All items in category Voice Coil Test Bench
Test Bench: The TW29BNWG Beryllium Dome and Waveguide from SB Acoustics
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The TW29BNWG Beryllium Dome and Waveguide from SB Acoustics

The SB Acoustics TW29BNWG is a great evolution of the Satori TW29BN tweeter. The new high-end 29mm beryllium diaphragm neodymium dome, this Satori driver incorporates a 170mm (6.7") diameter aluminum waveguide, an 8mm wide coated cloth surround, a 29mm (1.14") beryllium diaphragm, dual copper caps on the T-shaped pole piece, dual balanced compression chambers, non-reflective optimally damped rear cavity, and CCAW round voice coil wire. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2023.
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Test Bench: The D8404-552000 Ellipticor Cloth Diaphragm Dome Midrange from Scan-Speak
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The D8404-552000 Ellipticor Cloth Diaphragm Dome Midrange from Scan-Speak

This characterization is the sixth Scan-Speak Ellipticor driver to appear in Test Bench. The Scan-Speak D8404 is a large dome midrange with a large diaphragm area and respective voice coil diameter. For a motor system, Scan-Speak basically scaled up its currently successful AirCirc tweeter motor with 12 neodymium slugs, with a titanium voice coil former, all part of the patented Symmetrical Drive SD-2 motor format. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2023.
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Test Bench: B&C Speakers DCX354 High-Powered Coaxial Compression Driver and Horn
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: B&C Speakers DCX354 High-Powered Coaxial Compression Driver and Horn

The B&C Speakers DCX354 ring radiator coaxial dual-diaphragm compression driver is a similar design to its big brother, the B&C Speakers DCX464 that was featured in the October 2019 issue of Voice Coil. The DCX354 has a 3" midrange diaphragm and a 2" and is good down to 400Hz. The horn tested with the DCX354-16 was the new B&C ME464, a very large horn device made of durable polyurethane plastic with an 80°×60° nominal coverage pattern. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2023.
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Test Bench: SB Audience 44CDN-PK 1" PEEK Diaphragm Compression Driver
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: SB Audience 44CDN-PK 1" PEEK Diaphragm Compression Driver

The SB Audience Rosso 44CDN-PK is combined with the H250 90°×60° exponential horn. The driver features a 44.3mm (1.75") diameter voice coil driving a single piece PEEK diaphragm and surround, and including a FEA-optimized neodymium ring magnet motor structure, annular phase plug design, and a cast-aluminum damped rear chamber. This driver has a 60W AES power handling rating (120W maximum), with a 1.8kHz recommended crossover frequency.
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Test Bench: Wavecor’s TW045WA01 Coaxial Cloth Dome/Ceramic Cone Tweeter
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Wavecor’s TW045WA01 Coaxial Cloth Dome/Ceramic Cone Tweeter

This Test Bench characterizes the innovative TW045WA01 dual-diaphragm coaxial tweeter from Wavecor. This driver's dual-diaphragm assembly combines a 22mm coated textile dome for high-frequency extension and a 45mm ceramic/aluminum cone, which adds low-frequency output and efficiency. The hybrid design incorporates a dual neodymium magnet motor structure and sculpted foam damping ring attached to the faceplate. A very unique driver that is certain to appear in new two-channel high-end audio loudspeakers.
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Test Bench: Faital Pro’s 10HX230 Coaxial 10" Pro Sound Driver
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Faital Pro’s 10HX230 Coaxial 10" Pro Sound Driver

The 10HX230 10" coaxial professional driver from Faital Pro is another interesting example in the category, particularly well-received in professional audio applications. The Faital Pro 10" 10HX230 driver expands the company's extensive 12 model coaxial line. The driver is built on a proprietary six-spoke cast-aluminum frame, a curvilinear uncoated paper cone woofer, driven by a ferrite magnet, and a compression driver driven by a separate neodymium motor attached to the back plate horn mounted coincident with the woofer. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, March 2023.
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Test Bench: The Radian Audio 475BEPB-8 1" Beryllium Compression Driver
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The Radian Audio 475BEPB-8 1" Beryllium Compression Driver

This Test Bench centers on the Materion beryllium version of the popular Radian Audio 475PB 1" ferrite motor compression driver, also available with Radian’s outstanding sounding proprietary aerospace-grade aluminum alloy. These beryllium diaphragms are produced by Radian at its Pomona, CA, facility under license from Materion. This Test Bench offers a comparison analysis of the aluminum alloy with the beryllium model. An insightful characterization for speaker builders, designers, and manufacturers. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2023.
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Test Bench: Wavecor’s New SW259WA01 10.25” High Xmax Subwoofer
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Wavecor’s New SW259WA01 10.25” High Xmax Subwoofer

This article offers a detailed characterization of Wavecor's latest SW259WA01 High Xmax Subwoofer. This new 10.25” subwoofer has a generous feature set that includes a proprietary six-spoke cast-aluminum frame that is substantial enough to support the heavy ferrite motor assembly and incorporates 36 vents below the spider mounting shelf. Other features include a very stiff and thick flat profile aluminum cone, an ingenious motor system with enhanced cooling, and a 2" four-layer voice coil wound. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2023.
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Test Bench: The SW26DBAC76-4 Shallow-Mounting Subwoofer from SB Acoustics
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The SW26DBAC76-4 Shallow-Mounting Subwoofer from SB Acoustics

This Test Bench article analyzes the popular SW26DBAC76-4 10" low-profile subwoofer from SB Acoustics, specifically designed (and patented) for applications that require a subwoofer that will fit into very shallow-depth enclosures. The SW26DBAC76-4 has a unique and interesting feature set that starts with an extremely shallow 79.5mm (3.13") cast-aluminum frame. The outside rim of the inverted cone is attached to the outside perimeter of the spider, and moves with the cone assembly. The inside diameter of the spider that would normally be glued to the voice coil assembly is then connected to the motor structure. This is a clever design.
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Test Bench: The PTT6.5M08-NFA-01 6.5" Midrange from Purifi Audio
by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The PTT6.5M08-NFA-01 6.5" Midrange from Purifi Audio

The PTT6.5M08-NFA-01 6.5" Midrange is the fourth woofer from Purifi Audio to be examined in Test Bench. This midrange is pretty much identical to the previously examined PTT6.5X and PTT4.0X woofers, and includes the same constant Sd surround, cone edge stiffening ring, and low magnetic hysteresis motor design. However, the PTT6.5M08-NFA-01 is optimized to have higher efficiency (91dB at 2.83V8/1m) for use with multiple woofer three-way design configurations. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, January 2023.
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