Markaudio Alpair-6P Paper Cone 3.5" Fullrange Gen 2

[xecluded]

The Alpair 6P Gen 2 are out of stock everywhere i look. Do you think
Alpair 7p would be as good or better. I really want to try out MarkAudio speakers but that mean i would be out $60 more for the 7P. Should I wait or should i just get them because the 7P are that much better. I will be using them with a pair of sub. thanks.

 

[nattonrice]

I don't think there is a 7p?

 

[zman01]

xecluded,

AFAIK there is no Alpair 7P yet; the Alpair 7 models available now are the Alpair 7.3 (gen 3 metal) and Alpair 7A (which is gen-3 metal with Mark's arrestor tech). For MA drivers the "P" suffix means paper cone.

The Alp 7 is a very nice driver - which is better between 6P and 7 depends on your tastes and application.

 

[chrisb]

There is of course the upcoming Alpair8 series that will hopefully include option for (at least one formulation of ) paper cones.

Then the 10P, scheduled to be available mid to late next month

FWIW, even though a much lower price point driver, I'd characterize the late CSS EL70 to as close to a paper version of the A7 as anything Mark has yet released.

As Zia has noted, A6P and A7 are both quite good drivers - depending on the application, either should work fine.


Mark is continuing to expand his product line with models including option for cone materials - eg Alpair6 in metal and paper, and the CHR /CHP70, and as noted above the new 10P. So far I've only had the opportunity to taste test the 6 in both - and they definitely have different flavors. The current version of CHP has an intentional tailoring of the upper several octaves that some folks (myself included) might find a bit "soft / dark". As Mark is constantly revising his drivers, this might change in the future.

The 7 is so far my overall favorite MA branded driver- I'm currently running them in 2 different systems, but if you'd rather not wait to try one of Mark's drivers, the CHR70A price is a viable option.

Whichever model you might select, be aware that lengthy, careful break-in is required - don't judge any of Mark's drivers on performance fresh out of the box.

too many choices

 

[xecluded]

I meant to say alp 7 - sorry. I am very fond of sealed box design and paper cone. Do you know which of Mark's speakers would be appropriate to put in sealed enclosures. Thanks.

 

[chrisb]

I meant to say alp 7 - sorry. I am very fond of sealed box design and paper cone. Do you know which of Mark's speakers would be appropriate to put in sealed enclosures. Thanks.

I'll stand to be correct, but I think none will reach their full potential in sealed enclosures. The only time I've used that type for any of Mark's drivers has been with A6M in tiny boxes for HT rear surrounds, and I've frankly been second-guessing myself on that almost since installing them - just never got around to doing over.

 

[zman01]

Chrisb,

OP has mentioned that he will be using subwoofer augmentation.

I have never done the modeling for them, but a guess is that in a sealed box, the A12P is the option among current gen MA paper drivers to get a decent XO with subs around 100-120 Hz? In the future Alp 10P also might come in, but let Mark publish the specs.

 

[Scottmoose]

I'm going to be sticking my MAOP units into sealed / aperiodic boxes. Partly because my room is small, partly because I want to hear that fancy cone sans any other interference (excepting issues with edge diffraction, which I'll minimise as far as practicable). The latter is arguably specious; I'm not that much of a purist, but it's not going to do any harm. The other reason is that I'll size it so that a variety of the Alpair 10 models can go in; the total Q will of course change so behaviour on the bottom end for each will be different, but at least it provides a practical cabinet that can be used for multiple drivers.

 

[Bill poster]

question about alpair 6p, the sensitivity is quoted 86dB but looks more like 89dB on the graph?

 

[enu]

There is a 7P

I don't think there is a 7p?

 

[planet10]

question about alpair 6p, the sensitivity is quoted 86dB but looks more like 89dB on the graph?

Efficiency is 86, but these are 4 ohm drivers. Sensitivity measures about 89.

dave

 

[planet10]

There is an Alpair 7p introduced after this thread "idled". It is not as one would expect after the A6.2p, the 10p, or A12p. It has a quite different characher than these.

dave