For an active 3-way speaker design I already have chosen the NE315W as the base speaker.
For the midrange speaker I have the choice between the NE149W or the NE180W.
Q1. Which of the two midrange drivers do you think would bring the best out of vocals?
Q2. What sealed volume would be ideal for these midrange drivers in a wooden box?
Context: an active crossover splitts the audio source into Low, Mid and High.
Which feeds three stereo amplifiers and from there all 8 ohm speakers are fed directly.
For the midrange speaker I have the choice between the NE149W or the NE180W.
Q1. Which of the two midrange drivers do you think would bring the best out of vocals?
Q2. What sealed volume would be ideal for these midrange drivers in a wooden box?
Context: an active crossover splitts the audio source into Low, Mid and High.
Which feeds three stereo amplifiers and from there all 8 ohm speakers are fed directly.
Both the midrange drivers are about equal for your application
as a midrange.
Seems the NE149 has lower inductance
which makes it perform slightly better at higher frequency
The links show 4 ohm midrange drivers and the Bass driver 8 ohm
So 8 ohm is more ideal for a passive system of course for the mids.
with separate amplifiers and active crossover 4 ohm could work.
I would personally prefer 8 ohm
as a midrange.
Seems the NE149 has lower inductance
which makes it perform slightly better at higher frequency
The links show 4 ohm midrange drivers and the Bass driver 8 ohm
So 8 ohm is more ideal for a passive system of course for the mids.
with separate amplifiers and active crossover 4 ohm could work.
I would personally prefer 8 ohm
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Ran some basic tests on samples of both those mids in my workshop. Don't have access to data now but, IIRC, the NE180 rolls off & narrows fast enough you probably don't want to crossover much over 1.5 kHz, maybe 2kHz tops. This means a tweeter to go down that low. NE149 gives you a bit more reach upwards, no prob with 2kHz, maybe 2.5kHz. Power handling at low end obviously higher with larger driver so tradeoffs, esp if you like to listen at higher volume. If rolling off at 200Hz or higher, I doubt you need more volume than needed to enclose the driver with a couple inches behind for acoustic stuffing. My 2 cents.
Thanks for your comments so far.
@Face; I have an aluminium ribbon tweeter Fountek Neo CD 2.0, a Philips transparent plastic dome tweeter from the seventies, a Dayton Audio ND25FN, Peerless OC25SC65-04 Textile dome tweeter, and finally a GRS PRT8 Paper Ring Cone tweeter.
@WhiteDragon; Completely agree. As you say both will work. I too prefer 8 Ohms over 4 ohms any day of the year, and I think that is the easiest/safest for the amplifier to drive without heating up too much. So its also a longevity thing.
@Motokok; True. Though these days both versions seem rarer to be found anywhere. I think they are being replaced by more technically advanced, clinically sounding perfect cone materials that to my ears sound harsh unnatural and lifeless.
I don't need perfection! I need a nice character!
@SilentMike; Excellent summary! Bang on. Decided to go for both versions of these paper gems, the 149 and 180, since midrange is the most important part I want to try out both in different sealed cabinets. One has a bit more weight on the bottoms, the other a bit more transparent in the highs.
@PKI; On this part of the world the 8 ohm version of the NE315W is nowhere to be found. My guess is that both 8 and 4 ohms are being phased out.
@Face; I have an aluminium ribbon tweeter Fountek Neo CD 2.0, a Philips transparent plastic dome tweeter from the seventies, a Dayton Audio ND25FN, Peerless OC25SC65-04 Textile dome tweeter, and finally a GRS PRT8 Paper Ring Cone tweeter.
@WhiteDragon; Completely agree. As you say both will work. I too prefer 8 Ohms over 4 ohms any day of the year, and I think that is the easiest/safest for the amplifier to drive without heating up too much. So its also a longevity thing.
@Motokok; True. Though these days both versions seem rarer to be found anywhere. I think they are being replaced by more technically advanced, clinically sounding perfect cone materials that to my ears sound harsh unnatural and lifeless.
I don't need perfection! I need a nice character!
@SilentMike; Excellent summary! Bang on. Decided to go for both versions of these paper gems, the 149 and 180, since midrange is the most important part I want to try out both in different sealed cabinets. One has a bit more weight on the bottoms, the other a bit more transparent in the highs.
@PKI; On this part of the world the 8 ohm version of the NE315W is nowhere to be found. My guess is that both 8 and 4 ohms are being phased out.
Dude, definitely use the Fountek NeoCD 2.0 tweeter. Those Vifa NE drivers are very good quality, and (IMHO) require a top quality tweeter to match.
A waveguide-equipped tweeter gives you greater flexibility with crossover slopes and points because of the higher sensitivity near the bottom of it's freq range. Using eq in you dig x-over to flatten the response & match levels with the mid has the desired effect of also pulling distortion way down.
Bear in mind I think you'd rather want to test them at the same and intended bandpass; not as midwoofers. I think the more decisive issue may be how they complement the big bass driver at the expected crossover frequency; if there is a preferred change in directivity when blending to the 12", maybe a point goes to the NE180. On the other hand, more flexibility in low-pass frequency with the tweeter gives a point to the NE149, and another point being smaller, allows closer placement to the tweeter.