different types of cones

[AznRevlAzn 10+ year member]

ok so me and my friend were having an argument over which cones were best and more effective. I said Paper cones with a convex bulge. He said plastic cone with a convex. Then we basically began blasting our music trying to find out which one was more efficient, lol. So which type of cones are exactly better?

type of cones that i know:

paper with convex bulge

paper with concave bulge

plastic with concave bulge

paper with convex bulge and metal fins (Patented on the Power Acoustik MOFO)

paper and aluminum cone

Plastic Flat cones (thanks jtomsic i forgot that one lol)

Titanium concave

please add on if you think there are others or have seen others.

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[jtomsic 5,000+ posts]

what about the flat cone? i think eD has one...or ID cant remember.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

eD used to make one with the '04 series of subs...it was/is woven Nomex. Very nice //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Flat cones are tougher to implement because more stress is placed on the triple joint...that was the problem that some (note: some) 15a.22's experienced. Not saying that there's something fundamentally wrong with the design though.

 

[loserpunk 10+ year member]

i thought that the triple joint was term for conventional drivers and the flatcones had a diff. names

 

[I want SExxx 10+ year member]

triple joint is where the spider, cone, and former meet....hence the name triple joint. The ED flat cones i believe are called a T-Joint.

 

[swimfreak26 10+ year member]

This is correct, as there is no place where all three meet on the flat cone A series.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Back to the original question........it really depends on what cone we are talking about. The cone for a midrange? The cone for a sub? And then the "best" for what; tonality? Off-axis response? Just the strongest?

But add carbon fiber to your list. As well as wood pulp.

 

[swimfreak26 10+ year member]

A cone just needs to be strong and light to provide optimal performance. Different shapes all pretty much work the same excluding the strength aspect because some joints wear faster than others.

 

[BASS OUTLAW 10+ year member]

talkin about cones,

i wanted to ask this question b4, and yet its off topic.

but 12" subs CONE isnt really 12", it only counts 12" when measuring the(rubber) surround. in some subs its 1" :S

hows that guys ?

and yeah , paper cone, i think its better for MIDs, as for subs the more the stronger n rigid the better it hit the lows

 

[monte_carlo97 10+ year member]

paper with convex bulge and metal fins (Patented on the Power Acoustik MOFO)

The fins are used for cooling purposes of the voice coil. The convex bulge is also aluminum as the fins are also. Metal transfers heat real well and the fins also act like fins of a heatsink.

 

[davesexplorer 10+ year member]

I dunno all the subs I have in my BASSment are carbon fiber coned....

4 Ma Hard Kore X2 12"s

1 Ma Hard Kore X2 15"

1 2003 Bahn immortal 15"

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I like carbon fiber

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Well treated paper cones have been used on everything from cheap speakers to high end home audio drivers for a long time now. There are alot of other excellent cone materials today, but many top manufacturers still use the treated paper cones for their advantages over these newers types. id have to say treated paper cones get the award for lifetime acheivement. As for which one is 'best', there is no such thing. Different cone types/materials for different applications.

BTW, when you guys cranked your stereos to see which one had better cones, that was pretty silly right there.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

aluminum cones?

fiberglass?

kevlar?

resin + most materials + shape\compression = cone. lol.

so whats the point of this thread?

 

[AznRevlAzn 10+ year member]

not better cones, better sound, lol.

 

[Scarenius 10+ year member]

If my thoughts of physics are correct, someone please correct me..

If you wanted to spread the wave out, a convex cone would work. (That would rule, does anyone make them?)

Flat cones would naturally give the best response - an unaltered wave.

A concave cone with a convex dustcap would act like a flat cone, but with some harmonic interference.

A concave cone would be the *worst* kind of cone to use, since waves off the top of the cone would travel slightly downward, reflect off opposing waves from the opposite end of the cone, and act just like a convex cone from there, but with major cancellation.

As for material, if the cone is stiff enough to do it's job, power to it. Paper cone + ribs would work wonders, unless you're aiming for 150+dbs. I don't know how much pressure a reasonably heavy paper cone could handle.