I have an active 3 way (Linkwitz Riley) speaker system with 6 60W amps, using Vifa 013-wh-00-08 as the mids. One of them has died, Im looking at replacements.
Vb for the Vifa is 2.2L, and so is the actual mid enclosure. I was contemplating Peerless 830860 as they get good reviews, which would fit with a bit of woodwork - its slightly larger and has flat edges.
For the Peerless a Vb of 4.8L comes out of Unibox. But since I cross over at 200/300Hz Im thinking an actual Vb of 2.2L wont make much difference. Is that a fair assumption?
But a max power input of 14W is suggested (The Vifa design comes up with 40W). Im thinking that means this driver isnt suitable for a closed box design? Or is that only going to be an issue if the design is used for bass/woofer ie not rolled off at 2/300Hz?
Any guidance is welcomed.
Vb for the Vifa is 2.2L, and so is the actual mid enclosure. I was contemplating Peerless 830860 as they get good reviews, which would fit with a bit of woodwork - its slightly larger and has flat edges.
For the Peerless a Vb of 4.8L comes out of Unibox. But since I cross over at 200/300Hz Im thinking an actual Vb of 2.2L wont make much difference. Is that a fair assumption?
But a max power input of 14W is suggested (The Vifa design comes up with 40W). Im thinking that means this driver isnt suitable for a closed box design? Or is that only going to be an issue if the design is used for bass/woofer ie not rolled off at 2/300Hz?
Any guidance is welcomed.
I used this same driver for 25 years in my main system. It was a TMW tower with vifa 25mm aluminum dome tweeter, vifa P13WH as mid, and a 12" woofer from a long forgotten company. Crossovers were 2nd order at 250 and 3k. This speaker was replaced with a new design in 2020.
When I still had this speaker system, I had thought about replacement drivers. I thought the Seas CA15RLY-H1216 would have been a good replacement. It is slightly larger frame size (146mm vs 140 mm), but the same size cutout (112 mm), similar Re, similar Le, similar sensitivity, and similar on-axis frequency response. I attached the 2004 catalog listing for the Vifa P13 driver and the current spec sheet for the Seas driver.
I would not worry about the power ratings. Each company calculates (or invents) power ratings in a different way.
The box volume is probably of little consequence given the amount of stuffing that normally goes into a midrange enclosure... and like you said, you are high pass filtering it at 200 - 300 Hz, so this makes even less difference.
j.
When I still had this speaker system, I had thought about replacement drivers. I thought the Seas CA15RLY-H1216 would have been a good replacement. It is slightly larger frame size (146mm vs 140 mm), but the same size cutout (112 mm), similar Re, similar Le, similar sensitivity, and similar on-axis frequency response. I attached the 2004 catalog listing for the Vifa P13 driver and the current spec sheet for the Seas driver.
I would not worry about the power ratings. Each company calculates (or invents) power ratings in a different way.
The box volume is probably of little consequence given the amount of stuffing that normally goes into a midrange enclosure... and like you said, you are high pass filtering it at 200 - 300 Hz, so this makes even less difference.
j.
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Thanks for the reply and info HiFiJim. Much appreciated.
Those drivers look good, except in Australia they want me to pay USD180 which I view as ridiculous given what I can see they cost elsewhere!
But you got me looking and eventually I found the Scanspeak 15W/8434G00 which also looks like a good match given Ill have to do some woodwork anyway. Hopefully they'll sound as good as the Vifas. It'll be interesting to see if the Vifa fan club has been surpassed by better technology, or if Ill notice the difference and wish for them back!
Those drivers look good, except in Australia they want me to pay USD180 which I view as ridiculous given what I can see they cost elsewhere!
But you got me looking and eventually I found the Scanspeak 15W/8434G00 which also looks like a good match given Ill have to do some woodwork anyway. Hopefully they'll sound as good as the Vifas. It'll be interesting to see if the Vifa fan club has been surpassed by better technology, or if Ill notice the difference and wish for them back!
I have seen a large box (approaching Qtc=0.5) cause a natural high pass rolloff from 300Hz down (Seas L15 in a large 16L sealed enclosure). It's still worth simulating (and measuring) so that you don't overcut the HP. It may only be 1 - 2dB effect, but enough to "hollow" out the upper bass / lower midrange.
A cheaper alternative in NZ may be the SB Acoustics SB15MFC30-4. I think they will fit your setup on specs. They are made in indonesia i thought and i know you can buy them in Australia for 79$ (i don't know how much it cost to import in NZ) at Wagner.
Thanks for the suggestion waxx. I found the specs somewhat misleading in that I had to look at the datasheet to find the exact dimensions.
As far as I can tell that driver is 150 OD and the Vifa is 140mm. So whatever I do I think I'm looking at enlarging the opening. Well, given Wagner delivered the units next day anyway I'm pretty much commited 😂
As far as I can tell that driver is 150 OD and the Vifa is 140mm. So whatever I do I think I'm looking at enlarging the opening. Well, given Wagner delivered the units next day anyway I'm pretty much commited 😂