Wow, interesting thread with no right answers. If you want to talk measurements, you need a driver (cone is only part of a driver and then it's the crossover and other materials that make up a great speaker. The mids shouldn't stand out. If they do, then you lose coherency, which isn't what high end audio is about.
A great mid driver needs to be fast. This is the one advantage that the ribbons and planers seem to have, however to properly reproduce a square wave (a great speaker must have excellent measurements in addition to sounding great), you have to have a driver that will be as pistonic as you can get. The cone needs to be as light weight as possible AND as strong as possible to display the speed of a ribbon or planer (or as close as a driver will come).
Only a few materials have been mentioned in this thread. Right now, the best (again, subjective, but being used by Vandersteen with it's balsa wood cone wrapped by a specific carbon fiber that was chosen for it's sound quality over many listening sessions) seem to be cones made of carbon fiber. Some companies are using a carbon nano composite and they are also fast and strong, but I've yet to hear one that is piston in nature and it doesn't produce a musical tone to my ears, but others will disagree.
I have yet to hear as haunting a mid as the Vandersteen 7's and this is one reason I'm a fanboy. Can't help it and in years to come if someone else does it better, then I'll be a fanboy of their speakers. What so many don't realize is that a great mid bass speaker MUST have a very very fast mid. The midrange truly is 90% of what we are hearing and the problem with so many on the market is distortion.
I've only liked a few ribbon speakers. I do like some planers too. The key to any system is matching components also.
See how there is no correct answer per say. Maybe in the future, we will get other materials that will be made in 3D printers that will crush what's currently on the market, but for now, my money is on the Vandersteen Carbon Fiber cones for both midrange and tweeters. JMHO
A great mid driver needs to be fast. This is the one advantage that the ribbons and planers seem to have, however to properly reproduce a square wave (a great speaker must have excellent measurements in addition to sounding great), you have to have a driver that will be as pistonic as you can get. The cone needs to be as light weight as possible AND as strong as possible to display the speed of a ribbon or planer (or as close as a driver will come).
Only a few materials have been mentioned in this thread. Right now, the best (again, subjective, but being used by Vandersteen with it's balsa wood cone wrapped by a specific carbon fiber that was chosen for it's sound quality over many listening sessions) seem to be cones made of carbon fiber. Some companies are using a carbon nano composite and they are also fast and strong, but I've yet to hear one that is piston in nature and it doesn't produce a musical tone to my ears, but others will disagree.
I have yet to hear as haunting a mid as the Vandersteen 7's and this is one reason I'm a fanboy. Can't help it and in years to come if someone else does it better, then I'll be a fanboy of their speakers. What so many don't realize is that a great mid bass speaker MUST have a very very fast mid. The midrange truly is 90% of what we are hearing and the problem with so many on the market is distortion.
I've only liked a few ribbon speakers. I do like some planers too. The key to any system is matching components also.
See how there is no correct answer per say. Maybe in the future, we will get other materials that will be made in 3D printers that will crush what's currently on the market, but for now, my money is on the Vandersteen Carbon Fiber cones for both midrange and tweeters. JMHO