Mid Bass Drivers

[kblackmore]

I am in the process of selecting a mid bass driver for a cabinet I am trying to design. What do you look for in a quality mid bass that will be used for home theater\PA use. I would like to keep the driver small enough that it won't start beaming, possibly put 2 close to each other vertically to get the output efficiency (and SPL) up. Beyond that I don't know what would make one driver better than another. What type of specs would one look for when selecting a mid bass driver? The cabinet I am thinking of will be a bi or tri-amped 3 or 4 way speaker. Bass will most likely be supplied by 2 15" speakers and highs from a horn. I had a friend in the army that had a nice set of JBL monitors similar to what I am thinking of building (if I am right 4355 was the model, but that was a long time ago), but that gives you a general idea of what I am thinking of building. Any words of wisdom on the design or what to look for in a driver would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance
Ken

[Chris Roemer]

Re: Mid Bass Drivers

SpeakerBuilding 201

[jefffluker]

Re: Mid Bass Drivers

Hi Ken,

I run a twin-10 mid-bass cabinet in my tri-amped system. Eminence 10s, beta series I think. Crossed at 200Hz and about 1300 Hz up top. 18s below, 2"compression above. Sounds very good.

For a strictly mid-bass application, less expensive drivers will do. The Eminence were about $55 each and have held up well.

Jeff

[kblackmore]

Re: Mid Bass Drivers

What made you decide on that specific driver? Was it brand loyalty, was it suggested to you, or was there specific specs that you were looking for? I appreciate the suggestion of that specific driver, but what drove you to choose that driver?

Thanks again,
Ken

[Beau]

Re: Mid Bass Drivers

I am also using an Eminence for mid-bass. They are Deltalight 2512, one per side in a 2 ft^3 enclosure.

[jefffluker]

Re: Mid Bass Drivers

As I recall, the Eminence weight, cost and enclosure volume fit the bill. A mid-bass application didn't dictate a cast basket/4 inch VC/ large enclosure (heavy) driver. Two tens would fit into the allotted width, and render omni dispersion up to @1300 Hz. Enclosure volumes fit in the allotted space. They weighed and COST less.
After a nice chat with Tom James at Eminence, I decided to give them a try.

BTW-an 8" woofer does omni up to @ 1600 Hz. You could cross to a 1" compression horn with minimal mid-bass beaming. Eminence and Dayton make well regarded 6s, if you wanna go that small.

[kblackmore]

Re: Mid Bass Drivers

Thanks for the advice. I have built some 3 ways before, but the person I generally build them for brings the drivers and I make them work. I have never actually picked and bought mid-bass drivers for myself.