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In Reply to: Re: what are the areas they excel in?..... posted by Duke on January 15, 2006 at 22:19:35:
I just went back and re-read trioderob's post a couple of levels above, and he metions TAD 2001 as a reference midrange driver.In a blind test, an all-TAD (2001 and 1601C) Summa prototype was bested by an all-B&C Summa prototype. Though I didn't participate in the test (I was behind the curtain shuffling speakers), I also preferred the B&C version. The crossovers were optimized for each prototype. Using TAD drivers had been my idea, and I was quite surprised they didn't sound as smooth as the B&Cs, and the difference was mostly in the compression driver region.
Follow Ups:
Hi Duke always nice to see your posts.Did you try other drivers in these horns, beside the TAD and B&C?
Additionaly do you and Earl have a larger version in the works? Something like Steve and Rich have, for a 4" or bigger LF compression driver?Did you try them with a FR driver like Fostex 208 or Fertin, etc,?
Do you sell the horn only, w/o drivers?
Later
D
Hi Dave,Good to hear from you!
The only drivers we tried in the blind test were the B&C & TAD. Earl measured a few others at my request, and their measured performance ruled them out.
The horns are molded into the front baffle, so at this time they aren't available separately. You could contact Earl about purchasing the front baffles.
An earlier prototype horn Earl built had a 2" throat, but we went with the 1" throat for several reasons:
1. The 2" throat version beamed too much at high frequencies to be practical for a two-way.
2. Earl found that a 1" driver would easily go low enough with his waveguide to mate up well with a good 15" woofer.
3. The cost of a good 1" throat driver is much less that the cost of a good 2" throat driver.
We also didn't try fullrange drivers; frankly didn't consider them. I don't think they'd have nearly the headroom we were looking for (the Summas will do 120+ dB peaks without significant thermal compression).
Earl will do custom waveguides for anyone willing to pay for them. His manufacturing process isn't very cost-effective for only a few units as it involves making a mold, but he's open for business if anyone wants a custom design.
In fact, the 2" throat waveguide mentioned above was something Earl built for me on a consulting basis years ago. I wanted to build a 15" two-way that maintained constant directivity over as much of the spectrum as practical along with very low coloration. That basic concept was similar enough to something Earl had wanted to build for years that it naturally blended into his project and emerged as the Summa.
Duke
Norris
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