Large Full Range Driver

[bobdehunt]

Hi, I am wondering if anyone knows of any Large full range driver companies. I am thinking 10 inch or larger. I remember finding a company that specialized in making very good, very large full range drivers. I think that their largest was eighteen or twelve inches. I have tried, but have been unsuccessful in finding this company again. I am looking for these because I think that I enjoy the sound of larger, less accurate drivers more. I have a pair of Dayton Audios cheap tower speakers, but I just think they sound awful. This is in comparison to the other two speakers I've had, which are the Technics SB-LV105 and a twenty year old pair of old Klipsch horns that I found behind a friends barn under a tarp where they've received copious amounts of water damage for four years. What surprises me is that the Technics speakers, with an eight inch mid and a two inch tweeter sounded amazing to me. The reason that I took the time to tell you what speakers I've had before is because I am open to the idea that maybe the Dayton Audio speakers are just awful and the cheap technics that I bought for five dollars at a yardsale then ruined are actually fantastic. Either way, I would still like to know the name of that company. The speakers don't have any wizzer cones or anything like that. Thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully write a reply.

 

[lovinthehd]

Which Dayton speakers do you have (model number)? Do you want to build a box for a specific driver (box will vary with driver). You may also want to post in the DIY subforum....

 

[bobdehunt]

Which Dayton speakers do you have (model number)? Do you want to build a box for a specific driver (box will vary with driver). You may also want to post in the DIY subforum....

I guess posting there would make more sense haha. The Dayton Audio speakers are the T652's. Yes, I will be building the box for the driver. I'm not worried about conserving space or anything like that.

 

[lovinthehd]

I guess posting there would make more sense haha. The Dayton Audio speakers are the T652's. Yes, I will be building the box for the driver. I'm not worried about conserving space or anything like that.

Yep, take it to the diy subforum. Have you already downloaded software to model drivers/boxes with?

ps remember what the T652s cost....they're reputed to be okay for the price.

 

[bobdehunt]

Yep, take it to the diy subforum. Have you already downloaded software to model drivers/boxes with?

ps remember what the T652s cost....they're reputed to be okay for the price.

I know. They're cheap. They're pretty good for the price. It just surprises me that the old technics were leaps and bounds better.

 

[lovinthehd]

I know. They're cheap. They're pretty good for the price. It just surprises me that the old technics were leaps and bounds better.

The Technics in their day probably sold for significantly more, plus there's inflation.... I'm still using my Technics SL1200 turntable, can't say much about the speakers, tho, not much if any experience...

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

My best advice to you, if you want good speakers for cheap buy new speakers or if you're feel the need to DIY - then buy a kit or at least build of existing design.
This kit in particular will get you both DIY satisfaction and excellent sounding speaker:
https://www.parts-express.com/tritrix-mtm-tl-speaker-components-and-cabinet-kit-pair--300-702

DIY full ranges is possible, but in order to get there, you'd need to find very rare bird such as full range speaker which doesn't suck. According to our in-house expect, there are only few and all of these are way above your budget.

 

[shadyJ]

There are all kinds of problems that can occur when you try to make a full range driver. I think what you are after is a sound signature, and I would be looking for that signature rather than a mechanical means by which to capture that sound, which is going to be a crapshoot in this case. Perhaps what appeals to you about the sound is the strong direct sound with narrow dispersion pattern. One company that makes large full-range drivers is Audio Nirvana who actually have full-range 15" drivers. Any driver of this type is bound to have all kinds of problems at high frequencies. Another 15" full-range driver which seems to partially alleviate these problems is the R2R full range, but that is a very expensive driver. If I remember correctly, that is a $20K speaker.

If I were you, I would be looking at large coaxial driver speakers. I would be looking at drivers from B&C, Radian, maybe Eminence. If I remember right, JTR uses some of the B&C drivers in some of their speakers. One driver I want to play with is the Radian coaxials that uses beryllium diaphragms in the tweeter. Hsu has a good coaxial in their CCB-8, that doesn't use a large cone size, but the dispersion pattern is fairly tight.

 

[yepimonfire]

I guess posting there would make more sense haha. The Dayton Audio speakers are the T652's. Yes, I will be building the box for the driver. I'm not worried about conserving space or anything like that.

They sound awful because they measure awful. +-10dB, and an off axis response that looks like a blind person tried to draw a straight line with their feet.

You don’t specify what you mean by “full range”. Full range could mean a response to 45hz for music, or it could mean 20hz for movies. Either way, you’re looking at a three way design with a subwoofer driver for the low end.

Building speakers from scratch is a complicated process if you’re inexperienced. My suggestion would be to pick up some kits from diy sound group, and add something like a Dayton ultimax kit for the low end. You cannot get a single driver to effectively cover 20hz-2.5khz, or even 20hz-500hz.

Subwoofers must have a heavier cone and more compliant suspension in order to lower the resonant frequency to the point they can cover the lowest octaves. A heavy cone and loose suspension means inaccurate upper bass and midrange, many subwoofers start behaving nonlinearly above 100-200hz. There is a reason most of us here use a “3-way” configuration, with two way speakers to cover the mid bass, mids, and highs and a subwoofer to cover the sub bass section.


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[everettT]

This kit will provide you that 70s look with a relativity flat response down to the mid 30s. Easy to build, easy to drive.
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits/fusion-12/fusion12-kit.html

 

[Verdinut]

Altec Lansing's 604 Duplex 15 inch Coaxial Loudspeakers have been used in studios and cinemas for more than 70 years. There are still many audiophiles who love their performance. They are very sensitive; it takes only a couple of watts to drive them in a regular sized living room. However, they require large enclosures, with internal volumes from 7 to 9 cubic feet.

I have heard them on several occasions as one of my best friends is using three of them in his three front main speakers. They are indeed very pleasing to listen to.

Altec closed their plant in 1998. However, employees bought the equipment to continue making the drivers, the horns and they also build crossovers. The existing group which took over the equipment is Great Plains Audio located in Oklahoma City: greatplainsaudio.com

You can also find a lot of info on the web such as: http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/altec.htm

If you have the opportunity to hear a pair of either the 604E's or 604-8G's which were made by the original company, or the newer 604-8H model which GPA are now manufacturing, I suggest that you don't hesitate to listen to them. They might produce the sound that you like.

They are often sold as used, either as simple drivers or in their cabinets with resulting increased shipping costs, on eBay at decent prices and Great Plains have the facility to service them. Should you need to build cabinets, it becomes more complicated but GPA might be willing to give you the necessary info to proceed with a Do-It-Yourself project if you have the proper tools for the construction.

 

[MrBoat]

What kind of music are we talking about here? For classic rock and heavy metal, many of the audiophile grade speakers are going to be too revealing for the ambience of that music which is based greatly on distortion, or that "brown sound."

Just about any top name, 3-way party speaker of about the middle of that era forward will do it justice. Cerwin Vega, Fisher, Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC etc.

Most of those can be found for a bargain used, so you won't be out much if you find that's not the cure. I keep a pair just for that and they do work well with it. In spite of what negatives modern audiophilia tends to sling at that era of speakers, the engineers of the time, knew what they were doing.