Audience A3..are these the best you can buy?

[Bill poster]

Researching more full rangers...

audience :Audience A3 Loudspeaker Drivers

These little things seem to have an amazing spec- high SPL...and a v high price!




From their site

"The Audience A3 is a breakthrough full range loudspeaker driver design comprised of a patented motor structure, patent-pending suspension and patent pending basket. The A3 has an exceptionally flat response from 40Hz to 22Khz and -20 at 20Hz with very high power handling and dynamic range. The A3 is built like a high power sub woofer driver using a large neodymium motor structure, big voice coil and suspension venting. The A3 is ultra responsive at 2.5 grams total moving mass providing state of the art resolution and dynamic range. The A3 sports 12mm of usable excursion with less than 1 dB compression at levels up to 95 dB SPL."

 

[Pano]

I have 1, alas only 1. But I've heard them in the big line array.

It's a good driver, nicely extended, very good resolution. Low efficiency, of course.
Only real drawback is the too high price. Pity about that.

 

[norman bates]

it really has only 6mm xmax.

I'd rather not listen to a 3" driver moving 6mm xmax, it will be blurry sounding.........

and it has a nasty cone resonance (aluminum / magnesium)...........

even if you notch it, it still rings from lower harmonics that slip right around the notch.or you may get it to measure flat, but a waterfall can still show what the ear hears.

I like stiffened paper, best of both worlds.

The climb in response past 1khz is also is weird.


But I have never heard one.

 

[ultrakaz]

The A3 was designed to be used in arrays. Somehow the frequency response anomalies were built in to offset comb filtering or other problems presented by a "full range" array without filtering. I'm saying this because I've heard the 4+4 line array and contrary to what I've read about the ills of a full range array, the speaker sounded really really good. The speaker had all the attack, speed and imaging that the smaller "full range" drivers have combined with higher spl the larger drivers have. Alas, you need 8 per speaker @ $150 = $2,400(!). And you will still need a sub(s) for true full range.

 

[Godzilla]

The plot looks similar to a TB plot. Interesting about the rising response being built in... perhaps it was.

 

[Pano]

But I have never heard one.

And there you go.

I've heard 16 of them, and in an array it's a fine driver. Perfect, no. But very nice for arrays.