cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

[ungerhc]

OK, all I seem to see posted is "inexpensive" this "cheap" that... I want to build the best towers I can afford. I have made towers that are pretty impressive for a hobbyist. Oh yeah I forgot IMO
I keep seeing the morel woofers and AC drivers for $180+ for an 8" woofer etc.... Has anyone had experience with any expensive drivers and are they worth it?? Just never see that answered

[sorue]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

Off the top of my head, you can look into accuton, audio technology, RAAL and of course scan speak.

I can't speak for the other brands and only have experience with the scan speak 18w/8531 and d3004/6600, but i can say they are world-class. I've heard a few commercial speakers in the 3-5k price range (also 2 way like mine) and the SS stuff is miles ahead. So yes, i think it's worth it.

[CUtiger]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

This is the most expensive driver I have ever used and IMO yes it CAN be worth it.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=296-600

That in mind a well designed speaker with less costly drivers will still sound better than if you were to employ the below hapazardly... (though if I were to win the lottery tomorrow they would be involved in my next build)

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com...aluminum-cone/

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com...cone-midrange/

http://www.raalribbon.com/products_flatfoil_70-20xr.htm

[dcgold2000]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

Trouble is, you can buy 90% of the performance for 10% of the price (or so). When you go for the last few % of performance the price really escalates. It kind of becomes a judgment call. Does a Sony $.69 buyout sound the same as a Morel ECW 536 Coppersleeve 5" Woofer @$215. Probably not! But they both cover essentially the same band!

It all boils down to what the traffic can bear. I had some great success with Dynaudio drivers when they sold to hobbyists. Pricey? Yes! Good? Also Yes! Right now I have a build with PE closeouts and Vifa XT tweeters. Good? I think so. Fun to listen to. Of course! Whole speaker cost less than a Dynaudio woofer.

Just my 2 cents.

[bkeane1259]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

Try THIS

[Whitneyville1]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

Paul C., Wolf, and "Zaph" (and others) are probably more qualified to answer this kind of question. There are drivers made that cost close to as much as my truck's engine. I don't have any concept of them, really.

[morris]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

OK, all I seem to see posted is "inexpensive" this "cheap" that... I want to build the best towers I can afford. I have made towers that are pretty impressive for a hobbyist. Oh yeah I forgot IMO
I keep seeing the morel woofers and AC drivers for $180+ for an 8" woofer etc.... Has anyone had experience with any expensive drivers and are they worth it?? Just never see that answered

Question is: Is it worth it to YOU! Regardless of how good a driver is made it all boils down to preferences...and of course how it is used.

For example:
Here is a speaker driver that is expensive:
http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com...-range-driver/

A relatively humbly priced one:
http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com...-3-full-range/

Pick which suits you best!:D

Having said that, scanspeaks seems to tickle a lot of audio "enthusiast" ears! Personally, I would like some scanspeaks too for the experience! Is the price tag worth it to ME? I do not know yet.

[r-carpenter]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

Orion kit comes to mind BTW

[GranteedEV]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

OK, all I seem to see posted is "inexpensive" this "cheap" that... I want to build the best towers I can afford. I have made towers that are pretty impressive for a hobbyist. Oh yeah I forgot IMO
I keep seeing the morel woofers and AC drivers for $180+ for an 8" woofer etc.... Has anyone had experience with any expensive drivers and are they worth it?? Just never see that answered

Not all high end drivers are worth it but some are, and it depends who you ask which ones those some are.

The biggest difference with higher end drivers tends to be at higher spls where they just sound relaxed.

[Pete Schumacher]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

OK, all I seem to see posted is "inexpensive" this "cheap" that... I want to build the best towers I can afford. I have made towers that are pretty impressive for a hobbyist. Oh yeah I forgot IMO
I keep seeing the morel woofers and AC drivers for $180+ for an 8" woofer etc.... Has anyone had experience with any expensive drivers and are they worth it?? Just never see that answered

Off the top of my head, you can look into accuton, audio technology, RAAL and of course scan speak.

I can't speak for the other brands and only have experience with the scan speak 18w/8531 and d3004/6600, but i can say they are world-class. I've heard a few commercial speakers in the 3-5k price range (also 2 way like mine) and the SS stuff is miles ahead. So yes, i think it's worth it.

+1. If price truly is no object, then you must consider at the least, an accuton, revelator, or audio tech mid. There IS a difference between these stratospheric items compared to their lesser priced siblings. The differences are subtle, but discernable when used in a capably designed system. And there really is no better tweeter out there, excepting perhaps a plasma tweeter at $9000/ea, than the RAAL.

Choices for woofer(s) are numerous. The Usher 8948A is a fantastic woofer, with performance easily on par with its much more expensive Revelators. But if you really want to dig deep effortlessly, there are a number of larger woofers that can easily handle 300Hz on down. I've got first hand experience with the ability of the Dayton RSS315HF-8 to blend seamlessly with the Scan 15W Revelator at 350Hz. But if you insist on spending more, why not get a pair of Revelator 8" woofers to cover the first octave with ease? They dig really deep in the right enclosure, and provide extremely clean bass signals. Paul K has a wonderful 3-way using the 8" Scan Revelator, the Morel MDM55 and a Fountek ribbon. Could be another ribbon though. The quality of the bass and lower mids was what really stood out to me. Wonderful driver.

At least as important as the driver selection and crossover components, is the enclosure construction. You can't skimp there. It should be stiff, dense, and properly damped to provide as inert and rigid a platform as possible to squeeze every last bit of performance from those expensive (or inexpensive) drivers.

[joeybutts]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

At least as important as the driver selection and crossover components, is the enclosure construction. You can't skimp there. It should be stiff, dense, and properly damped to provide as inert and rigid a platform as possible to squeeze every last bit of performance from those expensive (or inexpensive) drivers.

I was going to say this. You can use the best equipment in the world, but if not integrated correctly and put in a proper enclosure, you (whomever) just wasted a lot of money.....

[Paul K.]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

People that are experienced and knowledgeable on TL designs will tell you that the TL part of the Thor design is not very good, to say it kindly, but I'm sure the crossover design is excellent.
Paul

Try THIS

[Paul K.]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

Thanks for the nice comments on my canTiLena design, Pete. I agree with you that if there is a weak link in this design, and I don't mean a serious deficiency, it would have to be the NeoCD1.0 tweeter. That said, it sounds darned good because the tweeter doesn't have to work at all hard with its corner at 4.8 kHz. I can only imagine what this speaker would sound like if the tweeter were a Raal.
Paul

+1. If price truly is no object, then you must consider at the least, an accuton, revelator, or audio tech mid. There IS a difference between these stratospheric items compared to their lesser priced siblings. The differences are subtle, but discernable when used in a capably designed system. And there really is no better tweeter out there, excepting perhaps a plasma tweeter at $9000/ea, than the RAAL.

Choices for woofer(s) are numerous. The Usher 8948A is a fantastic woofer, with performance easily on par with its much more expensive Revelators. But if you really want to dig deep effortlessly, there are a number of larger woofers that can easily handle 300Hz on down. I've got first hand experience with the ability of the Dayton RSS315HF-8 to blend seamlessly with the Scan 15W Revelator at 350Hz. But if you insist on spending more, why not get a pair of Revelator 8" woofers to cover the first octave with ease? They dig really deep in the right enclosure, and provide extremely clean bass signals. Paul K has a wonderful 3-way using the 8" Scan Revelator, the Morel MDM55 and a Fountek ribbon. Could be another ribbon though. The quality of the bass and lower mids was what really stood out to me. Wonderful driver.

At least as important as the driver selection and crossover components, is the enclosure construction. You can't skimp there. It should be stiff, dense, and properly damped to provide as inert and rigid a platform as possible to squeeze every last bit of performance from those expensive (or inexpensive) drivers.

[GranteedEV]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

People that are experienced and knowledgeable on TL designs will tell you that the TL part of the Thor design is not very good, to say it kindly, but I'm sure the crossover design is excellent.
Paul

From bits and pieces i've come across... the crossover doesn't adequately notch out the magnesium come breakup =(

[Paul K.]

Re: cost "NOT" the issue TOWERS

That may be true; I never perused that info to any extent but knowing who designed the crossover, I just assumed it would at least be quite good, if not excellent. The TL design OTOH was pretty much slammed by numerous people (not me), thus causing the creation of the Short Thor.
Paul

From bits and pieces i've come across... the crossover doesn't adequately notch out the magnesium come breakup =(