Puzzle Coat for the Dayton PS220-8 with Dayton DS215 8" passive radiator

Fostex FE206en or Dayton PS220-8

I did a build with the Dayton PS220-8, full range driver, paper cone reinforced with Kevlar and the Dayton DS215 8" passive radiator. Referenced above, with thanks to the diyAudio community. The drivers are in a repurposed pair of KEF Q80s(34 liter volume).

It's been 3 years, so now I'm looking for another project. I'm interested in using the dave from planet10 Puzzle Coat(AKA Mod Podge) for the full range driver and passive radiator. I've done a search of cone treatments, and the major threads are overwhelming with he number of post and lack of consensus.

So for my driver and passive radiator, can I expect a positive change with the puzzle coat?

Thanks, Joseph
 
Hi Joseph,

I have the PS-220 in a similar case with a SEAS passive radiator.

Puzzlecoat treatment only works for mids, not bass, so don't waste your effort on the passive radiator.

I have never been quite happy with the treble from any 8", and that includes this one. They just don't have the low level detail that real tweeters have. My thoughts are try converting it into a 2 way with a crossover at about 7 or 8 kHz to a small 1/2 inch tweeter. You can try these outside first without cutting holes of any kind, see if you like the changes that it makes.

Oon
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
The very first drivers i ever puzzlekoated were woofers. It wrks on all paper cones. The higher in frequency they reproduce the more careful you need to be with how much (i have never done it on a tweeter).

First step in doing up the PS220 was a thin koat of thinned (blackend) modePodge.

Dayon-PS220eN.jpg


dave
 
The very first drivers i ever puzzlekoated were woofers. It wrks on all paper cones. The higher in frequency they reproduce the more careful you need to be with how much (i have never done it on a tweeter).

First step in doing up the PS220 was a thin koat of thinned (blackend) modePodge.



dave
Wow, that is some serious patterns, did you use glow in the dark paint, I would imagine it will look really good in complete darkness...
 
Im curious, Dave. What is the purpose of those concentric interleaved markings? Purely aesthetic, autosuggestive or is there really a technical benefit?

On a side note, it may be beneficial to use a template to only partially apply a coat, such as in an irregular star pattern. This is similar to what Vifa did with their Penta-Cut technology, the idea being to keep waves emenating from the VC from arriving at the surround at the same time.
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
What is the purpose of those concentric interleaved markings? Purely aesthetic, autosuggestive or is there really a technical benefit?

You are about to go down a rabbit hole. Search on threads with titles that have the word “EnABL’ in them.

There are both those that say it is total BS (none that i know of that have actually listened), and those that believe it has decided benefits.

It, at a minimum, does increase the driver’s DDR, its ability to reproduce very small details, the kind of details that let you know more about the instrument played, the nuance of a voice, and the critical information needd to reproduce. asolid 3 soundstage/image. Now that information needs to be on the recording, and what is between that and the loudspeaker do not bury it.

It is subtle as a whole, but once your ear/brain has figured out it is there… well it is hard to go back.

If you want to see more pretty pictures: It's not easy being green -- just pictures

such as in an irregular star pattern

I have played with that and many more. I picked up EnABL in the early ’00, but i have been tweaking drivers since the 70s.

dave
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
PR is a whole new ballgame. It, ideally, is very rigid. And have HF damped.

One of the things you avoid with FRs or mids when koating is not to use so much that you don’t kill the HF or sad significant mass.

In a PR this is not an issue. Each koat will stiffen the membrane and add mass. Do koats on both sides. Any mass added will be not an issue when you add more mass to tune it.

dave