Good info on Alnico magnets. They can be re-energized fairly easily too. I still enjoy them even with the increase Neodymium offers
Thermal Distortion your loudspeaker most likely suffers from it. But do you care?
Thermal Distortion is much more serious than just a maximum power handling limitation or side effect.TD is overlooked by most manufacturers as there is no easy (low cost) solution and TD is audible and measurable most of the time at most power levels. TD is caused by the conductive metal (aluminum, copper, or silver) voice coil getting hotter when you pass electrical energy through it. The more power you pass through it the hotter the metal gets. The hotter the metal gets the more the electrical resistance increase. The efficiency goes down and you need to ram in more and more power for smaller and smaller increases in SPL. It can be the reason you get fatigued while listening. If you are running massive power you are creating more TD in your transducers. But do you care? And is it a reason some prefer horn-loaded designs or SET-powered systems since they have the least problems with TD?
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The overpowering demag was mostly or only affecting a few JBL models when the switch was made from low tube power to higher power SS in PA use it is not an issue for other alnico magnet drivers. But it is still passed around as affecting all Alnico and that is just wrong I have dozens of old Alnico drivers meeting spec after lifetimes of use. |
@johnk -- Thanks for clarifying. Had no intention to put down Alnico magnets in any way, in fact I'd only cherish their inclusion in a speaker setup. |
I have woofers and midrange compression drivers that utilize alnico magnets. I don't plan on abusing these drivers to the point where de-magnetification occurs. A local dealer who had an alnico magnet driver with weak output had the magnet recharged, it did not cost that much to have this done. I have no idea about the particular effect of the type of magnet employed in a driver, as far as the sound is concerned, except that many of the drivers I like happen to have alnico magnets (and pleated paper surrounds, and other old school design features). |
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