Opinions sought: Name the one, two or three best midrange drivers.

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Rusty Jefferson

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No driver can play appropriately from 150hz-4khz. If you're considering a 3 way with cone drivers, I prefer soft dome midrange drivers as mentioned earlier used by folks like ATC and Quested (https://quested.com/the-v-series/), and manufactured by companies like Volt (https://voltloudspeakers.co.uk/products/studio-speakers/).

Horns would be the next (or possibly the first) option. Acknowledging a midrange won't play that low and you need a woofer to play low midrange up to 400hz-800hz, it's hard to beat a good compression driver for midrange especially if you're planning on using low power amplifiers. Possibly using JBL components would be an option.

mresseguie

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http://www.fritzspeakers.com/DreamWeaverFritzLS5RcompactSpecPage.asp

It's a hotrod clone of the Rogers LS5/9, right Michael?

I believe Rich is correct. Sometime between now and when I purchased these from Fritz three+ years ago they ceased being called LS/5-R and became his Fritz Carrera Compact speakers. Within their range, they do everything I could possibly ask for. My sole complaint is their sensitivity, which I overcame by powering them with an IceEdge 1200as2 amp. Fritz shipped them to my address in Taiwan (thus giving me an idea of international shipping costs), and Taiwan Customs was kind enough to slap a 21% duty  :cuss: on them before they were willing to allow them to continue to my building. I'm told that today's Customs is much nicer and less inclined to aggravate hapless audiophools who ship first and ask questions later, but I'm not eager to test this rumor for accuracy.  :nono: I ended up paying $721.28 over Fritz's price! It was an expensive lesson.


S Clark

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Hi Scott, I'm not referring to the Super Mini (which as the planar midrange and planar tweeter).  I'm referring to the Studio Monitor, with the hotrodded cone midrange (better than any Scan Speak or Dynaudio driver that I've heard) and the open baffle planar tweeter up top. 

 :duh: I always get those two mixed up.  However, my point is still the same.  Whether the Neo 8 or Neo 10, they are excellent midrange drivers. 

FullRangeMan

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It was some years I not mention the various Federal and State taxes of my * country amount * 100% on product, ship and insurance values.
I would happily asap pay this friendly 21% , consider you a lucky guy.
« Last Edit: 24 Jan 2021, 07:29 am by FullRangeMan »

mresseguie

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No driver can play appropriately from 150hz-4khz. If you're considering a 3 way with cone drivers, I prefer soft dome midrange drivers as mentioned earlier used by folks like ATC and Quested (https://quested.com/the-v-series/), and manufactured by companies like Volt (https://voltloudspeakers.co.uk/products/studio-speakers/).

Horns would be the next (or possibly the first) option. Acknowledging a midrange won't play that low and you need a woofer to play low midrange up to 400hz-800hz, it's hard to beat a good compression driver for midrange especially if you're planning on using low power amplifiers. Possibly using JBL components would be an option.

Hi, Rusty.

The range of 150Hz to 4000Hz was mentioned as an approximate range that a potential midrange driver might need to cover. It was not intended to convey the idea that it must play down to 150 and must play up to 4000. For example, one driver might be ideal from 150 to 3000; another driver might be best from 200 to 3500 while yet a third might be best suited to 250 to 4000. 

I didn't declare it, but I was thinking I could find a midrange driver to squeeze between the Satori WO24P 9.5" woofer and the TW-29B(?) tweeter, or I could first locate a midrange displaying the qualities that I want first followed by choosing a woofer and tweeter to mesh with the chosen midrange driver.

I've considered the Volt midrange. I didn't know about Quested, but I'll go there after I hit 'post'. Thanks!  :thumb:

I've already spent quite a bit of time looking into horn speakers. Many available models come with 12" or 15" woofers which necessitate building wide cabinets....which would block the sides of my <still> imaginary TV. There is a local manufacturer in Taiwan that produces very satisfying two-way speakers whose cabinets won't fit into our small living room. If they weren't ridiculously expensive (thanks to the protective import duty), I would have bought a pair two years ago - well before my wife began imagining a remodel. I've got a friend here who owns the 12" model, and it sounds fantastic. It costs something like $6000 USD equivalent, which is more than I'm willing to shell out now.

mresseguie

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It was some years I not mention the various Federal and State taxes of my f country amount f 100% on product, ship and insurance values.
I would happily asap pay this friendly 21% , consider you a lucky guy.

FRM,

I do remember that you must suffer tremendously high tariffs. I have more than once thought about offering to sneak a component in my luggage to hand off to you if we ever make it to Europe once this pandemic has abated.

FullRangeMan

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Gracias you most kind.
All countries use people as source of income but here things are unbelievable.

Rusty Jefferson

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...I didn't declare it, but I was thinking I could find a midrange driver to squeeze between the Satori WO24P 9.5" woofer and the TW-29B(?) tweeter, or I could first locate a midrange displaying the qualities that I want first followed by choosing a woofer and tweeter to mesh with the chosen midrange driver....
Using the 9.5" Satori or a 10" woofer with a soft dome midrange and tweeter would work fine for your diy speakers. They would be similar to the ATC or Quested monitors. There are probably sources for the raw drivers there that would be free from the duty.?

mresseguie

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Hello Michael, hope all is well;

I can tell you that if you go the hificompass route, you will love the Bliesma's that he uses, Jay and I have a set of 34B's currently and they're quite special, and you can cross them as low as 1300 which makes a killer 2 way really possible. i'll never believe that beryllium tweeters are bright again. The price is the challenging part!!

Cheers,

Don

Hiya, Don! I sure wish I could hop across the border to visit you guys again. I've pleaded with several Canadian friends to smuggle me across, but no takers so far.  :( Yeah. Those Bliesma Be tweeters are amazing little buggers. Jay intimated you two are working on something. Could it involve these tweeters?

The GR Research Studio Monitor kit is one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard and would be a good fit here,  but it needs a sub or 2.

I considered these as well. However, I must then wait until my next trip to bring them in my luggage. I don't wish to wait until November to get new speakers. Besides, these won't satisfy my desire for lower bass.

Tyson mentioned the GR monitor with the Neo 10, chosen for its ability to play low enough to hand off to OB subs.  But BG Neo 8 is as good (or better?) if you are handing off to a more traditional woofer. 
And the already mentioned the old Altec drivers are also amazing.  I don't understand why, but the Altec 416A can produce great vocals... it makes no sense in a 15" driver. 

Hi, Scott. Neo 8s could very well fit my needs. I'd still have to ship them out here or wait until next winter, so I'll probably not include them in my final list. There is a big selection of drivers here, but there are no BG planars here.

FullRangeMan

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I would like tô suggest these two SB fullrangers mentioned in this topic below, along the Mark Audio Alpair 7, however all are under 90 dB.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=164439.0
« Last Edit: 25 Jan 2021, 03:46 am by FullRangeMan »

Endo2112

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Nothing in stone yet, but have really been impressed with it so far, like you, i'm suffering from a bit of tinnitus but have found the extremely low distortion levels of the Bliesma's very appealing and have surely enhanced/prolonged my listening sessions.

Also, you and Melody would be great additions should you ever sneak in,

Cheers,

mresseguie

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As long as I've got your attention, I have another question.

Jeff Bagby designed an add on woofer cabinet for his Adelphos/Kairos/Continuum monitors. For reasons (physics/electronic) I don't fully understand, neither one he designed would work well with my monitors (I asked him a couple years ago.) To my ignorant mind, all I would need to do is find a woofer (Satori 9.5", 7.5", etc.) add cabinets, and modify the woofer section of the crossover. Of course, I would require experienced help to modify the crossover, and where to place the woofer driver on the front baffle.

Is there any reason that I cannot commission someone to design a pair of woofer cabinets to pair with my LS/5-R/Carrera Compact speakers? Are there downsides to this idea?

Michael

Carl V

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((((Is there any reason that I cannot commission someone to design a pair of woofer cabinets to pair with my LS/5-R/Carrera Compact speakers? Are there downsides to this idea?))))

Couldn’t you just build two bass boxes, pick a favorite bass driver add plate Amps & adjust for smoothest blend without changing Fritz’s series XO ? Sorta like subs.
It’s not the perfect solution to your quandary but until the interior designer has completed the remodel it might get you by.

mresseguie

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((((Is there any reason that I cannot commission someone to design a pair of woofer cabinets to pair with my LS/5-R/Carrera Compact speakers? Are there downsides to this idea?))))

Couldn’t you just build two bass boxes, pick a favorite bass driver add plate Amps & adjust for smoothest blend without changing Fritz’s series XO ? Sorta like subs.
It’s not the perfect solution to your quandary but until the interior designer has completed the remodel it might get you by.

Well, I could do something like this, but this is the same as adding subwoofers, no? By adding bass boxes and incorporating them into the crossovers, wouldn't this result in a smoother sound? I'm not opposed to buying subwoofers - I just want to thoroughly research other choices before committing to subwoofers.

I contacted Rythmik Taiwan today to ask about the FM8 subs. They're not normally sold in Taiwan, so there would be an up charge to get them here. I'll continue to work with my wife in the hope that I can slip a single 12" or 15" into the remodel. Her 'design' has flip-flopped 5 or 6 times in the last month, so anything is possible. I'm giving her a lot of leeway because she has been very accommodating to my nerdy hobby.

Letitroll98

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Remodel, hmmm, any thought about infinate baffle subs in the wall, ceiling, or floor?   Hiding behind blended covers might render them nearly invisible, a waf winner.  I don't want to throw too much at you, but I did see an installation with something like ten or twelve 15" drivers in the ceiling with goodness knows how much power driving them.

mresseguie

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Remodel, hmmm, any thought about infinate baffle subs in the wall, ceiling, or floor?   Hiding behind blended covers might render them nearly invisible, a waf winner.  I don't want to throw too much at you, but I did see an installation with something like ten or twelve 15" drivers in the ceiling with goodness knows how much power driving them.

Ooh. I'll bet IB subs would be sweet. Unfortunately, thanks to an abundance of seismic activity in and around this island, nearly all residential buildings are concrete reinforced with rebar. The walls, floors and ceilings are concrete. Rooms here are much smaller than many rooms in N. America as well. Living room dimensions are: 5.5 meters W x 3.8 meters D x 2.8m H Our dining room is directly to the right of the living room: 4.7m W x 2.8m D. [Imagine two shoe boxes side by side with short sides touching. One box is for size 14 shoes; the other box is for size 8 shoes.] The TV/audio system is on one of the long walls in the living room. The plan is to buy a 65" TV and mount it to the front wall. The speakers will flank the TV. The sitting position will be approximately 2.8m from the TV screen. My wife would prefer a long shelf below the TV running from just short of the entry door on the left to about 2 feet to the right of the TV's right flank. There will be a new cabinet on the right side beyond the shelf.

I have no issue with the cabinet, but running a 'vibrant' plywood board left to right below the TV means my components would sit on top of the 'humming' board directly beneath the TV and my speakers would sit on top of the board, too. Imagine vibrations from the speakers transferring to the board beneath my gear. I'm still 'urging' her to understand the importance of being able to place the speakers (including subwoofer) on the floor.


twitch54

stats .....

mresseguie

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stats .....

You've got me, man. Stats...???

Football?

AJinFLA

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Electrostatics.

Regarding the best midrange, I could tell you. But then I'd have to kill you.

mresseguie

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Electrostatics.

Regarding the best midrange, I could tell you. But then I'd have to kill you.

AJ!!!

Where the heck have you been?

Kill me already.  :lol: Hmm. I'll bet I can learn a thing or two by checking your website, huh?  :wink: