty similar but out in the midfield, the Scans filled up the space in a much more realistic fashion as if the power response was near to perfect while the domes lost their coherence. I sold them on EBay shortly after so I never tried them in a design. My intent was a 3 way compact mixing monitor to improve upon my modded KEF Q150’s…….and that search continues.
Possible they need a small waveguide like the ATC and Volt.Or a large baffle.Or stepped felt surround like the Duntech and Sonique.
Stepped Felt/Duntech - Stereophile meas showed terrible off-axis response curves ... (anuza one bites the dust)
I am surprised no one has mentioned the Tang-Band 3" dome mid:
https://www.tb-speaker.com/products/75-1558sh
There was an SE version before this one that is also good.
I found excellent looking measurements online:
https://audioxpress.com/article/test-bench-tb-speaker-75-1558sh-high-end-home-audio-3-dome-midrange
Not cheap but a great driver that has a lot of potential. You get what you pay for in this case.
Definitely not as over the top as the ATC mid dome, but you can actually lift a pair of the TBs in one hand...
https://www.tb-speaker.com/products/75-1558sh
There was an SE version before this one that is also good.
I found excellent looking measurements online:
https://audioxpress.com/article/test-bench-tb-speaker-75-1558sh-high-end-home-audio-3-dome-midrange
Not cheap but a great driver that has a lot of potential. You get what you pay for in this case.
Definitely not as over the top as the ATC mid dome, but you can actually lift a pair of the TBs in one hand...
Since it was not really detailed so far.
ATC has 2 different 3" domes, and at least 4 versions. The standard SM75/150, and the SM75/150S which has a higher sensitivity and larger motor structure.
The originals up to some point was overhung and xmax was close to 10mm.
Todays versions are underhung with ca 5mm xmax., as they adapted them to be more suitable for the upper range of they're useable band.
And yes they are expensive. And difficult to find any options, that handles the desired 350hz xo point.
So there are some differences in the ATC domes by design, they are not all the same.
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I set up a space-age audiolab (like Elon Musk) and took some handheld mic measurements of the
Philips AD 02110 SQ8 2" textile dome mid from early 1980s. It has a closed back chamber so low end measurement is pretty realistic. Looks like it could be used in 2-way with some EQ. Lots of them for sale second hand!
Philips AD 02110 SQ8 2" textile dome mid from early 1980s. It has a closed back chamber so low end measurement is pretty realistic. Looks like it could be used in 2-way with some EQ. Lots of them for sale second hand!
The old Philips/Valvo 2inch dome were cheap and not so bad ... flimsy plastic front , very wide gap and 2mm pole plate thickness with 3mm coil height! Big vent ca 30mm diameter .... some kind of dome protection clear plastic behind the dome and automatic self-centering .
Something off here , sorry!
ATC data sheet claims 6mm excursion peak-peak , 10mm Xmax is not possible physically! (Xmax definition is one-way excursion)
Do not make ATC better than it is!
Oh lord , why don't you "fu.." buy me a mercedes benz 🙂
Yes you did not notice that i wrote, that the motor and design was changed?
SM75s used to be a overhung construction, which it is no longer. Clearly a different suspension would also be needed.
It is a underhung motor today with it's 5-6mm xmax indeed.
Sometime in the 90's i believe.
Both the SM75-150 and S have also been available/made in 4 ,8 and 16 ohm versions.
And then there is the funky SB75-150S, which is a ca 85db, 'mid-woofer' with rubber surround which else is fairly similar.
That makes up quite a few different models over the years, so clearly not all of them are the same.
The document you have link has 2 dome drivers listed in both data sheets you will find : "Voice Coil Maximum Travel Peak to PeakVoice Coil Maximum Travel Peak to Peak 6mm"
International Standard is "Xmax" , ATC use their own definition , whatever it may be 🙁
Btw - 3.5mm winding height is a bad joke for a driver like this! (regarding power)
I remember in the early 80ies ATC did advertise their dome midrange as "indestructable" .. LOL
Good old England was a little backwards in those times and so proud of their James Bond movies 🙂
regards , Goldfinger
International Standard is "Xmax" , ATC use their own definition , whatever it may be 🙁
Btw - 3.5mm winding height is a bad joke for a driver like this! (regarding power)
I remember in the early 80ies ATC did advertise their dome midrange as "indestructable" .. LOL
Good old England was a little backwards in those times and so proud of their James Bond movies 🙂
regards , Goldfinger
Thinking about this yes dome mids seem to be more difficult to get sounding right and also more positioning and room fussy.But when they are done right they have a very pure and natural tonality that you struggle to get with cones.Every cone material seems to bring with it a particular sound signature that can be distracting.
The Yamaha NS1000 BE dome is certainly one of the best midranges you can use from a tonal and resolution perspective but it seems to be especially hard to get to image properly.The NS1000s have quite poor imaging.My NS75Ts which use a slightly smaller titanium dome on exactly the same baffle have much better imaging.
The modern NS5000s are excellent .
This has been a interesting group of contrasting views. I have a unique situation of owning many ADS & Braun speakers. A pair of ProAC Response 4 killer speakers. And way to much of pro-sound PA equipment from 30+ years of bar & FOH work. So my love of all the classic JBL compression horns is almost an addiction! That said in my machine shop I have the ProAC's on the front of the shop. On the rear are four ADS three way speakers. Two have dual woofers. Two have single woofers. I was rather amazed how similar some of the midrange carity was. My application is for near field DIY speakers for my small shops where I work the most in. I will start with some of my many active crossovers to test the idea. I agree with Mayhem and others. Trying to push those midranges hard is total pain! I never liked the tweeter that much. But will start with the matched pair for the first testing. I have plenty more donner speakers for the project. So the machine shop system will remain.