I am working on my newest 3 way design and I am not very confident in my mid range driver selection. I was hoping to get some advice from those of you who have heard and worked with many different mid ranges.
I will start by posting my tweeter and sub selection:
Tweeter: Hivi RT1.3WE
https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-RT1.3WE-Isodynamic-Tweeter-297-421?quantity=1
Sub: Peerless SLS 8"
https://www.parts-express.com/Peerless-830667-8-Paper-Cone-SLS-Subwoofer-264-1102?quantity=1
The mid I was thinking of using is this SB Acoustics 4" midrange
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...b12mnrx2-25-04-4-midrange.-4-ohm-new-version/
It seems to fit the bill and is pretty well known. I am just unsure of how it sounds in person.
What I do not know is if I am better off spending an extra little bit of money to move to something like a SEAS or a Scanspeak 4-5" driver. Something such as one of these:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...anspeak-discovery-10f/4424g-4-midrange-4-ohm/
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...ige-mca15rcy-h1262-5.5-coated-paper-midrange/
I really wish I could buy something like this but I am too much of an amatuer right now to do this driver justice I think:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-5-midrange/scanspeak-15m/4531k-revelator-5.5-midrange/
All that being said, is there anything that comes to mind as a really nice bang for the buck midrange. I like a natural sound. I have heard quite a lot of mid ranges sound "synthetic". Some tinny, some dull, some muddled. A few that were really nice but I never took the time to figure out what they were.
I have a few full range drivers like my TANG W5-2143 setup in my shop pool room that has really nice tones in the mid range. It sort of gets muddied when the highs or bass hits though. Of course, this is why we all end up building multiway units in the end.
Let me know your mid range experiences. Thank you
I will start by posting my tweeter and sub selection:
Tweeter: Hivi RT1.3WE
https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-RT1.3WE-Isodynamic-Tweeter-297-421?quantity=1
Sub: Peerless SLS 8"
https://www.parts-express.com/Peerless-830667-8-Paper-Cone-SLS-Subwoofer-264-1102?quantity=1
The mid I was thinking of using is this SB Acoustics 4" midrange
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...b12mnrx2-25-04-4-midrange.-4-ohm-new-version/
It seems to fit the bill and is pretty well known. I am just unsure of how it sounds in person.
What I do not know is if I am better off spending an extra little bit of money to move to something like a SEAS or a Scanspeak 4-5" driver. Something such as one of these:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...anspeak-discovery-10f/4424g-4-midrange-4-ohm/
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...ige-mca15rcy-h1262-5.5-coated-paper-midrange/
I really wish I could buy something like this but I am too much of an amatuer right now to do this driver justice I think:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-5-midrange/scanspeak-15m/4531k-revelator-5.5-midrange/
All that being said, is there anything that comes to mind as a really nice bang for the buck midrange. I like a natural sound. I have heard quite a lot of mid ranges sound "synthetic". Some tinny, some dull, some muddled. A few that were really nice but I never took the time to figure out what they were.
I have a few full range drivers like my TANG W5-2143 setup in my shop pool room that has really nice tones in the mid range. It sort of gets muddied when the highs or bass hits though. Of course, this is why we all end up building multiway units in the end.
Let me know your mid range experiences. Thank you
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I like the SBAcoustics drivers. They are all quite good. That said, the Scanspeak 10F is pretty special. Very clean, musical, and easy to crossover high with a tweeter for the absolute top end.
Question tho on your design: A three way with 4 ohm midrange drivers gets dangerous low in impedance, and your impedance graph seems to show that. Why not go with 8 ohm drivers instead?
Question tho on your design: A three way with 4 ohm midrange drivers gets dangerous low in impedance, and your impedance graph seems to show that. Why not go with 8 ohm drivers instead?
I like fiberglass cones in general (recently Peerless and ScanSpeak versions). They seem to have good detail retrieval. Larger cones of this type tend to have peaking at high frequencies though, so on those it's best not to run them up too high (using a steeper crossover is also an option). This isn't typically hard to deal with, just something to keep an eye on.
I did notice this and is why I realized I needed to start looking for a different mid as I couldn't find the SB in an 8 ohm.
Ok. I might just use the Tang Band's again then. I have used actually only ever used full rangers as my mids so far and I know that isn't theoretically optimal which I why I was going to try a dedicated mid this time around. If a dedicated mid doesn't sound any better than a full ranger than I supposed that is pointless.
I would not say it's pointless. If you want to save money using a driver you already have, or avoid the uncertainty of trying something you have not heard vs something you know you like, then that makes sense.
But it's fun to try new drivers just for the sake of trying something new. And maybe the new one ends up being the best ones you've heard.
But it's fun to try new drivers just for the sake of trying something new. And maybe the new one ends up being the best ones you've heard.