Recommendation for a good mid range driver for vocal

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I just completed my first project with a 2 way bookshelf speaker using the Tang Band W6-1721 6-1/2" Underhung Midbass Driver and the HiVi RT1.3WE Isodynamic Tweeter. The crossover is around 2.3kHz.

The bass is pretty impressive coming from a 6.5" woofer and if the listening room is not big, you can actually do without a sub-woofer. The high coming from the HiVi is pretty accurate and detail, good for instrumental music. However I find the mid range is somehow lacking, especially in term of vocal. The vocal sounded lay back, not warm sounding and does not have that "thick" texture.

Now I am trying to add on a mid range driver on top of my bookshelf speaker to enhance the vocal section. I would really appreciate if someone can recommend me a good mid range driver that can produce sweet, warm, "thick" and slightly forward sounding vocal. And at the same time not too bright or harsh. Looks forward to your kind recommendation, TIA.

Edit : Of course, I will be redoing my crossover design with the new recommended mid range driver.
 
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Hi Face, thanks for your response. I am actually a first time very amateur DIY person. All my design and graph are based on Xsim. I do not have any measuring tools and everything is by ears, comparing to speakers that I have heard before. I will attach a frequency response curve from Xsim with my current crossover design and hopefully it is of some help to evaluate my current condition.
 

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Hi Chris, my ZMA and FRD files for both drivers are derived from the frequency and impedance response curve obtained from Part Express respective drivers' specification pdf file using a software calls FPGraphTracer. I have compared the numbers in the files obtained with the graphs and they matched quite accurately. As long as my current drivers do not differ much from the manufacturers' specifications, I think I should be in the safety zone using Xsim with those ZMA and FRD files.

I know I am not doing it in a proper method which I should take measurement of all the drivers to get more accurate results but being a first time DIY builder (mainly as a hobby) I am not ready to invest in all those equipment yet. So I need help from the more experience members here to recommend a good mid range driver to bring out that vocal I am looking for.

I also understand I might not achieve the result you guys achieved with your recommended driver without proper tools but at least the driver is proven and tested by experience members here. Hopefully the list will start coming in, thanks.
 
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Hi Tony, I will try inverting the tweeter polarity to give it a try but according to Xsim, if I invert the polarity of the tweeter in the simulation, this is the response curve I will get. Based on the graphs, are my drivers in phase?
 

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That Null is why I asked. big suckout in the midrange, and you are saying the midrange is lacking. Depending on how good the actual phase matching is the amount of suckout will vary from deep like your sim to not so much.

I have actually had drivers that the polarity was incorrectly labeled. Anyway without measurement tools it is difficult to say, but it is something I think is worth trying.

Tony.
 
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I have read about drivers with terminals incorrectly labeled but never actually thought of checking that, this a good reminder to check. After inverting the polarity on the tweeter, I noticed there is a loss of details in the musical piece I was playing, based on that I believed there should be nothing wrong with the drivers in term of polarity.

Just to be clear, the vocal I am hearing from my current setup is pretty acceptable, nothing is seriously wrong with it. It's just that I am going after that warmer and more forward sounding vocal. In every aspect my current setup is way better than the Monitor Audio MA700 and B&W 601 I have. It also performs better than those speakers I audited in audio shops priced more than $1500.

What I am trying to do is to push the limit on how far I can achieve to create that realistic, warm and slightly forward sounding vocal from the current setup. I am hoping adding a reasonably good mid range driver can help to achieve that.
 
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OK that rules that out then :) Always good to check.

I know what you mean about getting the right midrange. I tried many drivers in my three ways over the years. I didn't know what I know now, and most were cheap, just what was available from the local electronics shop. By far the best were Philips Dome midranges.

I've never heard them, but I've always though that the morel MDM55's would be worth a try. I'm actually very happy with the vocals with my Morel MW144's, but I've not heard any of the newer drivers that replace those.

I also found the SB accoustics 4" midrange driver very good. I've considered doing a three way with that. But you could spend a lot of money trying different drivers trying to find the sound that you like. The driver is only part of the equation. The crossover and how well the drivers integrate with each other can make the difference between chalk and cheese.

Tony.
 
Hi Tony, thanks for your help and suggestion thus far and I really appreciate it. I have done some online research for a good mid range driver and the MDM55 does come into my radar. But it seems there is a mix feeling with regards to Morel drivers in general.

There are another 2 drivers that caught my attention, the SB Acoustic SB12MNRX25-4 and the Scanspeak Discovery 10F/4424G. Both drivers looks good on spec but not too sure with the actual sounding, whether are they good in reproducing realist, warm and forward sounding vocal. Hope to hear comments from members here who have experience with these drivers or any other good suggestion is welcome too.

Btw Tony, I saw your photos from your link, noticed you came over to Singapore in 2017 and I hope you had enjoyed your time here :) . And it seems we enjoy the same hobby too, I am using a Fujifilm X-T3 and it looks like you are using a Nikon D750.
 
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The SB12MNRX25-4 is what I bought to make computer speakers for my Daughter, as an experiment to get an idea what they may be like used in their intended way. SB acoustics SB12MNRX25-4 "full range" Build thread

I'm not good with subjectively describing things, but I was very happy with how these sound. Note I think SB have discontinued this version, and have a newer driver as it's replacement.

I really enjoyed my trip to Singapore :) I was there again (stopover) in 2019 as well. Yes my current camera is a Nikon D750.

Do you have a decent set of headphones? I could make a recording of the little SB drivers playing, maybe some Ella and Louis. It will have the room of course and the rest of my electronics, and they aren't really designed to run full range so that needs to be considered, but might give you an idea as to how they sound. I'd have to use my HTPC motherboard sound, as my pre-amp is also my active crossover, and I would have no way of controlling volume otherwise.

Please do bear in mind what I said about the crossover too. My MTM's sounded ok, until I decided to re-do the crossover, after I did the change was not subtle, even though the crossover frequency didn't change. What was missing with the previous version of the crossover, was there with the new one. The frequency response looked very similar, but the driver integration was much better in the revised one.

Tony.
 
It's just that I am going after that warmer and more forward sounding vocal.

Boost the ~60-250 Hz BW for 'fatter'/'warmer' and the ~4-6 kHz 'clarity'/'definition' BW to bring it forward, so adding a 'mids' driver ideally requires a more efficient one with a ~60-6 kHz BW and based on some other criteria the pioneers worked out, ideally needs to be a 3 way [tri-ax] 8" with HF extended to 11+ kHz.

If boosting increases distortion, lack of clarity/whatever, then need to rethink the design from scratch IME.

GM
 
Thanks for all the suggestion and I really appreciate it.

@Tony - It would be great if I can hear how the SB sounds like. I do not have headphones but if it is a music file, I can download it and listen with my stereo.

@Pano - It is great to hear you have good experience with the Morel midrange domes, any model in particular? Natural and slightly forward midrange is what I am looking for :) .

@GM - Point taken :)
 
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Hi nfsgame, I appreciate your commends but I have already mentioned that I am only a first time DIY builder and not ready to invest heavily into all the equipment yet. I am quite certain not every experience DIY builder here started their first project with all the equipment ready by their side.

So far I am pretty happy with what I am getting from my current setup and I am trying to push for that extra miles with the vocal region. I am hoping experience builders here can point me in the direction of a good vocal midrange driver for me to try out. If the end result does not turn out good, I will have to live with what I have or I might start buying equipment and turn this into a more serious hobby. If you can give me some suggestion of a good midrange driver for vocal, I would really appreciate that :) .
 
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