low distortion 12" choices for open baffle application

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tinitus said:
I suppose response curve is wrongly placed on chart as the TD12H should be around 93db...minor detail

Apart from that, I think AE have said that the TD15M has the best midrange of the whole range, due to optimal cone profile


Yes, there was no attempt to import the impulse response at a real world spl level, since it is fo a crossover design and all the drivers for the design were measured under these settings.


MisterTwister said:
wow, really impressive
augerpro, do you have impedance curve of this woofer, could you post it, if you have one available? thanks.

Here is the impedance that I measured that went with the FR measurement that Augerpro posted. This was an in box measurement.

td12h_9dot5port_z2.gif
 
Ang said:
got this plot from B&C @ 6w

Looks like you could cross it steep @ 1.2kHz. Wonder about using a standard dome above 6kHz, although I'm not sure how audible distortion is that high up.


The red curve is 2nd harmonic I think? I wouldn't consider 7% 2nd harmonic a big issue, people may even subjectively prefer it. The hockey stick at the low end is kind of scary though. I wonder if that's valid data down there?
 
The Supravox 285 GMF could be an option. But I don´t know whether Supravoxes are currently distributed in the US.
What I believe can be generalized: If you get well across the breakup region you get as far as the cone mass allows. So an uncompromized 12"+1" solution will "abuse" a 12" that could do much more.
 
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John, I really like your driver and still considering to buy a pair fore midrange duty...but waiting to see your new midrange devellopment

BUT, from measurements you show it seems that FR is 5db down from around 400hz and downwards...and down again from 800hz and upwards
Or in other words...slight peaking between 400-800hz

Is that due to a measurement error or ? any comments ?
 
Nice find.
I visit that prodance.cz site every day, but I hadn't looked up that waveguide.
On the other hand, it doesn't go anywhere near low enough for anything except maybe a 6" midrange. You'd be much better off with the DDS ENG 1-90, which should go just a little bit lower. It should do well crossed 4th order at 1.6, or preferably 1.8 KHz. Could go a bit lower with 48dB/oct. So, with that said.. it'd actually work best if crossed to an 8" midrange in a 3-way. Thing is though, I have to go active, and a 3-way is just too much cash for me right now. So, it's either the little 10" DDS waveguide, or wait to see what happens with AE's new contraption. Anyway, if you're in the US, get it from here: http://www.assistanceaudio.com/10_DDS.html

http://www.ddshorns.com/catalog.php?page=ENG190Pro
 
Ang said:
Comparing the Beyma 12g40 and 12MI100 (supposedly their "best" midrange) I'm confused - distortion is lower on the 12g40, response is flatter, inductance is lower, and it's cheaper. Am I missing something?

I'm really not sure how a driver with 2.1 or 2.3mH inductance could be considered for use above about 250Hz anyway.


BHTX said:
And let's not forget all the jacked up DDS waveguides that were coming from there.. dunno what that was all about, but people ordering them from Assistance Audio supposedly didn't have any problems with theirs.

We had 2 come from US Speaker that were horrible. The ones coming direct from DDS are not any better though. I had a reliable customer who is using them inform me that 7 out of 7 in one shipment were unuseable. The next shipment he had 3 out of 10 that were bad. Every one of the "good" ones still requires that you grind the throat opening, grind the back so you can get bolts in, etc.

tinitus said:
John, I really like your driver and still considering to buy a pair fore midrange duty...but waiting to see your new midrange devellopment

BUT, from measurements you show it seems that FR is 5db down from around 400hz and downwards...and down again from 800hz and upwards
Or in other words...slight peaking between 400-800hz

Is that due to a measurement error or ? any comments ?

The 400-800hz rise you see is simply because these are close mic measurements with the driver not on any baffle. Simulate a round 15.5" diameter baffle with the same mic distance and you will see similar results. If measured on an infinitely large baffle this area is nearly flat. It will vary though depending on what baffle size you use.

BHTX said:
Probably some resonances of some sort. It'd probably show up in a CSD plot. I don't know if I've ever seen a 15" in my life with a perfectly smooth response in those areas.

See above. Any resonance issues you can clearly see in an impedance curve. Smooth rounded humps are damped quite well and will be shown to disappear quickly in a CSD plot. Measured on an appropriately large baffle, the TD15M is +/- 3dB all the way up to 4KHz.

John
 
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Ang said:
Based on the replies, for a design with the de250, seems I either need to

1.) push the crossover lower and use a 12 (has anyone found a distortion plot of the de250?)

or
2.) start looking for a high sensitivity 10"


Take a look at the new Scanspeak Illuminator dome tweeter...looks like it may be crossed very low, maybe with help from a waveguide

A ToneTubby Alnico may work as woofer/mid
despite the enthusiasmen when it was first introduced I have not seen a single report from a user in here, other than I have read that NelsonPass have tried it with a fullrange(?)
Last time I looked at TT site, all driver specs were gone, but I remember at least they have high Qts, and seems logical since they are designed fore open back box(guitar)

Passive crossing at around 1khz, with BSC in mind, should work as charm with the Illuminator dometweeter in waveguide...but compared to a CD it may be a bit restricted in terms of high SPL

If you use a CD/waveguide I think double woofers are needed...in paralel with BSC or as 2.5way
 
I'm still trying to understand why people would want to use guitar speakers in any kind of a home/hifi type system. The purpose of a guitar speaker is to have crazy breakup to give it's own unique sound.

An example of an eminence alnico guitar speaker would be their Red Fang. take a look at the response.
http://www.eminence.com/pdf/redfang.pdf

There are resonances at 250hz, a bad one at 900hz, then the crazy cone breakup from 1600hz up to 4KHz. The magnitude and frequencies that these breakups occur at determines their "sound" or "coloration". The Red fang has "Vintage British sound with warm undertones and high-end sparkle." The Tone Tubby Alnico drivers are going to have some kind of unique characteristics to their response as well. This is great for guitar, but not at all for an open baffle speaker. The reason for doing a dipole is to get rid of the coloration coming from the enclosure. Why then would you use a driver that has these issues on it's own? These kind of resonances and breakups are what we work so hard to eliminate so our drivers can reproduce exactly what is put into them, not create their own sound.

Alnico alone does help somewhat as it is more resistant to flux field modulation than ceramic magnets. This is why people often regard Alnico drivers to sound so good. A motor with ceramic magnets and a full copper sleeve on the pole though is even more resistive to flux modulation than an alnico motor alone. We're working on getting some properly sized alnico to match the BL of our ceramic motors. Then we'll have both Alnico and the full copper sleeve.

John
 
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Ribbons/OB mids/sealed Altec 416 midbass + subs

I can highly recommend the Eminence Definimax 12" from personal experience. One of the best midranges I have ever heard. However, I would suggest a 1.2KHz xover. Higher than that is really pushing it for any 12". Even if it can go that high on axis, it will be very narrow off axis.

It will of course need EQ to work in an open baffle.

Otherwise I am told that Superavox make an open baffle version of the 215GMF though this is 10" I think, it will be tuned to give some decent bass without EQ.
I’m a newbie to DIY speaker design. However, I do have a pair of GPA Altec 416 midwoofers in low diffraction sealed boxes. http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/downloads/414-8B%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf The 3 cu ft boxes cut their low end off below 70Hz. The boxes (with rounded prefab corners from http://www.tapeease.com/ ) were designed by fellow diyaudio.com member Gary Dahl, who uses them below his Azurahorn/Radian combo. Gary uses the Altecs from 70Hz up to 700Hz. Indeed, he chose the 416s for his midbass drivers because of their frequently acclaimed tonality-almost certainly due to its Alnico magnet and the low distortion from its underhung voice coil.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/100392-beyond-ariel-781.html and http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1009/lowther_high_efficiency.htm
Gary uses AE 15” subs with passive radiators.

Thus, because I want to use OBs in a small room-where the left OB would produce little, if any, LF response being too close to the sidewalls and only 3 ft of open space behind it-I thought of setting a midrange OB (and maybe a ribbon tweeter to the side or above it) atop each Altec box. Sealed speakers are more forgiving of less than ideal room placement and the Altecs, handling 700Hz to 70Hz, would thus take boundary problems away from the OBs above it.

I would be using one of my Rythmik 12" sealed servo subs between the Altec 416s.

What midrange driver would you most recommend for this app?

The Altec 414
http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/downloads/414-8B%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf that someone tested here in an OB? http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=60454.0 However, its 96db to the Altec 416’s 98db.

Maybe one of the Alnico or other drivers from Supravox?
http://www.supravox.fr/anglais/les_hp.htm

The Eminence Definimax 12", which had strongly recommended for a midrange
http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Definimax_4012HO.pdf

Or the Beta 12 LTA?
http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Beta_12LTA.pdf

They are 96.2 and 97.7db, respectively. The latter seems especially popular among OB builders, plus being a perfect sensitivity match for the Altec 416.

Which might be the ideal midrange for my situation?

Tweeter selection obviously will be the tough choice, given the sensitivities of the drivers to be used below it. Though $$$$, it looks like the only game in town is the RAAL Lazy ribbon.
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/ribbon-tweeters/raal-lazy-ribbon-9-ribbon-tweeter/ Excellent dispersion and > 100db.

Do you think this hybrid OB idea will sound good?

Will it do so without active crossovers?

Please advise on drivers.

Thank you.
 
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