While we don't know what the Scan-speak behavior is before and after the cuts, we do with the DIY experiments. And where the DIY experiments have been successful it supports what Scan-speak claims -- reduced cone-breakup and reduced distortion.
We also have a pretty good idea why very few commercial cones have slits - cost! Specialized tooling as well as a more complicated production process that almost surely increases quality-control problems. And since the market is not demanding more sliced-cone drivers, why increase your costs for something that isn't in high demand?
We also have a pretty good idea why very few commercial cones have slits - cost! Specialized tooling as well as a more complicated production process that almost surely increases quality-control problems. And since the market is not demanding more sliced-cone drivers, why increase your costs for something that isn't in high demand?
The pistonic behaviour of the cone will depend on the frequency. Even with the slits (that are glued back together in some way) the cone apparently acts just as pistonic at lower frequencies. Only at higher frequencies does the behaviour change where it becomes more lossy.
The trick will be to balance the stiffness of how the slits are glued back together so they only become 'wibbly wobbly' at the frequencies where the cone anyway becomes non-pistonic.
In my case I seem to have used too stiff a glue with the 2-part polyurethane varnish. Silicone like for bathroom sealant has very little loss factor, which I guess A4eaudio knew also, hence he used caulk (probably acrylic based) that has more viscoelastic loss.
The trick will be to balance the stiffness of how the slits are glued back together so they only become 'wibbly wobbly' at the frequencies where the cone anyway becomes non-pistonic.
In my case I seem to have used too stiff a glue with the 2-part polyurethane varnish. Silicone like for bathroom sealant has very little loss factor, which I guess A4eaudio knew also, hence he used caulk (probably acrylic based) that has more viscoelastic loss.
Don't forget that, probably, the biggest benefit is to reduce harmonic distortion - which is always a problem with drivers which have nasty resonances above the passband (perhaps especially metal-coned drivers).
