Gregm: According to the chart that Nelson Pass had published in that article, the Lowther DX55 showed a gradually dropping slope below appr 700 Hz. As compared to the average output levels in the upper midrange & treble regions, output was down appr -4 dB's at 500 Hz and appr -13 db's at 200 Hz. As such, without some type of equalization circuit, the usable bandwidth of this specific driver is much narrower than what you've described.
For those of you that are "into" the full-range driver approach, AudioXpress recently had an article about modifying a small Tang Band driver. After modifications, it was FAR more linear than any Lowther i've ever seen and even had greater bass extension and linearity. The fact that it is only a 3" driver severely handicaps the ability to achieve the spl's and / or dynamics of the much larger Lowther drivers. Once again, we come back to the fact that there are trade-offs with ANY loudspeaker design and they become even more complicated as one reduces the number of drivers used.
It's too bad we can't find some way to make a plasma driver both more efficient and wider bandwidth. This would solve all of our problems. Well, that and getting rid of the excess ozone that they generate : ) Sean
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For those of you that are "into" the full-range driver approach, AudioXpress recently had an article about modifying a small Tang Band driver. After modifications, it was FAR more linear than any Lowther i've ever seen and even had greater bass extension and linearity. The fact that it is only a 3" driver severely handicaps the ability to achieve the spl's and / or dynamics of the much larger Lowther drivers. Once again, we come back to the fact that there are trade-offs with ANY loudspeaker design and they become even more complicated as one reduces the number of drivers used.
It's too bad we can't find some way to make a plasma driver both more efficient and wider bandwidth. This would solve all of our problems. Well, that and getting rid of the excess ozone that they generate : ) Sean
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