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Faital HF Drivers

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coolhandjjl

Hi-

I'm a new member here. I also post at the Klipsch Community, and Audiokarma. I play electric bass and post at Talk Bass, the fEARful forums, and at Bill Fitzmaurice's forums.

I'm putting together what I will refer to as the ultimate solid state Hi-Fi system. I was initially interested in Bob Crites' Cornscala speaker designs. I will actually be using the main box as a separate bass bin with a HF horn/s free standing on top of the bin. Since the system will be bi-amped with a 24db/octave active crossover, it will make it easier to balance the bass and HF sections.

The M2380 horn come up a lot as a great horn for the money, plus I think it will be a great aesthetic fit for my design. Coupled with the Faital HF200, many folks think I will have a winning combination. I am aware that the M2380 is a CD design and drops off over 10kHz, and will require some EQ boost in those areas. Of course, I can always go to a Tractrix horn design to help solve that.

My question is, the Faital HF200 (essentially the HF140 with a machined 2" throat adapter) gets a lot of attention as a great driver without having to break the bank. It has a titanium diaphragm. I contacted the US Faital rep and asked him about the similarly priced Faital HF204 with its ketone polymer diaphragm. The rep mentioned that some listeners don't like drivers with titanium diaphragms and occasionally detect ringing or metallic resonances. Some folks say that's a myth, that there's nothing wrong with titanium diaphragms. There's nothing on the web I can find reviewing or even mentioning the Faital HF204. Maybe no one is using it or no one likes it? The rep and the dealers are touting it as a smoother sounding HF driver, but is that just advertising fluff?

I'm really trying to find some good reliable info on the HF204 other than salesman speak. If not, I'll go with the HF200.

Sorry for the lengthy post.

Follow Ups:

RE: Faital HF Drivers - Duke 01:46:42 07/01/12 (0)
Both the frequency response curve and impedance curve of the HF200 indicate a significant resonance around 15 kHz. Of the two, for a high fidelity application I'd go with the HF204 and just goose the high treble a bit.

Duke

Me being a dealer makes you leery?? It gets worse... I'm a manufacturer too.
RE: Faital HF Drivers - Scholl 04:12:24 06/10/12 (0)
Ti is a matter of preference which I don't care for. At first tweeters or drivers with Ti domes\frams sound great but after two hours they fatgue and shimmering highs can sound more like shatering glass.

I'm glad to see Faital has a poly fram 2". I'll give that consideration for the several EV 2" horns om hand.
RE: Faital HF Drivers - djk 18:39:46 06/09/12 (5)
Some people don't mind the sound of a large titanium diaphragm breaking up, some actually like it. I am neither of those people.

I have done a JBL2380 two-way and don't recommend it.

In your situation I would go with the HF144 on the LTH142 horn.

The 900hz minimum recommended crossover point is for high-powered PA use, not home use.

The gentle rise in the 1Kz~2Khz region can be removed by either a passive filter or by a DSP crossover.
- RE: Faital HF Drivers - coolhandjjl 21:10:31 06/09/12 (4)
  Thanks for the suggestions. I've plenty of EQ capability, a calibration mic and RTA software to smoothen out any response issues. I also just picked up a JBL 522M active crossover that has internal jumpers for EQ boost specific to the 2380.
  - RE: Faital HF Drivers - djk 04:28:10 06/10/12 (3)
    I've been there and done that with the 2380, and I suggest you lie down until the urge to use that horn passes.
    - RE: Faital HF Drivers - coolhandjjl 10:41:16 06/10/12 (2)
      Understood. I also understand about the fatiguing nature of some drivers, as some do bother me after a while. I'll avoid titanium diaphragms.
      
      On the Klipsch Community forums, the Eliptrac 400 horn gets a lot of positive discussion. It's a 2" throat tractrix design, carved out of several layers of MDF or plywood. That was my next choice after ruling out the 2380.
      - RE: Faital HF Drivers - djk 18:38:57 06/10/12 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Faital HF Drivers posted by coolhandjjl on June 10, 2012 at 10:41:16
        
        "On the Klipsch Community forums, the Eliptrac 400 horn gets a lot of positive discussion. It's a 2" throat tractrix design, carved out of several layers of MDF or plywood. That was my next choice after ruling out the 2380."
        
        I'm glad to see my pushing them into making that design paid off, I'm sure it sounds fine. It will narrow in the top octave though, you may still want a tweeter.
        
        You might want to try the larger 18 Sound elliptical horn, its expansion is largely conical and thus needs CD equalization.
        
        http://www.loudspeakersplus.com/pdfs/XT1464.pdf
        
        I use the Beyma CP755Nd, a Mylar surround driver available in Ti or Al.
        
        http://www.usspeaker.com/images/Beyma-CP755Nd-dist-size401.gif
        
        You might be able to find a used set of Adamson MH225. Designed by Geddes for Adamson, they have elliptical waveguides for the 1.5" HF and the 10" Mid-bass horns.
        
        http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adamson-MH225-Loudspeakers-NIce-/251082377185?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a75ad07e1
        
        http://abpg.com.ua/abpgdata/medialib/p71110.jpg
        
        Frequency Response (Hz) (1/3 octave smoothed & averaged over
        Acoustic Waveguide coverage region)
        �3 dB 200 Hz to 18 kHz
        Sensitivity (dB SPL@1Watt/1m)
        MF 111
        HF 113
        
        http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/ele/3060327920.html
        
        RE: Faital HF Drivers - coolhandjjl 19:54:35 06/10/12 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Faital HF Drivers posted by djk on June 10, 2012 at 18:38:57
        
        "I'm glad to see my pushing them into making that design paid off, I'm sure it sounds fine. It will narrow in the top octave though, you may still want a tweeter."
        I read about folks going the two-way route and liking it, but from what you are saying, it can be a stretch? The two-way seemed simpler, and no need to design in a passive x-over.
        I've seen pics of the Eliptrac 400 in an offset baffle board with a vertical mounted Klipsch tweeter along the edge. I was hoping to make it a two-way design, but if I find I need a tweeter, then I have to find someone to design the x-over.
        I do already have in my possession a pair of brand new Selenium D405 2" compression drivers, the ones with the phenolic diaphragm. I suppose I could use those with the Eliptrac 400, run it from 500Hz to 2500Hz and add a tweeter such as the Bob Crites CT125 K style tweeter with the Eminence APT 50, it also has a phenolic diaphragm. Or maybe a clone of the JBL baby butt cheek horn for a tweeter.
        I've seen Greg Roberts' Fc260 and Fc280 horns, he refers to them as a tracetrix flare horns, so they do need a tweeter. He even designs one of them with a hole on the outer edge to mount the round Ciare 1.26 tweeter. I could investigate if those would work with my Selenium D405's also.
        The Beyma's mentioned are out of my price range unfortunately. Regarding your original suggestion to try the Faital HF144 driver + LTH142 horn, that driver specs only down to 600Hz. I need to cross at 500Hz
        
        Edits: 06/11/12

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