Question about Esoteric Series ES140TiA-8 Woofer

[tomzarbo]

I just ordered a few ES140TiA's and was looking at them closely. First off, I'm not used to this level of driver quality. The RS series have always looked very classy to me, but these are even nicer looking. They're just beautiful. I haven't hooked them up to a source yet to give a listen but I'm anticipating great things when I do.

Anyway, since I also love flashlights, I was shining a few hundred lumens here and there around the driver trying to see inside as best as I could and I came across this...



If you shine a bright light into the pole piece it lights up the inside fairly well. You can see the round pad glued to the inside of the dust cap through the large venting holes on the voice coil former (which is beautiful by the way) Again, this whole driver is just super-pretty to look at. It's a shame to hide all that stuff going on on the rear of the mounting flange, it's VERY open to airflow. Alright, enough gushing. Did I mention it's really nice?

So what is that disc there and why is it there? I hope I'm not giving away any trade secrets by posting this but I'm just curious. Maybe to dampen any resonances that might occur in the fairly thin cone material? (The light does shine through the cone as well slightly) It looks to be thin, possibly rubbery or asphalty type of stuff, or it even could just be felt or something, I can't really tell through the little holes well enough to see. The cone material is super rigid, a very high-pitched 'clink' occurs when you snap it with the finger nail, indicating a cone that is very rigid and non-vibrating, as opposed to say, poly, which is not nearly as high-pitched when you 'thunk' it.

Anyway, I'm just curious as to what it does, and if anyone else had noticed it.

I'm looking forward to using it, I hope I do it justice... if my MWAF entry doesn't sound fabulous, it won't be the driver's fault!

TomZ

[augerpro]

I just ordered a few ES140TiA's and was looking at them closely. First off, I'm not used to this level of driver quality.

TomZ

They're jewels aren't they? Everywhere you look is a thoughtful design decision. I'm working with the ES180TiA right now and every time I pull it from the box I just have to admire it.

[tomzarbo]

Everywhere you look is a thoughtful design decision.

Exactly. I took 300 words to say basically that. Blabberfingers!

TomZ

[mattp]

So what is that disc there and why is it there? I hope I'm not giving away any trade secrets by posting this but I'm just curious. Maybe to dampen any resonances that might occur in the fairly thin cone material? (The light does shine through the cone as well slightly) It looks to be thin, possibly rubbery or asphalty type of stuff, or it even could just be felt or something, I can't really tell through the little holes well enough to see. The cone material is super rigid, a very high-pitched 'clink' occurs when you snap it with the finger nail, indicating a cone that is very rigid and non-vibrating, as opposed to say, poly, which is not nearly as high-pitched when you 'thunk' it.

Anyway, I'm just curious as to what it does, and if anyone else had noticed it.

I'm looking forward to using it, I hope I do it justice... if my MWAF entry doesn't sound fabulous, it won't be the driver's fault!

TomZ

Tom,

Glad you like them! I also think they are very attractive drivers.

The little disk on the back of the dust cap is essentially a small amount of added mass to help reduce the peak in the overall frequency response from the older model. That peak was a resonance created by the large surface area of the dust cap. This is the difference between the original and the A versions. This added mass had virtually no effect on overall SPL but did help tame that peak quite a bit.

MP

[tomzarbo]

Nice, Thanks for the explanation, makes sense, it's a seriously big dust cap for such a small driver. It's reassuring to know that you guys scrutinize these to that level. Can't wait to get these In a box.
TomZ

[tedwilt]

Pretty is as Pretty does. What about the sound? Measurements? Who gives a hoot about looks except for girls.

[Mike E]

i always wondered what the difference was between the two Esoteric drivers with and without the A.

[tomzarbo]

Pretty is as Pretty does. What about the sound? Measurements? Who gives a hoot about looks except for girls.

The reason for me wanting to use these is due to the fact that I heard the bigger brother ES180 at Wolf's DIY Indiana event several weeks ago in a two-way stand mount that Dan Neubecker built. The clarity and bass response from a single woofer blew me away... SUPER impressive and I'm not exaggerating. One of the best speakers I've ever heard at any price or size. I'm hoping a pair of these will have similar bass impact and equal clarity and timbre.

And I give a hoot about looks I guess... I dig how these were designed, the high level of fit-and-finish makes them very attractive drivers appearance-wise.

I know what you mean, though... it's got to sound good or all is just fluff. Like someone once said though, "It ain't bragging if you can back it up!" Well, we'll see how it does in July at MWAF.

TomZ

[Waboo]

Tom, Are you going to be doing an MTM design? What tweeter have you decided on using?

[Kornbread]

Some of these drivers are a work of art. It's almost a shame to hide them in boxes. Plexiglass boxes and LED's tastefully done ... anyone???

[Whitneyville1]

Slightly off topic, but is there a published build using the Es180 TiA-8's?

[tomzarbo]

Tom, Are you going to be doing an MTM design? What tweeter have you decided on using?

This will be a TMM with the RS silk tweeter in a mid-sized tower... nothing too wild construction wise, just a few well-placed (hopefully) angles.

TomZ

[skatz]

Slightly off topic, but is there a published build using the Es180 TiA-8's?

Paul Kittinger used them in his Clarino last year. See the project gallery.

[augerpro]

Slightly off topic, but is there a published build using the Es180 TiA-8's?

Derek (deschu) and I have teamed up on a build called Symmetro. I started a thread here but I'll be doing a full build thread when it's done. After looking at several woofer candidates I sent this and the Usher 8945A and 8948A to Zaph to determine which to use. I'd be crossing them to the midranges about 500hz. Distortion was fantastic in the Dayton so I went with them. I believe Derek has the wood cut, but hasn't glued it all up yet.

[Paul K.]

Steve, the ES180s I used in the Clarino were the original versions, and "4th try" used the original version in his Linehoppers.
Paul

Paul Kittinger used them in his Clarino last year. See the project gallery.