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In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: Altec radial phase plug vs concentric phase plugs
Post Subject: I always was a bit suspicious with those concussions.Posted by Sean19 on: 3/30/2016
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 Romy the Cat wrote:
Sean, this subject is tricky. You might like your original Altec 802 better than your new 802G. (I did not even know that they do new version). I have no doubts about your preferences but how sure are you prefer the sound of the old driver juts because it has concentric ring phase plug? There is many other reasons why even the same driver made 40 years back and last year would sound very much different. 
 
In a wider scene the subject of concentric ring phase vs radial is not as convincing as you think. There are advantages and disadvantages for both plugs and the key is to make a driver that sound right with whatever plug they use. I do not trust researches with their long expose into advantage one over another. Tomorrow thier agenda change and they will be with the same confidence to advocate very opposite opinion side. What I am saying is that I have seen “scientific” explanation why any of the plug types is better. I have also see explanation why neither of them is good and only combination of concentric  AND radial was good, or only tangerine style of plug was good, or only half-length whole are good, or only spiral are good, or only 18-sound type are good. The realty is not there. If you have a bad radial plug but use it with slightly different suspended deafragm and slightly less compression, or slightly higher cone mass, or with a small drop of glue on the very top of dome then will the radial loos the disadvantages?  
 
What I am saying is that design of plug is important but it is more important how a given, selected by maker phase plug is implemented in context of the entire loaded driver. I might agree with you that the best sounding drivers were made mostly with concentric phase plugs but I am very seriously doubt that the type of the plug made them to be best. There are plenty of bad sounding drivers concentric phase plugs…


Both versions of 802's have GPA diaphragms both are used on the same horn in a model 19 clone. Over longer periods of time the older versions are easier on my ears. The model 19 clones i have sound good but i am selling all my 1" Altec stuff and i am going to a 3 way system using my 416-8b's and Radian 1.4"  745neopb crossed from 800hz to 10000khz i have not decided what to use from 10000khz up any suggestions. I also want to use a passive crossover if i build  A7 cabinets i can vertically align all the drivers easily so i was going to try a 4th order L&R crossover but the crossover is not set in stone just yet.

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