BEYMA 15100/R in open baffle. How will it perform compare to the Alpha?

larsss · « **on:** 22 Jun 2012, 06:43 pm »

Spotted the BEYMA 15100/R and thought it may be a good woofer and midbass woofer in open baffle.

Any information?

PS. Active crossover at 500hz to Altec 511B horn and equalized low frequencies. DS

scorpion · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Jun 2012, 09:30 pm »

For the kind of money the Beyma would cost you can get an Acoustic Elegance Dipole15, which beside being good for 500 Hz also would be much better in OB.
Both will certainly be better than Eminence Alpha15 but the much bigger Xmax of the AE unit really is needed to produce distortionfree SPL in the open baffle.

/Erling

larsss · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Jun 2012, 04:46 pm »

Ordered the Diople 15 today. To be used with an Altec 511horn, active crossover at 500hz to begin with.

matevana · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Jul 2012, 01:12 pm »

My 2 cents for what it's worth. Spent a lot of time playing with and measuring different types of woofers in several OB alignments.

I really like the efficiency of pro audio drivers like Beyma, B&C and Faital. I look for drivers with a moderate xmax, mms and Qts. A Qts approaching 1.0 IMO has very little motor control and can sound sloppy. The driver tends to stay in motion too long and has difficulty stopping. This can translate into less articulate bass. Drivers with a very high xmax and Q often have a higher than average moving mass (mms) which can translate into excessive baffle noise.

There are many good woofers that come close to the following specs with a lower price point than AE. I look for a total Q in the area of .5 and an efficiency of close to 100dB, 1w/1m at 100Hz. A reasonable 15" pro sound driver for OB will have an Fs close to 30Hz.

jacozz · « **Reply #4 on:** 2 Jul 2012, 09:27 pm »

Good points matevana.
I'm looking to upgrade my AD1522 with Qts around 0,8 and Xmax about 6mm.

Now, the AD 1524 is very good!!!
http://www.traumboxen.de/ad-audio/r1524.htm

Especially considering the price, but I would like a little more "kick in the chest" kind of sound... With more Xmax for that transient kick-sound that I seek.
I use dual Hypex sub-amps, so efficiency is a non issue. But I prefer drivers that have low mms, I need it to blend with my fullrange drivers, the Tangband 1772:s.

Question is, where to go?
AE-speakers are to expensive for me to import to Europe.

I'm looking at: KAPPALITE™ 3015LF
http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speaker-detail/?model=Kappalite_3015LF
Moderate QTS of 0,46 and around 10 mm of Xmax. They do look good.

Any other suggestions?

/Jacozz

matevana · « **Reply #5 on:** 2 Jul 2012, 10:29 pm »

The Eminence Kappalite 3015-LF is a nice light weight bass driver. If you are looking for more chest thumping kick, the Definimax 4015LF seems to provide that. It has a bigger voice coil and I believe a more rigid cone. The Kappalite series are designed primarily so bass players can reduce the weight of their rig in a 2 x 15 configuration. It seems more emphasis was placed on lighter materials (neo magnets, lighter spoked cast frame) than outright performance. The definimax line is heavier, has ceramic magnets and great xmax/xlim.

Here's a really inexpensive cast frame driver I am tempted to try some day. I own the 10" version and its not bad at all. The 15" version has all the making for a decent OB bass driver, provided the T-S parameters are accurate. My driver measured a variance of around 5% from the published specs, not too terrible.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/MCM-AUDIO-SELECT-55-2983-/55-2983

With a coupon code you can get these for around $66 each US. By comparison, the Kappalite is around $250 US if memory serves. These MCM drivers have a cast frame, 4" voice coil, 7mm xmax, .46 Qts. and a 99dB efficiency. If the accompanying graph is accurate, they are still producing around 95dB at 35 Hz @ 1w/1m, right up there with the better Eminence drivers. The customer reviews seem pretty favorable as well.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Jul 2012, 01:08 am »

Hi,
Seems the Eminence Kappa_Pro_15A looks better than the KAPPA LITE™ 3015LF:
http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Kappa_Pro_15A.pdf
Xmax is 3,2mm and QTS=0,38 the SPL is around 100dB at the uselful range 500Hz, and MMS is no terrible weight at 72grams;

What you guys would prefer??

P.S.> Just see the Eminence Definimax_4015LF, his cone had a lot of mass at 139grams for a 15inches, looks not suited for a small amp.
http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Definimax_4015LF.pdf