We have Adason to thank. I would not have guessed that the Fountek FR88EX is so good - but looks like another driver I will have to try. The Faital Pro 4FE35(2) is not on there but should be. Like the TC7, is industrial looking and meant for backside mounting though.
Has anyone had experience with the Air 3 inch driver? Specs look very promising.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/248157-new-3-fullrage-provide-test-5.html#post3782009
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5th Element published some test results later in the same thread, but to be honest, I didn't make out any comments of his listening impressions.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/248157-new-3-fullrage-provide-test-10.html#post3876943
While any of use who've built more than a few speakers will all have our favorites ( I certainly do ), and it's certainly hard to fault the value of the Vifas, "best" is one of those 4 letter words that can engender a lot of hot air.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/248157-new-3-fullrage-provide-test-10.html#post3876943
While any of use who've built more than a few speakers will all have our favorites ( I certainly do ), and it's certainly hard to fault the value of the Vifas, "best" is one of those 4 letter words that can engender a lot of hot air.
I am rather fond of the Fostex FE108E Sigma. Beautiful mids yet good detail, pretty good efficiency. What's not to like? 
There are a lot of other drivers to consider. FF105WK and FF85WK would top my list of budget drivers to consider. I have only heard the older FFxxxK series, but it seems that the WK is comparable in signal quality and 'DDR'
Of course there is the Lowther A45 and C45, etc, if you have the budget. Anyone care to comment on these? They aren't really in my price range... and might not be considered "small".
There are a lot of other drivers to consider. FF105WK and FF85WK would top my list of budget drivers to consider. I have only heard the older FFxxxK series, but it seems that the WK is comparable in signal quality and 'DDR'
Of course there is the Lowther A45 and C45, etc, if you have the budget. Anyone care to comment on these? They aren't really in my price range... and might not be considered "small".
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I think there are lots of bests out there for over 400Hz. For fullrangers it'd would be a matter of preference among the many great choices... Fostex, TB, MA, Lowther, etc. (sorry if I left out anyone's favorite). Just to complicate things further, there are probably many bests made up of two-ways from Seas, Scan Speak, Vifa, etc. (again, sorry if I've left your favorite out).
My CURRENT favorite is the enormous Eminence Beta 12LTA on an OB above an H-frame. Helper tweeter completes the overall sound. It just sounds really excellent to me in my room. But the TB 1808 and 1320 also sound great with bass support. Maybe next week they will be my current faves. I also love the Fostex 127e in BIBs... what a great music maker!
Having been in this hobby for over two decades I remember searching for the best... bought expensive drivers from Dynaudio, Eton, Vifa and the like... along with expensive crossover parts that exceeded the cost of the drivers in some instances. Having stumbled on to fullrange drivers was a blessing even tho they do not handle the most power or have perfectly flat measured frequency responses. I just enjoy their sound (probably the lack of crossover and rolled top octaves) regardless, they sound best to me in their many iterations.
Some suck tho... but part of the fun is finding what sucks too. Hopefully you won't spend as much as I have on components. Enjoy!
My CURRENT favorite is the enormous Eminence Beta 12LTA on an OB above an H-frame. Helper tweeter completes the overall sound. It just sounds really excellent to me in my room. But the TB 1808 and 1320 also sound great with bass support. Maybe next week they will be my current faves. I also love the Fostex 127e in BIBs... what a great music maker!
Having been in this hobby for over two decades I remember searching for the best... bought expensive drivers from Dynaudio, Eton, Vifa and the like... along with expensive crossover parts that exceeded the cost of the drivers in some instances. Having stumbled on to fullrange drivers was a blessing even tho they do not handle the most power or have perfectly flat measured frequency responses. I just enjoy their sound (probably the lack of crossover and rolled top octaves) regardless, they sound best to me in their many iterations.
Some suck tho... but part of the fun is finding what sucks too. Hopefully you won't spend as much as I have on components. Enjoy!
Adason posted the work of Timothy Felepa who did tests and posted them. Don't know where Timothy Felepa is.
I'm not surprised and it's not harsh what he said. That problem at 2khz is real. There's a poster around here named blumenco who loves this driver. He claims that null can be fixed with careful baffle sizing. But unfortunately my experience with this driver tells me those measurements are bang on (well, the shape was slightly different) and the sound WAS audible.
FWIW, Clark is a very earnest and empassioned guy with a commercial product using this driver, with which his numerous customers are quite happy. I heard a prototype a few years back, and while I personally preferred the FF85WK, there's nothing particularly wrong with his design.
But if pressed to nominate a Fostex driver for this category, I'd have to go with either FE108E Sigma, or the F120A.
But if pressed to nominate a Fostex driver for this category, I'd have to go with either FE108E Sigma, or the F120A.
At the time, the box you were directly comparing it to was the FF85k (the wk IMO an improvement on the already excellent driver)
dave
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I can't reconcile these two statements. The FE127E was the first full range I bought and it has quite an excitable upper end to it. Rolled top ? - not on your nelly!
I've seen very little around here that uses the F120A. High price, low sensitivity perhaps ?
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Yes, availabity of many of Fostex's "special" series outside of the Japanese domestic market is always subject to Foster's whims, and there are many models that never officially see Export shipment, and some that should be withheld for local consumption or revisited, unfortunately do - OK, I can only nominate the FE138ESR for that honour
As TO noted a few posts back, the 108Sigma is quite lubricious with midrange sweetness, and in a well sized bifurcated horn (e.g. Aiko), can actually do fairly well into the lower mid-bass was well.
If more constrained re enclosure dimensions, the F120A, or "budget" sibling FX120, can be easier to implement.
But none of this group wouldn't benefit from HP filtering and supporting woofers.
As TO noted a few posts back, the 108Sigma is quite lubricious with midrange sweetness, and in a well sized bifurcated horn (e.g. Aiko), can actually do fairly well into the lower mid-bass was well.
If more constrained re enclosure dimensions, the F120A, or "budget" sibling FX120, can be easier to implement.
But none of this group wouldn't benefit from HP filtering and supporting woofers.
PRV 5MR450-NDY
Above 400 Hz, this Nd magnet PA driver seems to be pretty smooth and has 95-98 dB efficiency and 250 watts power handling with Qts 0.42/0.57 (depending on 4/8 ohms). More details in this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/259293-prv-5mr450-ndy-fast-applications.html
Here is measurement in 12 in OB:
Above 400 Hz, this Nd magnet PA driver seems to be pretty smooth and has 95-98 dB efficiency and 250 watts power handling with Qts 0.42/0.57 (depending on 4/8 ohms). More details in this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/259293-prv-5mr450-ndy-fast-applications.html
Here is measurement in 12 in OB:
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