best 4.5" midrange drivers under $1K

Shadorne, I would guess you are a fan of the dome midrange? What material? In some ways a dome midrange would be better than any cone-type driver. I don't know what they are.
Here is a cheap one albeit aluminum.

Are you saying that paper cones do not have quick transient response? If so, please explain how you reach that conclusion?

@pbb: I reached that conclusion subjectively and dont expect everyone to agree with me but they were too laid back and not quick enough for ribbons tw. Please chip in whats on your mind.

@cdc: thanks for the zaph's website, its very useful indeed, wonder if he can test Flex 4" and Accutons
@shadorne: Im trying to find to best my excel midrange, i know theyr colder than paper but to me they deliver clear and as-is presentation

@shadorne: Im trying to find to best my excel midrange, i know theyr colder than paper but to me they deliver clear and as-is presentation

Shadorne, I would guess you are a fan of the dome midrange? What material?

If Audioism is looking for highly regarded midrange drivers then the ATC SM75-150S should be on his list.

There is a guy called SHINOBIWAN who has done extensive DIY using the driver - I'd google/contact him for help if you are intrigued. Some people really like to criticize it - but it has been around for more than two decades - so it is pretty popular despite being expensive.

The problem is that this driver is so powerful that I am not sure if any ribbon could keep up. It also needs sharp crossover filtering and distortion rises rapidly at low levels. Basically Audioism would need to start a design from scratch - so I did not suggest it.

It is apparently the only dual spider midrange dome in existance apart from a version by PMC which is apparently similar to its junior brother the SM75-150 - non "s" verison. The engineering/tolerances are painful and most other midrange domes (like the Vifa) will distort all too quickly at even modest volume levels - so midrange domes are not such a good choice in general especially cheap ones. This picture shows the "S" on the left and its junior brother on the right. Needless to say this is an absolutely massive drive motor for a 3" doped fabric dome (3" Voice coil) - in fact it far bigger than the vast majority of woofers. It is generally regarded as sounding faster than anything else except perhaps electrostatics (but will naturally go way louder than panels). It is also regarded as an expensive and difficult driver to match and best executed in an active design. Not something to start a DIY with, IMHO.