Single Driver Horn vs Multi driver efficient spker

Punch - where does it come from?

At what freq. does the "punch" happen?

As I understand it, the actual "attack" or "leading edge" of a drum strike or percussive note, actually happens much further up the frequency range than the body of the note(s). Perhaps even in the treble region.

But, that's not what we feel hit our bodies or energize the room is it? And in the case of typani or ketle srums struck with a padded mallet, there doesn't seem to be any preceding "snap".

I know it probably depends on the note the particular drum or instrument is tuned to, but does anyone have a good understanding of this topic and can shed a little light on it? Like what frequency are the Tom-Toms of a drum set commonly tuned to?

Guys, great responses I appreciate it. Here is my system at present. I have a ModWright Sony 999 with his max modding, I really like it...very musical. I have the new Omega Hemptone 8" driver speakers, they only have 150hrs on them, but Louis says that should do it. They have an amazing amount of bass, it will not hit you in the chest, but its there. My amp is a no name, as of yet, I got to be a beta tester for a company out of Canada. The amp has the most bottom end control and punch ( I know everyone likes that word) that I have heard from a 300b integrated. Now wether its as musical as it needs to be I dont know, yet. Maybe my problem is the amp and not the speakers. My old system was the same cdp and a Cary sli 80 and Coincident Super E III's. I liked it a lot, but wanted to go SET and did not think that the Super E at 92 db would have worked. But I liked that system better than the one I have now. So I am really trying to figure out if I should just get a different type of speaker or start over with some New Coincidents and a more powerful (845) type amp.
Thanks for the responses.
Mike

Whoa, that's a cool speaker. Hemp cone material, serious cabinet construction. I'd love to hear it in my system.For those interested, here's the Omega Hemptone 8" webpage. Eight inch driver, 96dB, 20"x11"x14".

You've got give up any type of comparsion between a 50Wpc KT-88/6550 push-pull amp into 5 driver floorstanders and a low power SET into a single-driver, fullrange, monitor. It's apples and oranges or the most extreme type unless you are simply talking about musical involvement.

No way you are ever going to get the type of punch you're used to out of your current setup. Fullrangers are generally low excursion drivers and your cabinet is not that big.

But, you should be able to get a purity, directness, and imaging that is superior via the simple SET design and crossoverless speakers. You should get a "reach out touch" type of midrange richness. The soundstage should much more holographic. And minute details and articulation should be lot more apparent. Subtle nuances that you never noticed.

Have you played with speaker location much? It has been much harder to locate my fullrangers for great sound than it was with my multidrivers.

Also, are you using the same speaker cables as before? That ould be the dynamics and punch problem. High(ish) efficiency speakers tend to favor small gauge cables. Magnet wire Litz configurations, etc.

Don't give up yet, it takes a lot of work to get the most out of a high-eff, single driver, system, but it is well worth it when you get there.

Try to get someone with a lot of high-eff/SET experience over to your house for a listen. They might help shorten the learning/setup curve substantially.

I was about to give up a few months ago, then had a really experienced horn guy come over. He convinced me to switch the speakers to the other side of the room and then helped with fine tuning the placement. It made a world of difference - I'm hooked.

hi,

" Punch - where does it come from? "

From a system with 15" woofers.

Darkmoebius,
I understand what you are saying about the p/p vs SET, but the musical involvement thing is what is missing. I have only heard one other SET in my home and it was a ASL layla 845, its what got me started down this path. The 3d imageing and reach out and touch factors were there, but the ASL amp was too grainy for me and their products have suspect reliabilty. So I got this Beta test 300b from a guy that could have sold be a Cary 300 sei, but said his companies amp was far better, so I went with it. I am really starting to think its the amp. I live in Nebraska, no dealers that I know of sell SET stuff, so I am in the deep end of the pool with no help on this issue, other than sites like this. Louis from Omega is now trying to help me a little now, he's a really cool guy. I am really just looking for a musical rightness and involvement from my system I don't need to get punched in the chest. I listen to primiarily female vocal, like Beth Orton, Melissa Ferrick, so I don't really need slam, but then an SRV cd gets mixed in there and ya just don't want that to suck either.
Thanks
Mike