I found some NE149 at SoundImports but haven't had the time to listen to them yet. Too bad most distributors have to reach the MOQ. I do not know how Soundimports suceeded to have some. I asked because from the 4 ohms you measured, the distorsion is very good from 200 hz whatever not as frequency clean curve than the ScanSpeak but not so far also. I chose those one after what some have said about roten connexionwith time between the voice coil and the spider with the Revelator serie 
(which must sound splendid I assume)
(which must sound splendid I assume)
There are no any rules here, it is just subjective impressions based on my listening experience. Sometimes I do it in a baffle, with and w/o filtering and EQ, sometimes I do it "in hands". I just share with you my personal opinion, no more, and of course I could be wrong
And it is on paar with your measurement about these Vifa and it is coralated to what said to me another experienced member (@profiguy) about those Vifa and who advised strongly to hear them baffle and filter less to check how goods they are for that price !
Do you remember guys the good time of Dynaudio or Vifa and lately some Peereless as the NE when you can get drivers of good quality at a fair, rigth price ? Todays they are going crazy to make prices like the brandnews SCANSPEAK and Seas series... I believe those guys and their bankers have to land!
Seems the world is crazy today where a many of bad products (or even good ones) costs a fortune for what you get !
Thanks @HiFiCompass for your opinion,, always appreciated !
Do you remember guys the good time of Dynaudio or Vifa and lately some Peereless as the NE when you can get drivers of good quality at a fair, rigth price ? Todays they are going crazy to make prices like the brandnews SCANSPEAK and Seas series... I believe those guys and their bankers have to land!
Seems the world is crazy today where a many of bad products (or even good ones) costs a fortune for what you get !
Thanks @HiFiCompass for your opinion,, always appreciated
!
@diyiggy , @HiFiCompass I agree about the Peerless NE series. They are likely the best drivers you can (or could) buy for the money. The NE149-8 has a massive 40mm VC on Ti former, which is unheard of for a sub $100 driver. Its the only cone mid of its size which can be crossed under 250hz and keep up with a large HO woofer, plus the THD is the lowest I've ever seen on a smaller cone mid. You'd have to spend hundreds of dollars for anything even slightly better. The durability is superb too. I tried to kill an NE149 with 100 W continuous pink noise HP-ed @ 200 hz on a large open baffle playing for several hrs. It got pretty hot but the TSPs didn't change appreciably after the test. The same driver still lives on in a large 3 way.
The NE180 is even better for midbass and in a potent 2 way. A pair of them in MTM can do 113 dB continuous and the low level HD floats around 0.1% across the whole usable range at 90dB. Its a delicate sounding driver that can play very loud without much strain.
I'm building a pair of nearfield MTMs with NE180s and a WGed Seas T35C002 for my son's home studio setup. I'll be sharing the build when I'm done with the enclosures. Xover should be around 2100 hz 3rd order. There is a minor resonance around 4.5k on the NE180s which should be notched out, otherwise it falls a little under 25dB and can be noticed with piano and female vocal tracks. Most people wouldn't notice, but I can hear it now that I'm more aware of it. This 4.5k 5dB peak is really the only bad quirk on the NE180, but minor considering the price and performance. What a shame they dropped it from the diy market.
Luckily I bought a few extra pairs of NE149s and NE180s before they were gone. I would buy a big quantity of these if I had the resources and the customer base to build monitors for. I consider them to be om par with the $250 ScanSpeak Illuminator and that's very high praise.
For me, the smaller NE series would be the only driver to consider for a high output 2 way. They all have very natural sounding bass and low mids. The NE123 could be used as a FR with appropriate passive FR shaping. The phase remains flat from just under 1k to 10k. Thats petting astonishing for a $60 driver.
I was blown away when listening to a drum track played on test enclosures with a Morel CAT378 in MTM with 2 x NE180s. The snare sounded so accurate and tight, even being pushed slightly into clipping by a Hafler XL600 (about 500 RMS / ch into 4 ohms). We played them side by side A/B with a live snare drum we just recorded, rim shots and all. It was frightening how clean a pair of 7 inch midbass drivers could be at those levels. The low level detail is remarkable for a driver that can play so loud. Piano played through them was impressive. Its likely one of the hardest instruments to reproduce correctly. The NE149s and 180s handle complex material very well. Whoever designed these drivers was a genius. If I would have known they were dropping these, I would have bought way more. No other driver has ever impressed me so much and can hang with much more expensive models. If I had the time, I'd try horn loading them and in MLTLs..
The NE180 is even better for midbass and in a potent 2 way. A pair of them in MTM can do 113 dB continuous and the low level HD floats around 0.1% across the whole usable range at 90dB. Its a delicate sounding driver that can play very loud without much strain.
I'm building a pair of nearfield MTMs with NE180s and a WGed Seas T35C002 for my son's home studio setup. I'll be sharing the build when I'm done with the enclosures. Xover should be around 2100 hz 3rd order. There is a minor resonance around 4.5k on the NE180s which should be notched out, otherwise it falls a little under 25dB and can be noticed with piano and female vocal tracks. Most people wouldn't notice, but I can hear it now that I'm more aware of it. This 4.5k 5dB peak is really the only bad quirk on the NE180, but minor considering the price and performance. What a shame they dropped it from the diy market.
Luckily I bought a few extra pairs of NE149s and NE180s before they were gone. I would buy a big quantity of these if I had the resources and the customer base to build monitors for. I consider them to be om par with the $250 ScanSpeak Illuminator and that's very high praise.
For me, the smaller NE series would be the only driver to consider for a high output 2 way. They all have very natural sounding bass and low mids. The NE123 could be used as a FR with appropriate passive FR shaping. The phase remains flat from just under 1k to 10k. Thats petting astonishing for a $60 driver.
I was blown away when listening to a drum track played on test enclosures with a Morel CAT378 in MTM with 2 x NE180s. The snare sounded so accurate and tight, even being pushed slightly into clipping by a Hafler XL600 (about 500 RMS / ch into 4 ohms). We played them side by side A/B with a live snare drum we just recorded, rim shots and all. It was frightening how clean a pair of 7 inch midbass drivers could be at those levels. The low level detail is remarkable for a driver that can play so loud. Piano played through them was impressive. Its likely one of the hardest instruments to reproduce correctly. The NE149s and 180s handle complex material very well. Whoever designed these drivers was a genius. If I would have known they were dropping these, I would have bought way more. No other driver has ever impressed me so much and can hang with much more expensive models. If I had the time, I'd try horn loading them and in MLTLs..
This is exactly how I do it. Sometimes all you need is to hear the driver right in front of you in your hands without baffle or enclosure. You can tell alot from a driver using this method. All the typical junk that goes out the back is very easy to hear this way.There are no any rules here, it is just subjective impressions based on my listening experience. Sometimes I do it in a baffle, with and w/o filtering and EQ, sometimes I do it "in hands". I just share with you my personal opinion, no more, and of course I could be wrong
I’m not as enthusiastic about the NE180W-08
I investigated this driver as a potential candidate to turn into a coaxial due to the 40mm VC. Buoyed by @TMM ‘s measurements, I purchased a single unit. My build date was fairly recent; but it measured more like Zaph and @HiFiCompass ’s samples- not as smooth as Tim's measurements. It would be a challenge to flatten the FR without DSP. The bass is certainly better than the SB17 though.
Both measured in same box (0.7 cu ft sealed with baffle 17" H x 8 1/4" W, and same conditions (50cm, 6ms window). These are not anechoic quality measurements, but gave me enough data to not move forward with it.
All in all, measurements more similar to Yevgeniy's than Tim's.
Anyhow, of little consequence now. I wasn't sure whether it's worth my input on this- it's NLA.
I investigated this driver as a potential candidate to turn into a coaxial due to the 40mm VC. Buoyed by @TMM ‘s measurements, I purchased a single unit. My build date was fairly recent; but it measured more like Zaph and @HiFiCompass ’s samples- not as smooth as Tim's measurements. It would be a challenge to flatten the FR without DSP. The bass is certainly better than the SB17 though.
Both measured in same box (0.7 cu ft sealed with baffle 17" H x 8 1/4" W, and same conditions (50cm, 6ms window). These are not anechoic quality measurements, but gave me enough data to not move forward with it.
All in all, measurements more similar to Yevgeniy's than Tim's.
Anyhow, of little consequence now. I wasn't sure whether it's worth my input on this- it's NLA.
Last edited:
I'm also no friend of listening to drivers in frequency ranges they are never intend to reproduce.
With a lot of experience this still gives SOME information (like the noise of a LF driver dirven hard) but it's hard to judge how this influences behaviour in a real design. But it gives hints.
But after all - I often (but not always) can relate with these descriptions with the experience in an actual design or an AB comparison (which I don't do to often cause it's a lot of work).
So just take it with a grain of salt and do your own conclusions. Would be to easy otherwise, no?
With a lot of experience this still gives SOME information (like the noise of a LF driver dirven hard) but it's hard to judge how this influences behaviour in a real design. But it gives hints.
But after all - I often (but not always) can relate with these descriptions with the experience in an actual design or an AB comparison (which I don't do to often cause it's a lot of work).
So just take it with a grain of salt and do your own conclusions. Would be to easy otherwise, no?
Member
Joined 2003
Serious XOver improving? Someone stated a longer while ago the distortions of the midwoofer will re-appear in the tweeter which renders high quality tweeters obsolete! Probably it gives a more homogenous sound that many prefer but I have doubts it is something worth to look for , in spirit of audiophile listening hunting for hidden treasures buried deep in the magic of music coming to us from a higher level of being ....
