Opinions on the best small paper cone full range driver above 400 hz?

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Looking at the usual suspects but wondering if I'm missing any - for example I've only heard good things about the Alpair 6P from users but I see there's a little 5khz spike which cd show up on some music perhaps

Also interested to try a BMR - one gets good reviews and is used in some v high end gear.
 
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frugal-phile™
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Don't be too set on interpreting performance from the measures.

My favorite for this duty is the FF85wKeN, especially crossed this high. Next would likely be Alpair6.2m, the A6.2p has a "vintage" top -- which with its more extended bottom is ideal for use by itself. All 3 would be very good.

The scan F10 would be a consideration if it was priced similarily, it really can't much be used without a woofer.

I haven't tried anything else on the highish end, quite a few cheaper ones thou.

dave
 
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Vifa TC9FD - look in Nautaloss thread and Cheap FAST OB thread to see measurements.
Also very capable and perhaps new contender for the high performance high value crown is the Faital Pro 4FE35 - 91dB smooth response and $25. More info in Cheap FAST OB thread.

Both these drivers have very low distortion in the -50dB levels at 80 dB output and have good polar response.
 
frugal-phile™
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Vifa TC9FD

Certainly looks to be a contender for best value for the dollar*, but best? I'm working to get mine ready to evaluate. They are of typical quality scandinavian construction.

* and could well be even more so with the level of ancillary gear typically used with.

Also, i believe, the only driver xrk has played with.

dave
 
No such thing as 'best', just a wide variety of different compromises. FF85wk, FE83En, A6, various Tang Bands, those Vifas & a few others all come to mind. They're also all different, doing different things well, so name your poison. If your priority is to obtain the flattest possible FR plot, then the Vifa is hard to beat, but there are other considerations, so YMMV. Note that the BMRs usually have a simulated, not a measured plot in the data sheets.
 
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Just because it is the only full range driver I have used doesn't mean it isn't one of the best. I am still waiting for someone to show measurements of a driver that has a smoother response combined with as good polar response and low HD. I know you like the FF85wk - how does that compare in response smoothness and distortion? I think the Faital Pro 4FE35 may beat it and intend to try that next.

I agree with Scottmoose though - no such thing as 'best' they all do something well otherwise people wouldn't buy them. One reason I stick with the Vifa is that I haven't seen another driver that would give me say 5x or 8x the performance given the price ratio.
 
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frugal-phile™
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I am still waiting for someone to show measurements of a driver that has a smoother response combined with as good polar response and low HD.

HD is not all that important (important enuff to be ignored IMHO), and the others scratch the surface.

Measures are measures and you cannot over-rely on them. They are a design tool.

None of that says the VIFA aren't good, but it does not say they are.

The people with good kit, sitting down comparing finihed product is the test.

dave
 
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Measurements are a design tool - exactly. So what do we base our choice of drivers on when designing a speaker if we have not been able to hear one for ourselves? We have to rely on measurement which give us the TS parameters and the frequency response which tells us if the response is what we are looking for. HD measurements are useful if 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th are shown and certainly they reveal how well designed the driver is. In the end if one's listening test with ears says it is good enough then fine - we all make our own decisions. But the measurements are the only non-subjective and quantitative description of the performance of a driver. Would a driver that measures well with flat response and low HD ever be considered 'bad' sounding?
 
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Having the ability to audition many drivers is not something I or many others have. Certainly if you have access to 50 drivers that is great, and the Vifa is on your list for a listening soon I suppose. Surprised that you have not listened to one yet. That will be great to get feedback on it compared to say the FF85wk or the A6 or A7.
 
and that's a conversation during which the polemics can easily surpass anything likely to be encountered in a thread constrained to the opening topic of this one

FOR ME - smooth /flat response measures over which many folks lust - particularly when assisted by filters/EQ and more so in multi-ways - can easily work against the system's emotional impact. As with any sensory perception, we don't all experience / react to the same stimulus in exactly the same way - differences that even 10,000 hrs or more won't ameliorate.

Having heard more than a few system in my 50+ years of active listening, I'll take a slightly colored / technically flawed system / performance that connects me to the emotion of the music. For example, as technically wonderful a vocalist as she was, Ella leaves me rather wanting something ineffable, while Sarah Vaughn just drips with juice, so to speak.
 
Bill, the 4" sibling is quite a decent performer- certainly no slouch in the LF department ( as I heard in the cut little Deckertian DNA horn), but for my taste not quite as nuanced in the upper mid- top end range as A7.3

Thanks Chris. I've just had a look at Tang band's charts. What I like about the smaller version is that above 1khz, dips and rises are pretty much all in the right place. Just needs to be toe'd in a little perhaps. Scant info from users but there's a chap from Norway that used these in a Tabaq and said the sound was 'amazing'.
The only drawback is that phase plug thingy - I doubt it helps off axis response, but I imagine its useful for keeping the VC cool.
 
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