Scan Speak

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Anyone used any Scan Speak midrange? If so what model and how was the sound quality, imaging, and midbass production.

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[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Did you mean to ask how is the midrange of Scan Speak midbass drivers?? When installed to their potential they might just be the 'best' out there. Never used them myself, but that seems to be the general feeling of the product line.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Did you mean to ask how is the midrange of Scan Speak midbass drivers?? When installed to their potential they might just be the 'best' out there. Never used them myself, but that seems to be the general feeling of the product line.

Well I'm trying to decide what I am going to do in the new truck. I have a Dynaudio System 360 and l like the way they sound and all....but not everyone makes the best of each component. I just don't know if I want to do a 3 way setup or just a 2 way. It will all depend on how well the midrange/midbass will perform. I like the midbass that I get out of the Dynaudio so I thought about using it for the midbass and getting a scan speak midrange and maybe focal tweeter but it is all still up in the air right now. Just trying to get some input on what other people have had good luck mixing.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

i briefly listened to a set of scan speak rev 4.5", about a 10 minute listen. my initial impressions were i was very impressed with the little guy. very smoothe and full sound. imaging seemed very good.

i suggest doing a 3 way front stage. i bet foxpro can attest that w/ a 3 way front stage you'll hear music you've never heard before. the vocals/instruments are unreal on my lotus 4's. i'm sure the scan speak rev 4.5" is a very formable choice. when i was choosing my midrange i posted a WTB thread for either lotus 4 or a scan speak 4.5". someone first came to me w/ a lotus 4, so i went with that.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

i briefly listened to a set of scan speak rev 4.5", about a 10 minute listen. my initial impressions were i was very impressed with the little guy. very smoothe and full sound. imaging seemed very good.
i suggest doing a 3 way front stage. i bet foxpro can attest that w/ a 3 way front stage you'll hear music you've never heard before. the vocals/instruments are unreal on my lotus 4's. i'm sure the scan speak rev 4.5" is a very formable choice. when i was choosing my midrange i posted a WTB thread for either lotus 4 or a scan speak 4.5". someone first came to me w/ a lotus 4, so i went with that.

I guess the only other thing is that I really don't like using a small midrange. I like for my music to be loud if I am riding with my windows down. I was maybe looking at the 5.5 or maybe even the 7. I just haven't had good luck with a small midrange.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Have you considered horns?

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Have you considered horns?

I've looked at the Image Dynamics horns but I would really like to hear some before I shelled out the money for something like that. I know they can produce an large amount of volume.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Is this going to be run actively? What do you have for processing? Do you want to spend hours and hours tuning and getting it to sound right. Intuitively, it seems 6 speakers up front is better than 4 speakers, but it doesn't always work that way.

It's probably not worth just replacing the midrange on the Dyn set if you are using the passive xover network. Better off just changing the whole thing or work with the install and with what ever methods you have for tuning at your disposal.

And yes FoxPro can testify to what the addition of a midrange speaker can do for your soundstage. But, he does have a love-hate relationship with the whole thing that he is currently seeking a 12 step program for //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/banghead.gif.8606515f668c74f6de0281deb475b6fd.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Another thing to think about....I've heard that the Scan Speak drivers are not very adept for the automotive enviornment....

Yes, Alpine uses them in their F#1 status speakers....but they also use a proprietary coating on the cones to help protect the speakers and make them more automotive-enviornment friendly.

If you want output while retaining excellent sound quality....horns are a definite option.....

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Is this going to be run actively? What do you have for processing? Do you want to spend hours and hours tuning and getting it to sound right. Intuitively, it seems 6 speakers up front is better than 4 speakers, but it doesn't always work that way.
It's probably not worth just replacing the midrange on the Dyn set if you are using the passive xover network. Better off just changing the whole thing or work with the install and with what ever methods you have for tuning at your disposal.

And yes FoxPro can testify to what the addition of a midrange speaker can do for your soundstage. But, he does have a love-hate relationship with the whole thing that he is currently seeking a 12 step program for //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/banghead.gif.8606515f668c74f6de0281deb475b6fd.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

If I do a setup with different brand components I will be running an amp per set of speakers. One for tweeter, one for midrange, and one for midbass. I also have an audiocontrol DQS crossover. The main problem I have with the dynaudio is the slope of the crossover it comes with. I guess I should go ahead and buy my amps and control each component individually and see how that works. I know for sound quality most people like shallow slopes...but with the dyn set....the midrange will break up at high volumes.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

I know for sound quality most people like shallow slopes...but with the dyn set....the midrange will break up at high volumes.

Really no correlation between slope and SQ. Where did you hear that?

Why will the midrange break up at high volume? What driver are you referring to?

Yes, Dyn uses 6 db/oct slopes on their passive network, but thats what Dyn found to be the best for their drivers. You can't apply that to other speakers as a generality. I can tell you that in my system the slopes vary from 12 db/oct to 48 db/oct and I don't really care how loud it plays //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Another thing to think about....I've heard that the Scan Speak drivers are not very adept for the automotive enviornment....
Yes, Alpine uses them in their F#1 status speakers....but they also use a proprietary coating on the cones to help protect the speakers and make them more automotive-enviornment friendly.

If you want output while retaining excellent sound quality....horns are a definite option.....

I never knew that alpine used the scan speak drivers in the F#1 stuff. I know they looked familiar. I wonder why the price difference is so much more than scan speak? Also....I am pretty sure that is what Cory Himel uses in his Prestige Van. One of the guys that helped him with the van told me that they were Kicker prototypes but they sure do look like scan speak

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

the difference in prices is duh, the brand name. F1 = expensive so thats the price markup.

also squeak is somewhat right about scan speak drivers not suitable for automotive environment as scan speak drivers need to be sealed for best performance. so if you are considering IB, scan speak probably wouldn't be a good choice. but if you seal them they can be very good.

also as far as processing goes if you want to go 3 way front stage, its pretty hard to beat the h701 or a p9 combo as you have absolute full control of each individual driver. there are other ways of doing so but the h701/p9 combo route is the easiest to tune.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Really no correlation between slope and SQ. Where did you hear that?
Why will the midrange break up at high volume? What driver are you referring to?

Yes, Dyn uses 6 db/oct slopes on their passive network, but thats what Dyn found to be the best for their drivers. You can't apply that to other speakers as a generality. I can tell you that in my system the slopes vary from 12 db/oct to 48 db/oct and I don't really care how loud it plays //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

My midrange is the MD140 that comes with the system 360. And usually a speaker will blend better with a shallow slope rather than steep if you aren't running the set close together. And I do care how loud it gets because i like to ride with my windows down somtimes too and I need increased volume for the set to keep up.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Well...thanks for the input. I think I am going to try a few new things in the truck and see how I like it with the dyn set. I never did really get it tuned like I wanted it but I've got some time this week to play around with it so I will see how it goes.