Help think through crossover: TPL-150H & 10NDA610

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Nice! Do you know if these can be purchased anywhere?

Hi,
I don't really know whether these are still available today or not.
I suppose you would have to try contacting KV2 Audio directly, or 18 Sound themselves.
I purchased mine directly from KV2 Audio, many years ago, in September 2011, and I paid £634.28 GBP inc VAT for the pair of them.
In England, where I live, I think the UK distributer for 18 Sound is Lean Business, who do have the standard 18 Sound 8NM610 driver (in 8 ohm, not 16 ohm) still available today for £303.58 GBP each.

I would advise it's probably okay to just buy the normal 8NM610 version if they suit your needs, rather than worry too much about getting the very rare 8NMA610 special AIC version, because there is not really a massive difference in what you could honestly hear in normal music use...

Although the Active Impedance Control (AIC) version is technically superior, with it's lower flatter impedance curve which makes it an easier impedance load for the amplifier to drive, and helps to smooth the natural phase response too, I find these drivers have such very high sensitivity output at 104dBSPL/W that the power amplifier can easily run these drivers up to plenty loud enough listening levels even at just a few watts - ie. without having to work hard or strain at all. These mids are more than loud enough to match whatever woofer or tweeter you might use them alongside. It's the woofer amps that have to work hard!!! The mid range amp channels are barely tickover! I have never needed to drive these mids anywhere close to their maximum 400W RMS / 600W program / 1200W peak power rating. So although the AIC does make the impedance load easier, it's only important if you were pushing your amp very hard for hours to help avoid it overheating, but it isn't necessary to worry about if you're only driving 5 or 10 watts through the amp in typical listening levels because these drivers are so high sensitivity.

Secondly, although AIC helps make the phase response flatter, if like me you're using per driver digital FIR correction then the amplitude and phase response targets (in passband) should be almost perfectly flat anyway. Even if the natural phase response wasn't flat (good or bad), you're still making it dead flat by the DSP correction, so final audible result will sound the same either way (AIC or non-AIC).
So basically you should be able to get 99% the same audible performance from the normal 8NM610 version as from the 8NMA610 version in typical use, (in a well EQ and phase corrected FIR system) unless you are extreme user(!) pushing them to the absolute SPL limit for hours and hours at a large outdoor event and your amps are getting very hot, then maybe the AIC version would be better of course. But for 99% of normal use probably okay.

What I do like about this particular 18 Sound model's design is that it is a completely air-tight sealed back chamber drive unit, so it is a stand-alone closed cabinet (made of metal) all by itself regardless of whatever cabinet it goes into, and unlike most midranges in multiway cabinets, therefore it does NOT need a separate wooden constructed internal midrange chamber inside your speaker cabinet (which is more complicated and heavy to construct and takes away more internal cabinet volume.) This 18 Sound can just bolt onto your front baffle and work perfectly sharing the same internal airspace as the woofer.

However if you don't mind building an internal wooden midrange chamber, and are just making loudspeakers for home use, not ultra high output SPL pro applications, then this 18 Sound is probably overkill, and you might get on better finding yourself a high-end quality 6.5 inch hi-fi driver from PHL or Audax or others, for excellent midrange sound quality.
 
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