Peerless dfm-2535r00-08 is amazing. I use it 1.25khz 8th order in a dayton 6512 waveguide (jbl copy) and love it.
Used in a large shed system and often sees much higher spl than in a typical home setting
Used in a large shed system and often sees much higher spl than in a typical home setting
The faital HF108 and HF10AK are at the top of my list. Also the 18sound NSD1095N. Depends on the horn you want to use and the exit angle of the driver being optimized for that.
Peerless 2544 is very nice.
Good performance regardless of price.
Low distortion, smooth detailed sound.
Good performance regardless of price.
Low distortion, smooth detailed sound.
The more appropriate question might be, what is the best horn for your needs. The driver is to some degree just coming along for the ride.
Yeah, way too often folks concentrate on the 'horse before the cart' no matter the subject. 
The 18sound XT120 works well on that driver. Faital STH100 is a little deeper and may work if crossed higher, but the exit angle is a little on the lower end IMO.
Or what sound character you are after, the two Faital and the 18Sound are really different breeds. I used the HF108R and the ND1090 (the brother of the NSD1095N) on 18Sound XT120 horn, the Faital sounded direct but like it was coming from a pipe, the 18Sound was too metallic, shrill and scraping. The Faital sounded fine on a Faital STH100 horn and this is a good combo IMO, but be aware the narrow dispersion plus the sound is not as direct as with the XT120. Of course, this is meant for home/hi-fi use, and EQ-ed to flat on-axis response.
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The HF108 had a more open sound on a larger shallow horn which I feel is optimal for that driver. The R version isn't as smooth down low as the standard version based on my listening experiences.
The HF10AK has a more lively top end, especially with a deeper horn like the STH100 but it doesn't sound as good with a lower crossover point on a lesser quality smaller horn.
The standard HF108 crosses successfully at a lower point than most other small 1" drivers, especially at lower SPLs. It works well on many screw on coax drivers ie Eminence KL3012CX.
The HF10AK has a more lively top end, especially with a deeper horn like the STH100 but it doesn't sound as good with a lower crossover point on a lesser quality smaller horn.
The standard HF108 crosses successfully at a lower point than most other small 1" drivers, especially at lower SPLs. It works well on many screw on coax drivers ie Eminence KL3012CX.
108 and 10AK, You cant go wrong with either! Brilliant drivers
I have a pair of HF10AK's and tried a variety of horns on them but the best sound I got out of them is on a 3d-printed Karlson tube. It has the most even and open sound when used from around 3kHz on up and when taking care of the crossover offcoarse they do the dissapearing trick best of all things I have tried. I for one did not like the Faital STH100 at all. Somehow it has a narrow beamwidth but it does not project. Top-end sounded ragged and drops like a stone off-axis It was by far my least favourite horn. A pair of B&C DE250's sound better on them. The DE250's don't sound that well on the Karlson tubes though. Driver/horn combination is more important than choosing a driver or horn/waveguide itself. But the HF10AK can hardly be called a budget driver. It's not very expensive either but it's in another price class as the drivers mentioned by the topic starter.
I am running HF10AK on STH100 DSP crossed 2nd order Bessel at 5.3kHz and I like them. I think they perform best above 2.5kHz at least on the STH100 horn. YMV. 😀 They are lively sounding. The STH100 does roll off significantly the more you go off axis (it is a tractrix)
Thanks everyone
Looks like these are the options:
Dirt cheap: Sica CD78.26 or CD83.26
Budget: Peerless DFM-2544R00
Hi-End: Faital HF108
Looks like these are the options:
Dirt cheap: Sica CD78.26 or CD83.26
Budget: Peerless DFM-2544R00
Hi-End: Faital HF108
Don’t forget the good old and trusted B&C DE250. With a little search it can be found pretty cheap. It sounds really balanced for a compression driver and is therefore easy to work with. My HF10AK sound better but not straight out of the box. The DE250 is almost impossible to get wrong, it always just sounds good. The HF10AK on the other hand varies from brilliant to horribly nasty depending on horn and crossover.