Drivers arrived a couple days ago from madisound. I also ordered a couple of peerless tc6fc00 to compare them with since I like the sound of paper cones.
I have to say I have never seen a driver as immaculately put together as the sb65. The voice coil aligns perfectly in the magnet and every joint and glue seem is immaculate.
I duct taped one of each driver in a couple of sealed boxes for some listening tests. Initially I prefered the peerless since it sounded more natural. But as the drivers started to break in I found that I really like the sound of the sb65. After a few hours I was only listening to the sb65. The peerless tc6 sounded muffled and strained in comparison. The superior venting and motor of the sb65 makes a big difference.
I generally don't like metal cones but the sb65 doesn't sound shrill. The big poly dust cap damps the cone and gives it a more soft delicate type of sound. Not as organic as paper but not ringy either.
The highs are great, and I can barely tell that the dispersion narrows a bit. Also they go surprisingly low. I would say in the right box in a small room they could be run full range. They're definitely not like a subwoofer but you don't need that for music imo.
I have to say I have never seen a driver as immaculately put together as the sb65. The voice coil aligns perfectly in the magnet and every joint and glue seem is immaculate.
I duct taped one of each driver in a couple of sealed boxes for some listening tests. Initially I prefered the peerless since it sounded more natural. But as the drivers started to break in I found that I really like the sound of the sb65. After a few hours I was only listening to the sb65. The peerless tc6 sounded muffled and strained in comparison. The superior venting and motor of the sb65 makes a big difference.
I generally don't like metal cones but the sb65 doesn't sound shrill. The big poly dust cap damps the cone and gives it a more soft delicate type of sound. Not as organic as paper but not ringy either.
The highs are great, and I can barely tell that the dispersion narrows a bit. Also they go surprisingly low. I would say in the right box in a small room they could be run full range. They're definitely not like a subwoofer but you don't need that for music imo.
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I reattached the peerless driver to the baffle from behind so it could breathe better and the sound seemed to open up a bit. I might end up doing a fast with the peerless tc6 for the vintage paper top end and doing the sb65 by itself in a ported box. Full range the sb65 is definitely better. It definitely needs baffle steo though to sound right.
I ended up not liking the TC7. I believe what I was hearing with it was a dust cap resonance. Also they didn't image well.
Try a double chamber reflex, like the one designed by Claudio Negro
Claudio Negro's home page, how to project and test a loudspeaker using Speaker Workshop
I've modeled them in an EBS bass reflex to go down to about 55hz with only a 1db ripple in the response.
Try them in a 150 cu inch enclosure with 1"x5" port. The tuning is around 50hz if I remember correctly. Its on another computer I don't have access to right now. I also built a test box and it sounded good. Not like subwoofer bass but good enough and can certainly mate to a sub.
BTW I want to sell my pair if anyone is interested. I started to design a speaker for them but lost interest. I do recommend them overall but they aren't for me. I prefer a more organic type sound.
Try them in a 150 cu inch enclosure with 1"x5" port. The tuning is around 50hz if I remember correctly. Its on another computer I don't have access to right now. I also built a test box and it sounded good. Not like subwoofer bass but good enough and can certainly mate to a sub.
BTW I want to sell my pair if anyone is interested. I started to design a speaker for them but lost interest. I do recommend them overall but they aren't for me. I prefer a more organic type sound.
Here is a pic. This alignment with the sb65 gets down to around 55 hz. The port is 5.68" x 1' ID. A fatter port isn't necessary as these are more geared to low volume listening.
Some might find the ripple objectionable but compared to room effects, especially in a small room, it doesn't matter much. I did do a cardboard test box.
Some might find the ripple objectionable but compared to room effects, especially in a small room, it doesn't matter much. I did do a cardboard test box.
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It might make for a cute little box, but I think asking this small driver to perform all the way down to 55Hz is a bit much.
Unless played very close to you and at very low volume.
This little gem is amazing when working in its comfortable zone, which is more like 300-500Hz and up.
Add in a woofer to support it and it will give plenty of organic whatever, and then some!
Unless played very close to you and at very low volume.
This little gem is amazing when working in its comfortable zone, which is more like 300-500Hz and up.
Add in a woofer to support it and it will give plenty of organic whatever, and then some!
I did some real world side by side listening to this with some comparable sized and price FRs and.........
https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/264-1050--tymphany-pls-p830985-spec-sheet.pdf
.......the 830985 beat them all subjectively speaking......and not by a small margin either.
https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/264-1050--tymphany-pls-p830985-spec-sheet.pdf
.......the 830985 beat them all subjectively speaking......and not by a small margin either.
It might make for a cute little box, but I think asking this small driver to perform all the way down to 55Hz is a bit much.
Unless played very close to you and at very low volume.
This little gem is amazing when working in its comfortable zone, which is more like 300-500Hz and up.
Add in a woofer to support it and it will give plenty of organic whatever, and then some!
I might end up doing a speaker with them after all. I have a design for them using a concrete block. A stiff cabinet can increase perceived bass quality.
Lets be clear, these are not for Jurassic Park dinosaur walking bass. But the harmonic distortion measurements aren't that bad, especially at low volume. Now the vifa tc6 has no bass. The sb65 can at least meet up with a sub.
These drivers do need a proper baffle step. I have them facing backwards bouncing sound off the wall, with almost 6db of baffle step. That's what I prefer though, warm bloated mid bass.
The sb65 does have a touch of metallic shrillness that comes out every now and then with electric guitars and such, but overall its very good.
I generally stay away from metal cones like the PLS-P830985.
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You seem, subjectively speaking, like to appreciate distortion products, then.
I had them both, intended to be used in a multiway system. For me, listening to a sine-sweep, the SB was not perfect, but comfortably ok. The Peerless instead subjectively failed right away.
Measured with a NT passband filter (800Hz ... 3.5kHz) shows that under this specific condition, the SB is clearly superior to the Peerless:
SB (sine thd)
HD_SB_NT2_800-3500.png
Peerless (sind thd)
HD_PeerLess_NT2_800-3500.png
Under same conditions, SB produced 1% thd @ 1kHz, whereas Peerless produced 10% thd @ 1kHz.
SB (im multitone)
MultiTone_SB_NT2_800-3500.png
Peerless (im multitone)
MultiTone_PeerLess_NT2_800-3500.png
In Multitone test same picture - SB showed less IM poducts than Peerless
Make your choice ...
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