I see, I have the option to get the bleisma m142A for $1,450 a pair, it's worth the money, or I can get by with the mw13tx, high sound pressure is not required, the room is 18 square meters, or 10.78 feet
There's no "incorrect" way to use a driver of specific cone material or construction. If you can tame the breakup, there's nothing wrong with trying to get better bandwidth linearity, lower distortion profile and/or cleaner CSD. I wouldn't directly compare a Textreme membrane driver with a metal/alloy one. They sound considerably different to me in the end.
The concave cone design (unterminated at the outer edge) has been a challenging membrane configuration to work with just by design. The issue tends to be the way the VC is attached to the cone, what type of mechanical adaption it employs to mate the cone junction to the whole moving assembly. That whole geometrical combo makes a difference, not just the fact the cone is shaped like a dish.
This is not really correct.
You can buy them in pairs or singles direct from China for very reasonable prices.
55$ for a NE180W before shipping fx .
possibly not for US these days, as some sites have apparently blocked your country due to the tariff chaos.
@Arez I have 6 pairs of NE180W-08 which I managed to accumulate (hoard) from various sales across the web. The trick is there are 2 different versions of these drivers from a standpoint of manufacturing date. Not a big deal, but need to be paired up accordingly to slight assembly variances. I'll post some pictures when I can.
The same holds true for the NE149W. There are 2 different production runs on this driver as well. It boils down to early and late VCs and surround compliance changes.
The NE drivers are back at Parts Express for US customers….but they are back ordered no surprise.
There’s something to be said for those that are sensitive to the timbre of different cone/dome materials……which IMO again highlights the inability of the current state of measuring gear and techniques to resolve complex signal use……which is what matter most anyway.
I’ve heard a few Textreme type cones and they’re certainly different……clinical might be a good expression. There’s more ‘definition’ around individual notes within passband. For me, I can see this character being best for bass and midbass where the mix is already cluttered with content and resonances captured. Upper midrange?………not so much.
I think it’s important to consider that many/most mix/mastering labs won’t have that same clinical playback so the engineer may make choices for the mix to present a little warmer…..a little more friendly and musical. Not sure how much the audiophile crew follows the production side of things but it’s not uncommon for an engineer to pass a channel, bus or entire mix through a tape machine to add organic HD. There’s other classic analog hardware that do similar flavors…….compressors, parametric eQs…..even analogconsoles that add some HD when pushed . This is done often for flavor, cohesion or in the case of optical hardware compressors, actual groove. I do wish more folks were familiar with the processes……….it would be a real eye opener for those hyper tuned to the clinical side of things……kinda like buying an Expressionist era painting to run it through a modern sharpening mask to view and enjoy?…….
There’s something to be said for those that are sensitive to the timbre of different cone/dome materials……which IMO again highlights the inability of the current state of measuring gear and techniques to resolve complex signal use……which is what matter most anyway.
I’ve heard a few Textreme type cones and they’re certainly different……clinical might be a good expression. There’s more ‘definition’ around individual notes within passband. For me, I can see this character being best for bass and midbass where the mix is already cluttered with content and resonances captured. Upper midrange?………not so much.
I think it’s important to consider that many/most mix/mastering labs won’t have that same clinical playback so the engineer may make choices for the mix to present a little warmer…..a little more friendly and musical. Not sure how much the audiophile crew follows the production side of things but it’s not uncommon for an engineer to pass a channel, bus or entire mix through a tape machine to add organic HD. There’s other classic analog hardware that do similar flavors…….compressors, parametric eQs…..even analogconsoles that add some HD when pushed . This is done often for flavor, cohesion or in the case of optical hardware compressors, actual groove. I do wish more folks were familiar with the processes……….it would be a real eye opener for those hyper tuned to the clinical side of things……kinda like buying an Expressionist era painting to run it through a modern sharpening mask to view and enjoy?…….
back ordered and not the whole lineup.
the 225, 315 etc are missing.
265 is more then twice the price.
In general if you look through measurements for example @HiFiCompass.
The Tex cones are high stiffness, and similar to a metal cone, you describe them with the same 'typical characteristics".
Well suited for LF where the stiffness is "needed".
There is harmonics carrying down from the breakup, similar to a metal cone.
The impluse is fairly jagged with multiple spikes when it is dying down.
And the ETC curves are very "hashy in general.
Compared to a more damped, and well behaved paper cone.
So there is visible differences in "general" from what i can see at least.
And the character" of sound is described similar to a metal/ceramic (hard) cones.
And as one of the old JBL engineers alluded, when it came to they're Aquaplas coated HF drivers, the biggest difference was in the ETC measurements.
Although it is one measurement that never gets attention around here.
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Well the whole strength in Textreme diaphragm material is IMO how well it resolves low end, specifically midbass. If the drivers have decent motors which can take advantage of the material's properties (quiet, non-resonant, quickly decaying, moderate Qms, etc), this would by far be the best material for midbass if it was applied correctly.
As I said before regarding the application of materials, when constructing the physical structure of the cone, the way the VC is interfaced with the cone is perhaps the most critical aspect in getting the most from this new CF composite.
Below are screen shots of the SB line of Tx cone drivers using the dished cone in question. They are in sequence from the MW13TX, 16TX, 19TX and WO24TX woofers. Take note how the VC neck ties into the dished cone. This is what matters most in getting the most efficient, tightly coupled interface between the cone and VC.
MW13TX
MW16TX
MW19TX
WO24TX
These are very subtle differences, but nonetheless very important details. Cone drivers with long VC formers that attach like stove pipes are not optimal for lower midrange clarity. They enable for more suspension and partial component resonances to occur, partially due to the longer unreinforced surface areas of moving mass that are free to resonate. The lack of any triangulated material is one of the worst case scenariois, which also allow for standing waves to form in the longer cylindrical cavities they create.
As I said before regarding the application of materials, when constructing the physical structure of the cone, the way the VC is interfaced with the cone is perhaps the most critical aspect in getting the most from this new CF composite.
Below are screen shots of the SB line of Tx cone drivers using the dished cone in question. They are in sequence from the MW13TX, 16TX, 19TX and WO24TX woofers. Take note how the VC neck ties into the dished cone. This is what matters most in getting the most efficient, tightly coupled interface between the cone and VC.
MW13TX
MW16TX
MW19TX
WO24TX
These are very subtle differences, but nonetheless very important details. Cone drivers with long VC formers that attach like stove pipes are not optimal for lower midrange clarity. They enable for more suspension and partial component resonances to occur, partially due to the longer unreinforced surface areas of moving mass that are free to resonate. The lack of any triangulated material is one of the worst case scenariois, which also allow for standing waves to form in the longer cylindrical cavities they create.