Full Range Drivers


I was wondering who has heard them and if so, what is or was your take on them compared to full range speakers.
donjr
atmasphere9,566 posts07-01-2021 10:51amFull range drivers aren't full range.

Any of them I've seen benefit from tweeters and a subwoofer array.

They sound better if bass frequencies are prevented from causing excursion of the cone- this reduces Doppler Effect distortion. Its easy to hear the improvement when this is done. All 'full range' drivers have beaminess in the highs- so its useful to have a tweeter or tweeter array rear-firing to correct off axis tonal balance- so you don't have to have your head in a vise. This helps to 'lock in' the soundstage quite nicely!


This runs counter to the single driver enthusiast's ideal of no crossover. But there it is. You can't get away from these simple facts although there's no harm (other than dollars) in trying :)


The real advantage of a 'full range' driver is they are usually fairly easy to drive- and that's good for amplifiers to make less distortion. But if you want to really hear them at their best, you'll have a crossover of some kind sooner or later.


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Now this is a well thought out post.
Lot of meat N potatoes here.
OK so I like how you mentioned, bass fq;'s can interfer with the cone producing other fq's. 
I would prefer less bass in a  wide band, so I can employ either a  Seas or Scanspeak  *super bass* woofer. 
I have no issues witha  xover in  woofers, not at all. 
So if I need a   tweeter/xover in the 15+hz range, I may skip it, 
There is  just not enough hz's to interest me, however my tech geek mentioned its a  sort of **ambience* in the super highs that you want to capture, = the sparkle, the sheen. 
OK, if I need some sparkles, I'll figure out a  tweeter with xover. Got that.
No problem there.
As far as  **easy to drive*** welll yes, it is true tyhe lower the gain on a  amp vol knob, = more fidelity. 
The higher you turn the knob, the slight increase in distortion. 
Another huge plus for my needs, as i listen near field, 10x12x8 room. 
You know its possible i should order their 5 inch wide band, as being more a  pure midrange with  better highs vs  their 8 inch. 
As I say I have the W18's for bass running up to 800hz's. 
But at 87 db, you really need to crank the vol to get response from the 100hz-800hz. 
This is going to bea  issue, as the wide band has either a  97db, or 91db. 
On the lab site says 97db, but on a  dealer site, the speaker specs is  91db. 
My tech tried to explain  one possibility, but I got side tracked and did not listen carefully.
If the diver is 97db, this will be a  major issue trying to iintergrate a  W18E001 at 87db.  However if its 91db,  the match will be acceptable. 


What do I think of full range drivers? I have one in my car sounds pleasant but not sound like live music! Enjoy ☺️
Think about this' Full symphony orchestra. 
See pic below
https://www.google.com/search?q=picture+of++the+vienna+symphony+orchestra&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUK...
All those FULL  MIDRANGE instruments,, all trying to work their fq's through a  tiny 1 inch hole.
Ridiculous

http://www.seas.no/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=367:e0011-06-t25cf002&ca...


Dome tweeters are a   failure when it comes to large chamber through full symphony orchestra. 

Its like asking a   90 lb  weaking to take on a  Herculean task
Ridiculous

Wide band is the only driver up to this Herculean challenge. 
Horns  would be the only other option. 
tweeters reproduce over 2khz. they are not fullrange.
2khz to 20khz, listen to your orchestra with a highpass at 2khz.



murphythecat
174 posts
07-01-2021 5:41pm
tweeters reproduce over 2khz. they are not fullrange.
2khz to 20khz, listen to your orchestra with a highpass at 2khz.

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Yes i stand corrected. 
The Seas Excel W18E001's, are voicing the 40hz-2khz. 
humm, 
Ok well then what we have is the W18;s not being sensitive enough for my preference. 87db is not going to cut it. 
The Millennium is not going to cut the grade either at 87db. 
Both have incredible clarity, its just that you have to set gain vol knob on the Linestage Jadis DPL at 10 oclock, to try to compensate for low efficiency.
Now the tweeter starts stressing out with massive volume when orchestra is in full bloom,. 
OK now we are GETTING somewhere.
The W18E001's can easily handle the 40hz-2K hz with pure musicality. 
Check.
It is the Seas Millennium that gets  stressed out, 
hummmm, 
Thing is there is alot of symphonic fq's in the 2k-6k range.
hummm, 
Solution.
Employ wide band, 8 inch cone.
Check.
Will be a  real bad shootout twix the '
W18E001's vs the wide band in the bass department. 
 have no issues keeping the W18E001's running with the 8 wide band, As the bass in this driver is 1st class. 
And if I need more, I could sell off the 2 pairs of W18's, now 20 yrs old, perform as *New*. and take that cash , buy a  pair of W22 Graphene, use same Mundorf Supreme cap xover. 
If the wide band has all the bass i need/want, the Seas will have to go. 
sadly, as i really love that driver. 
But there is a new  gun on the block, and we will see how this shootout comes off. 
The Millenniums are long gone. Using a  wide band 4 inch + horn tweeter in place of Millennium. 
much better mids.
W18 kicks in at 800hz. 
87db is what we call 
Inefficient. 
91db + = efficient.
91db is the bottom # to be included in the Efficient camp. 
90db = In-efficient camp. 
We need parimeters  and define  tech gargon so we are all on the same page. 
The wide band comming out of china , you need to deduct 2db off the specs. They are cheating, bumping the number up to entice sales.
At times even more than 2db cheat.
The AMT's I got the other day, claimed 97db, 
More like 91 db. or even lower. 
had my tech geek test them on his gadget.