What companies that are making high sensitive speakers do you recommend? What speakers are you using?
Lately my favorites have been:
TAD, for the big buck crowd,
PHL for the slightly less wealthy
Polydax Pro, for slightly less $ yet
Fostex for the budget minded
Beyma and Selenium instead of beer.
And of course the ever popular Altec 604's
TAD, for the big buck crowd,
PHL for the slightly less wealthy
Polydax Pro, for slightly less $ yet
Fostex for the budget minded
Beyma and Selenium instead of beer.
And of course the ever popular Altec 604's
Nelson Pass said:
A good list... the 604s also remind us that there is some nice vintage stuff out there. Triangle, and Eminence (as in things like the Adire HE10) should also get a mention.
dave
I would have to add JBL to the list behind TAD, but that’s me. And if you talk about sensitivity, you have to include horns.
Rodd Yamas***a
Rodd Yamas***a
Ok Nelson (and everyone else) I've got my Selenium 15" driver for my beery bass.
Now for the higher notes:
Anyone heard the PHL 1240 TWX 7.5" that has a coax tweeter? only $160!!
Now for the higher notes:
Anyone heard the PHL 1240 TWX 7.5" that has a coax tweeter? only $160!!
Zylatron has 'em on their web site
P-10:
How about a bipolar speaker? The PHL 1240TWX (with tweeter) faces forwarda plain PHL 1240 faces back.
The 1240 has 93 dB efficiency, the tweeter is higher.So if I have one forward and one back will the efficiency be 96dB for the 1240's ? Solves the bafffle step issue, right?, but does it also increase efficiency in the midrange also?
Second possible approach: I'm planning on getting a Fostex FE206 to make a varient on the Basszilla (instead of the FE208)
The driver is mounted in an open baffle. Will the PHL 1240TWX work in an open baffle instead? ( with a crossover to the tweeter of course) but I'm wondering if the compliance is good for open baffle. I assume you can't use too compliant?
Ok another question: What if I mount a 1240TWX AND a 1240 in a vertical array facing forward on an open baffle? Double the efficiency to 96 (the same as the Selenium woofers) Does the tweeter being in the center of one driver screw things up? Obviously not a D'Appolito, but the drivers don't have a tweeter keeping them apart. suggested crossover is 3k.
P-10:
How about a bipolar speaker? The PHL 1240TWX (with tweeter) faces forwarda plain PHL 1240 faces back.
The 1240 has 93 dB efficiency, the tweeter is higher.So if I have one forward and one back will the efficiency be 96dB for the 1240's ? Solves the bafffle step issue, right?, but does it also increase efficiency in the midrange also?
Second possible approach: I'm planning on getting a Fostex FE206 to make a varient on the Basszilla (instead of the FE208)
The driver is mounted in an open baffle. Will the PHL 1240TWX work in an open baffle instead? ( with a crossover to the tweeter of course) but I'm wondering if the compliance is good for open baffle. I assume you can't use too compliant?
Ok another question: What if I mount a 1240TWX AND a 1240 in a vertical array facing forward on an open baffle? Double the efficiency to 96 (the same as the Selenium woofers) Does the tweeter being in the center of one driver screw things up? Obviously not a D'Appolito, but the drivers don't have a tweeter keeping them apart. suggested crossover is 3k.
Thanks for replies...
Whats with horns, why are they so efficient? Dont they make some distortion, how are they made?
Whats with horns, why are they so efficient? Dont they make some distortion, how are they made?
Variac said:
Sounds like a plan.
93 dB measured into 2pi space. As soon as you wrap into 4pi space they go down to 87 dB (ignoring room lift). A bipole would be 93 dB all the way up - it is always radiating into 4pi space. You gain some with 2 drivers in a room.
The Q is similar to the Fostex. Should come close to filling the same role.
You'd have to add BSC so you might as well build a bipole (if your room supports it).
dave
Nelson Pass said:
Good list, and I would add
Radian compression drivers, 475 1" (exceptional) and 850/950 2"
P.Audio BMS450
JBL 2446, especially with the Radian Al diaphram
Fane ST5022
BMS 4590 (incredible)
Beyma 380 1" CD is one of the sweetest drivers you'll ever hear
McCauley, excellent and not too expensive
JBL Pro drivers
Many Eminence drivers: cheap as dirt for the performance you get
ATC. Big $
Volt radial bass drivers. Not tried them but look excellent. Also big $
Lowther. If you like that sort of thing.
Cheers
Horns are acoustic transformers, and work by taking a high pressure smal displacement signal at the throat, into a low pressure larger displacement by the mouth.skaara said:
Properly designed and implemented, horns will have lower distortion, especially in domestic use.
Horns are made by taking a driver, either a conventional cone, or a specifically designed compression driver, and coupling it to a 'flare' or horn. Apart from CD's, many cone drivers do not work well into horns as their designed T/S parameters are all wrong for that application.
Dave BSC = baffle step correction I assume. Actually I cross over to the 15" woofer which is in a bass reflex box at the point that the baffle stops working so I don't think I need BSC.
OK does anyone opine that the PHL sounds better than the Fostex? It appears that Nelson might, but I think he is talking about the bigger PHL woofers.
I would be tempted to add a super tweeter to the Fostex FE206 which would probably screw up its coherency. The PHL would allow me to have the tweeter concentric. I suspect that the tweet is an audax unit.
OK, I'm tempted to do the open baffle. (buck up Dave!) PHL has a recommended crossover design. Is there any advantage to having the woofers right next to each other? or do they need to be spaced apart? The crossover freq is 3khz. I know in MTM arrangements the spacing matters-right? This would be more like an TMM
OK does anyone opine that the PHL sounds better than the Fostex? It appears that Nelson might, but I think he is talking about the bigger PHL woofers.
I would be tempted to add a super tweeter to the Fostex FE206 which would probably screw up its coherency. The PHL would allow me to have the tweeter concentric. I suspect that the tweet is an audax unit.
OK, I'm tempted to do the open baffle. (buck up Dave!) PHL has a recommended crossover design. Is there any advantage to having the woofers right next to each other? or do they need to be spaced apart? The crossover freq is 3khz. I know in MTM arrangements the spacing matters-right? This would be more like an TMM
Variac said:
That is a form of BSC. Put the XO at the BS freq and bi-amp.
I wouldn't doubt it. PHL is descended from Audax Pro.
Open baffles are good, fairly easy. Just watch you don't get addicted/
If they are covering the same freq the want to be as close (relative to the highest frequency they reproduce).
dave
I plan to use eight of these ribbons (without waveguide),
103db (isodynamic actually)
with PHL2520 8" midrange, 100db sensitivity in a small line array
with dual Lambda 15's, then add a 15" or 18" sub = per cabinet
http://www.stageaccompany.com/cdload.html
Upon testing 1 tweeter and 1 midrange I can feel the
cement floor in the garage vibrate and you can feel
the sound penetrate thru your torso with this combination.
So far, this is the best combo that meets my crazy needs
without resorting to prosound horn loaded solutions.
A middle ground between prosound impact and audiophile
quality.
The drawback to achieve this awesome combo is cost,
a big price to pay for a crazy hobby.
Can't wait to hear 8 tweets and 8 mids - hehe
Patients yung jedi...
103db (isodynamic actually)
with PHL2520 8" midrange, 100db sensitivity in a small line array
with dual Lambda 15's, then add a 15" or 18" sub = per cabinet
http://www.stageaccompany.com/cdload.html
Upon testing 1 tweeter and 1 midrange I can feel the
cement floor in the garage vibrate and you can feel
the sound penetrate thru your torso with this combination.
So far, this is the best combo that meets my crazy needs
without resorting to prosound horn loaded solutions.
A middle ground between prosound impact and audiophile
quality.
The drawback to achieve this awesome combo is cost,
a big price to pay for a crazy hobby.
Can't wait to hear 8 tweets and 8 mids - hehe
Patients yung jedi...
are there non DIY loudspeakers, not only chassis, from Audax, TAD, other of this list, avaible at the market? looks like f.e. TAD sells only to professionals and not in europe? prices? I don´t want to get involved in building loudspeakers this time, but are interested in some smaller but Zen suitable ones.
--How Costly ?
--What cost those ribbons and the 8" ?.
SA8535 driver is $600 each, double the cost of a Raven 2
or ESg3 ribbon. Which one is better? It's up to you do decide.
I like the SA8535 because;
A. 103db sensitivity, with waveguide 107db (optional).
I think tube heads would love this tweeter -heh
B. Stage Accompany uses this driver as their high-end
high frequency reproducer for their prosound and cinema
line of products. They use the waveguide for higher spl.
I think it's an excellent choice over compression horn
solutions, but you pay the price for quality.
I wonder if the Raven or ESg would work in that
environment/application ? I don't know.
C. Excellent sounding, not overpowering and harsh
like a prosound horn, a good balance between prosound
spl levels and audiophile quality (without waveguide).
I haven't auditioned this driver with waveguide so I
can't comment.
I have five of these monsters, only three more to buy.
The PHL 2520 is $169 at
http://www.e-speakers.com/
To be honest, one SA8535, one PHL2520, one
Lamdba TD15" per cabinet would be an amazing system.
But, I haven't received my Lambda 15" yet, so I don't
want to comment on it's effectiveness.
I've had many people recommend
this woofer so I ordered one to test it. I have
a hunch it will work out very well. Last, add
a seperate subwoofer. If you really want to punish,
how about an MTM or TMM ? This was my orginal plan,
but since then, my simple plan has grown to be
frankenstiens monster, I want to go overkill
because it's the nature of the beast (myself) - LOL
Note: Many people flog isodynamic drivers because
they are not really ribbon drivers. HiVi and partsexpress
have a $30 - $100 isodynamic driver, but there is a huge difference the sound quality, build quailty, and SPL levels
between these drivers and the SA8535 driver.
SA is superior by a large margin and the price tag
is justified.
I stacked four of those partexpress $30 isodynamic
(small array) and compared it to one SA driver.
The SA driver wins hands down. My old lady told
me to trash those little ones and she wants her own
system with the SA... hahah There is nothing
wrong with those $30 iso's, but once you drive
a Ferrari, it's hard to go back to driving a Ford Escort - LOL
While this SA driver is amazing soundwise, it does
have some flaws. The flaws are mechnical. It's not
user friendly when it comes to mounting and the speaker
terminals are on the front side. I'm in the process of
designing an aluminum enclosure with rear terminals
for this driver, and magnetic shielding, added cost.
This neo magnet is very strong, I had to make a jig
to do diaphram replacement to pull apart the magnet
from the faceplate. Using a crowbar to pry it apart didn't
work - LOL I become very intimate with the inner workings
of this driver after the screwdriver slipped one day when I was
checking internals (measuring, figuring out how to reroute
the electrical) and the diaphram ripped when the magnet
pulled the small screwdriver from the screw- LOL
I ended up splitting my finger just messing with this strong
magnets - lol
Note to self : keep all metal object at distance >5 feet
away from this driver, use non-metalic screwdriver no matter how uber carefull you think you are.
P.S. These folks use SA driver.
http://www.fmdesign.com/fmgriffin.htm
--What cost those ribbons and the 8" ?.
SA8535 driver is $600 each, double the cost of a Raven 2
or ESg3 ribbon. Which one is better? It's up to you do decide.
I like the SA8535 because;
A. 103db sensitivity, with waveguide 107db (optional).
I think tube heads would love this tweeter -heh
B. Stage Accompany uses this driver as their high-end
high frequency reproducer for their prosound and cinema
line of products. They use the waveguide for higher spl.
I think it's an excellent choice over compression horn
solutions, but you pay the price for quality.
I wonder if the Raven or ESg would work in that
environment/application ? I don't know.
C. Excellent sounding, not overpowering and harsh
like a prosound horn, a good balance between prosound
spl levels and audiophile quality (without waveguide).
I haven't auditioned this driver with waveguide so I
can't comment.
I have five of these monsters, only three more to buy.
The PHL 2520 is $169 at
http://www.e-speakers.com/
To be honest, one SA8535, one PHL2520, one
Lamdba TD15" per cabinet would be an amazing system.
But, I haven't received my Lambda 15" yet, so I don't
want to comment on it's effectiveness.
I've had many people recommend
this woofer so I ordered one to test it. I have
a hunch it will work out very well. Last, add
a seperate subwoofer. If you really want to punish,
how about an MTM or TMM ? This was my orginal plan,
but since then, my simple plan has grown to be
frankenstiens monster, I want to go overkill
because it's the nature of the beast (myself) - LOL
Note: Many people flog isodynamic drivers because
they are not really ribbon drivers. HiVi and partsexpress
have a $30 - $100 isodynamic driver, but there is a huge difference the sound quality, build quailty, and SPL levels
between these drivers and the SA8535 driver.
SA is superior by a large margin and the price tag
is justified.
I stacked four of those partexpress $30 isodynamic
(small array) and compared it to one SA driver.
The SA driver wins hands down. My old lady told
me to trash those little ones and she wants her own
system with the SA... hahah There is nothing
wrong with those $30 iso's, but once you drive
a Ferrari, it's hard to go back to driving a Ford Escort - LOL
While this SA driver is amazing soundwise, it does
have some flaws. The flaws are mechnical. It's not
user friendly when it comes to mounting and the speaker
terminals are on the front side. I'm in the process of
designing an aluminum enclosure with rear terminals
for this driver, and magnetic shielding, added cost.
This neo magnet is very strong, I had to make a jig
to do diaphram replacement to pull apart the magnet
from the faceplate. Using a crowbar to pry it apart didn't
work - LOL I become very intimate with the inner workings
of this driver after the screwdriver slipped one day when I was
checking internals (measuring, figuring out how to reroute
the electrical) and the diaphram ripped when the magnet
pulled the small screwdriver from the screw- LOL
I ended up splitting my finger just messing with this strong
magnets - lol
Note to self : keep all metal object at distance >5 feet
away from this driver, use non-metalic screwdriver no matter how uber carefull you think you are.
P.S. These folks use SA driver.
http://www.fmdesign.com/fmgriffin.htm
Hi thylantyr
Are you talking about eight SA compact drivers PER SIDE ?
I once listened to a large SA two-way studio monitor using ONE of these and it was enough SPL capability for my taste (and I am used to listen to horns ). 🙂
Regards
Charles
Are you talking about eight SA compact drivers PER SIDE ?
I once listened to a large SA two-way studio monitor using ONE of these and it was enough SPL capability for my taste (and I am used to listen to horns ). 🙂
Regards
Charles
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