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CO wrote:

Ive been building and improving my own speakers the last few years and at this point i'm thinking a fully horn loaded setup ( 3 way + sub ) is the best route to take to get a speaker capable of  faithfully reproducing the electronic signal.

Actually the 4-ways horn-loaded installation is THE ONLY way to go.  If you look critically and with intellectual honesty at the currently exiting park of the best drivers then the 4-ways (5) ways design is very naturally flow… the only one thinks that I would like to suggest is do not treat the LF channels as subwoofer, even semantically, but rather approach the LF channels as an organic continuation of acoustic system optimized for reproduction of the lower octaves…

CO wrote:

Although i have no doubt your speaker setup is about as ideal as it gets i cannot do this with my buget. I have read you have tested many drivers before you found your ideal setup…

It is incorrect. There is nothing “ideal” in my setup as with many others it has own limitations and compromises.

CO wrote:

I was hoping you could give some pointers to lower cost drivers for a similar setup. I was thinking something in the line of Beyma or B&C or similar drivers. Have you tried these or alike?My listening is slowly starting to shift to clasical and acousical music (having never been exposed to it in my childhood) so At this point the some of the better Pro parts should be good enough for me. I will be building the (non square) horns myself and love to experiment to get the most out a speaker.I will be driving them actively with a variable crossover. My budget for drivers would preferably be around $1000,- or less for upper bass and mid/high driver. I can always add dedicated tweeter later.  I already have a sub that should integrate well. Any suggestions are welcome.

Well, the $1000 is not really a budget thing and you might get very good drivers. Do not forget that since you go for an upper bass horn then you will not stress the MF driver and most like will go for shorter MF horn. For budges but well performing MF driver I would not got for the Beyma or B&C of the similar. Those companies mostly use ceramic magnets that are devastating for the HF transient response and tonal identity. I would look for any Alnico magnets, aluminum cones and more or less civilized phase plugs. To be on a neutral, none-radical side and without diving into risky fanatically challenged projects I would go for something along the like with JBL 2440, 2445. They are concretive (aka JBL 375) drivers, slightly less mellow then Altecs and with good and stable tone. Also, they are very popular and you should be able to get them for ~$300 or so….

For the upper bass you should consider what enclosure you will be using and determine the size of the driver based upon that. For the upper bass I would go for ceramic/neodymium magnets with cellulose cone, cellulose/cloth suspension, lover Q and lover possible excursion. Target the size of the driver in order to have Fs juts slightly lower then the cut off of the horn mouth. Still, the driver that you will be looking will be within $200-$500, no more and you would have money left for tweeter or for your contribution to your local homeless Cats shelter….

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