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In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: The loudspeakers for a powerful SET

Post Subject: Death by Ribbon?Posted by Paul S on: 7/4/2010

Haralanov, as far as I know, Madisound does not offer my ribbon. Mine is not a stock Fountek, but it is a re-worked version of the old, discontinued Fountek JP2, a very narrow "naked" ribbon (ie,. no coating), and 97+ dB efficient. I got my Audaphon JP2 from the Lautsprecher Shoppe, in Deutschland. I think it is "rated" to XO at 2K with a 3rd order curve, although I would not dream of doing this. As it happens, however, I agree that ribbons lack tone, and they also lack texture, so this will be an experiment for me to run it this low. I am counting on the Reps to parallel , of course. I had thought to try the 101 dB (phenolic) Selenium ST324 for that range, and I may yet give it a go, depending on how this re-arranging of the spectrum works out in terms of balance and dynamics. This is just the first round, after all...

Regarding the notch filters, I consider them the lesser of evils rather than a "cure". I have no serious idea how to completely "solve" the Lowther-alike problems in order to get what I like from them without penalties. Although I have, over many years, found a few drivers I've liked better in terms of tone through a fairly narrow range, I have not found other direct radiator drivers this efficient and dynamic over anywhere near this wide a range (4 1/2 octaves, in this case).

I also agree intellectually about the paper tweeter, or maybe even a silk dome. Now, find me one that is ~99 dB efficient. I haven't seen anything like this in over a decade, and I don't have the patience to wait until I find and acquire something like this, IF it exists.

From your own posts and photos, it appears that you are presently interested mostly in tone. So, you must be ever on the hunt for the great old Peerless, etc. Also, judging from the photos you have posted, you are presently settling for a more sedate presention and a narrower frequency range than I would want at this time.

This thread is titled "Speakers for a Powerful SET", and the opening idea was to try for FR with one SET. At this point, I am still struggling with the one amp limitation, even though I've let go of anything significant under 40 Hz.

If/when I add real subs, I will also try to shrink and seal the Audax boxes and run them only to 50-70 Hz, something like that. While I do not totally disregard Thiel-Small info, neither do I regard it as Gospel. One does have to listen at some point.

Best regards,
Paul S

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