[Rick Craig]

High sensitivity with low coloration...

[Brucemck]

Very nice!

What's the sensitivity?  What sort of load do they present?

[hikinokie]

Is that your new flagship tower?

[Rick Craig]

Very nice!

What's the sensitivity?  What sort of load do they present?

This particular set is for a solid state amp system, 4 ohm load, 91-92db sensitivity. With different woofers (and larger bass enclosures) it could be in the 95db range and possibly a higher impedance depending on the woofers used.

[Rick Craig]

Is that your new flagship tower?

No, a custom design that's in progress.

[standub]

What mid-range is that?  How does it compare to the usual ScanSpeak and Accutrons you use?

[pslate]

Professional drivers to accompany the RAALS? How do you feel about using pro drivers in general 

[Rick Craig]

Professional drivers to accompany the RAALS? How do you feel about using pro drivers in general 

The only reason to use pro drivers is for higher sensitivity. Most of them I wouldn't ever consider because the coloration levels are too high. My opinion is that good source amplification is available for powering designs with lower sensitivity and that's the superior route versus a SET and open baffle high sensitivity speaker / waveguide / horn / you fill in the blank speaker.

This particular design fills the void and the mid will allow for pro woofers to be crossed low enough to keep them out of the range where they start to break up. The tradeoff is that a pro woofer needs a much larger cabinet if you want decent bass extension.

[thronbocaj]

The only reason to use pro drivers is for higher sensitivity. Most of them I wouldn't ever consider because the coloration levels are too high. My opinion is that good source amplification is available for powering designs with lower sensitivity and that's the superior route versus a SET and open baffle high sensitivity speaker / waveguide / horn / you fill in the blank speaker.

This particular design fills the void and the mid will allow for pro woofers to be crossed low enough to keep them out of the range where they start to break up. The tradeoff is that a pro woofer needs a much larger cabinet if you want decent bass extension.

Could you elaborate a bit on what type of coloration your referring to?  Also, what about the spl capabilities of pro drivers?  I'm guessing that you don't think this is of much importance when it comes to dynamics.

Interested to get your expert opinion.   

Thanks

[Rick Craig]

Could you elaborate a bit on what type of coloration your referring to?  Also, what about the spl capabilities of pro drivers?  I'm guessing that you don't think this is of much importance when it comes to dynamics.

Interested to get your expert opinion.   

Thanks

In order to up the sensitivity  the pro driver cones are often very thin / light and susceptible to breakup problems which leads to uneven response and distortion. There are also issues of poor power response and dispersion from woofers running up too high and abrupt coverage change patterns (such as crossing from a large woofer to a small waveguide or horn). As far as SPL and dynamics it's not difficult to achieve that with a standard floorstanding design or better yet a line array. The typical accordion surround on a pro woofer won't allow much excursion which will compress the output signal.

[Stuart]

Great explination Rick.

[Rick Craig]

Special pricing available on the demo kit - full warranty included. The kit includes everything but the cabinets; however, we can provide pecut cabinets or a fully assembled system.

$1,800/pr. for the kit 

[Kars]

Is that an Audax 6.5" mid?  It looks a bit like the PR170M0...  Whichever it may be, do you find that it is the best high efficiency midrange that you have used?  Some months ago, you had begun a thread regarding a high efficiency system utlizing an Acoustic Elegance driver, a project which was later aborted.  Is the present system's midrange driver a better solution?  You mention elsewhere the possibility of incorporating different bass drivers to raise the overall sensitivity of the system -- this in particular is what has me curious about what in fact is this low-coloration midrange driver, as I would be keen on having you work on a slightly different three-way design. 

[Rick Craig]

Is that an Audax 6.5" mid?  It looks a bit like the PR170M0...  Whichever it may be, do you find that it is the best high efficiency midrange that you have used?  Some months ago, you had begun a thread regarding a high efficiency system utlizing an Acoustic Elegance driver, a project which was later aborted.  Is the present system's midrange driver a better solution?  You mention elsewhere the possibility of incorporating different bass drivers to raise the overall sensitivity of the system -- this in particular is what has me curious about what in fact is this low-coloration midrange driver, as I would be keen on having you work on a slightly different three-way design.

Yes, it's a version of the Audax but with a Nextel coating on the cone to improve the internal damping. I prefer using the Audax or the 7" Accuton with the choice dependent on the sensitivity target, budget, and other drivers in the design. The AE 2-way's 15" woofer fell a little short of my customer's goal for sensitivity so that's why we didn't complete the project.