At the risk of boring the pants off everyone, I'll add that the two common acronyms are GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) and FRP (Fibre Reinforced Plastic).
GRP has a tensile strength equal to or greater than equivalent steel profiles while being 75% lighter.
GRP has a tensile strength equal to or greater than equivalent steel profiles while being 75% lighter.
I'm referring to any plastic basket drivers.
I don't care what brand, name, composition, or elevated status symbol they come from.
Plastic is plastic, and a cheap way of making things.
Since the beginning of speaker manufacture, steel, cast aluminum alloy, a.k.a. METAL was the way to go to keep those moving parts in alignment.
Because METAL doesn't "give" or warp like plastic does.
You all can argue about this till the next millenium comes around.
And I'll stick to "tried and true" technology with metal.
I'm not arguing, I just wondered whether you had some knowledge or whether it was just biased opinion.
I'm not arguing either, simply presenting some information about GF30.
The proof will be in performance over time.
What would be the disadvantage of making them carbon fiber like racing bike frames? I know is that expensive ......Carbon fibers - Wikipedia
I don't understand what they say but it reminds me of the protest songs of the 70s .....
You are a teenager !? 🙄
I bet you liked Janis Joplin, hence your nick .....
Yes, it has that feel for sure. In my heart 🙂
You never heard of Scott, probably be no modern music as we know it if it weren't for him?
You never heard of Scott, probably be no modern music as we know it if it weren't for him?
I hope that OP got those tweeters replaced in the end. But, I do feel like Focal is now fallen below the threshold of quality that they did have some time ago. Right now they seem all looks and marketing and no tangible quality.
I have a pair of 1998. Focal speakers, namely Opal 609 and they are solidly built. Cabinet is built like a tank, the drivers are in cast metal baskets and easily removable. The sound they make is very good for what they are.
Here is a link with more info, if anyone's interested to take a look:
JMLab Opal 609 - Manual - Loudspeaker System - HiFi Engine
I have a pair of 1998. Focal speakers, namely Opal 609 and they are solidly built. Cabinet is built like a tank, the drivers are in cast metal baskets and easily removable. The sound they make is very good for what they are.
Here is a link with more info, if anyone's interested to take a look:
JMLab Opal 609 - Manual - Loudspeaker System - HiFi Engine
The Wikipedia entry is probably as good as any other place to start. Many consider ragtime to be a precursor to Jazz Scott Joplin - Wikipedia
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Probably similar to GRP. These great little speakers have polymer chassis too
Carbon fibers - Wikipedia
Peerless by Tymphany TC9FD18-08 3-1/2" Full Range Paper Cone Woofer
Please don't ... with my luck Scott would still be around at the end of it.
Anyway, yes, cast metal is still the winner. But some of the new plastics are pretty amazing.. lighter than aluminium, stronger than steel, reinforced with glass fibre and totally resonance free ... Toss in neodymium magnets and multi-layer copper voice coils and you get pretty darned close.
In your biased opinion of course 😉 Have you any evidence that plastic can't be as good? I'm pretty sure if metal was superior in their application Markaudio would use it, I doubt it's a cost issue
Back in the 90s, when bucking magnets and shielding cans were added to drivers, the added weight caused plastic frames to crack and break off during shipping.
Flat stamped steel frames, not strengthened by corrugations, were also prone to bending because of the added weight.
Hopefully, such problems are a thing of the past!
Flat stamped steel frames, not strengthened by corrugations, were also prone to bending because of the added weight.
Hopefully, such problems are a thing of the past!
A distinct advantage of a cast aluminium or stamped steel basket is in its action as a heatsink.
The voice coil transfers heat to the top plate which is attached to the speaker basket.
A GRP basket is a poor conductor of heat, but this disadvantage is made up for by incorporating cooling vents around the upper side of the voice coil.
The voice coil transfers heat to the top plate which is attached to the speaker basket.
A GRP basket is a poor conductor of heat, but this disadvantage is made up for by incorporating cooling vents around the upper side of the voice coil.
Good point. The main advantage of plastic appears to be the lack of resonances, so if it is otherwise strong enough I can't see that it couldn't actually be better than cast alloy?
At the beginning of the millennium, Klipsch found that GRP baskets survived a drop test from about three times the height of stamped and cast baskets.
Not to say they didn't use cast metal baskets in specific models though!
Not to say they didn't use cast metal baskets in specific models though!
Wow, the music from the movie here was known as "The blow" ....
It became very popular here as a waiting topic on telephone answering machines. Maybe all over the world, came the mini-tapes already recorded in some cases. If I have heard that little music ...
YouTube
Sorry OP for the OT ....