Mach5 18 upper frequency/midbass response?

[thadman 10+ year member]

Could this driver be used up to 150-200hz? I'd like to use it as a bass/midbass driver. It will be powered at 8ohms, so it probably shouldnt start rolling off till much higher but when does the cone breakup? I dont want to excite any harmonics...

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[PhatTonyDeMarco 5,000+ posts]

It should be able to play those frequencies, but don't expect it to be a dominant midbass provider; as it wasn't made for that purpose.

Also, midbass is a stereo sound, and with a single 18 in your trunk (or where ever) you will loose that stereo orientation and your imaging will be thrown out of whack greatly.

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

...thats why im buying two. Its for a home-stereo open-baffle project (huge displacement requirements)

 

[PhatTonyDeMarco 5,000+ posts]

...thats why im buying two. Its for a home-stereo open-baffle project (huge displacement requirements)

Maybe you should provide all the information when you ask a question, then...

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

ok, well does anybody know when the cone starts to breakup? It should extend pretty high since its going to be powered by 8ohms vs 1, so at what frequency does the driver become transiently inept?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

I'd be worried about the Qts being too low for OB...but then again, a lot of good OB drivers have relatively low Qts specs.

I'd probably look into an Eminence Alpha before the Mach5, but if Mark says it should be good, listen to him //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I'd actually be curious about this sort of thing myself, one day when I get the amp channels and EQ power to do it.

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

Im planning on using a Behringer DCX2496...so Ill have all the equalization needed.

If I cant find a cheap solution for 40-125/175hz then ill probably have to just make a standard 2-way.

Im getting a pair of W18EXs for trade from my Peerless XLS 8s and decided on making a standard 2-way for home but the idea of an OB intrigued me.

While we're here, has anyone tested the Peerless HDS tweeter? Im planning on crossing the W18EX over at 1500hz (as to not excite the 3rd harmonic *1600hz* of its 4800hz breakup node) so its either the Seas 27TBFC/G or that. Is the HDS worth twice as much $$$?

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

Will those eminence alpha drivers mate up resolution and distortion wise with the Seas Excel W18EX?

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

To me that seems like a pretty high for an 18. It will prolly do it but will prolly sound bad doing it...

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

How nice are those Eminence Alpha 15s? They look like the perfect candidate, but how do they measure distortion wise compared to Dayton RS drivers or drivers of that same caliber in the 50/80-300/400hz range?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Go on DIYAudio...I brought up this sort of thing before, and was recommended the Alpha's with a Fostex 166 or 167 for the upper end...since they have next to no displacement, the Fostex's tend to die off around 300Hz, where they can be crossed over to the woofers...and keeping to a 6" or smaller HF driver will prevent the "beaming" issues you get with an 8" driver in the 20KHz range...

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

The FE166E would beam like hell above 2600hz...I would have almost zero HF response unless I was DEAD on axis.

Fullrange drivers like fostex seem to make way too many compromises in their design for them to compare to other HiFi drivers

132cm^2 translates to a cone that is 5.1" across (2626.9hz)

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

How nice are those Beyma or B&C high efficiency drivers? Im specifically looking at the mids (6.5-8") for use in the dipole to take over after the Eminence Alpha 15s and cover the 400-1500/2000hz range.