Easy drivers to work with to learn SoundEasy

[Mazeroth]

I'm the type of guy that likes to jump into things full throttle and sometimes do so without taking the proper introductory steps. My first pair of speakers were 6'2" line arrays (single Fountek tweeter with DCX2496) and I've been working on a pair of passive dipoles for the last few months with just a little bit of SoundEasy work. Before I get too far into this I want to tackle a few introductory 2-way speaker designs from scratch, using easy to use drivers. I want to make sure I have a solid understanding of speaker design before I go any further on any projects.

As of now I have the following drivers at my disposal:

4 - RS125
4 - RS150
6 - RS180
2 - RS225
8 - RS28 unshielded
2 - 27TDFC
2 - Dayton Silkie tweeters
4 - Dayton ND20 3/4" tweeters
4 - Hi-Vi BS3

Knowing the RS series have a nasty upper frequency breakup I was thinking it would be in my best interest to get a driver that's easier to tame for an introductory project. I also don't think I want to use a $30 - $40 tweeter for these projects so I'm looking for something less expensive. So, can you guys recommend some inexpensive, easy to use drivers for these projects? If you have any on hand you'd like to sell go ahead and shoot me a PM. The first 2 will probably be bookshelves and I may even build a floorstander later on. My wife is leaving for 9 days next week (I'll miss her to death, but boy am I excited to build!) so I'm hoping to have at least one of these guys finished by then.

Thanks for any help you can give me! ;x(

[ThomasW]

Look at whatever Audax/Vifa/Peerless/Seas/ScanSpeak poly and paper cone drivers are in your budget. Those will be the most 'benign' or forgiving with regard to crossover design.

Check the close-out and specials sections of Madisound and PE.

[Paul Ebert]

If your goal is to learn the tool, perhaps you should 'reverse-engineer' the Dreydels. After all, you have the drivers already.

Might be a good way to get your feet wet.

[cjd]

I've got a whole mess of RS150/Seas27* crossovers published too (both TM and MTM) - not to mention RS28A variants. Sometimes "easy drivers" don't really make a difference. Having something you can plug in to compare (i.e. do my measurements look good with this published crossover? good, they do) can be more helpful than easy drivers.

C

[Mazeroth]

Look at whatever Audax/Vifa/Peerless/Seas/ScanSpeak poly and paper cone drivers are in your budget. Those will be the most 'benign' or forgiving with regard to crossover design.

Check the close-out and specials sections of Madisound and PE.

I forgot about the Madisound sales, since they usually only have a few to pick from. However, they have a ton of drivers on clearance now. Which of these two would you pick?

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1760&osCsid=f6fa80a320c9c26720488c3e319208a2

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8192&osCsid=f6fa80a320c9c26720488c3e319208a2

I was leaning toward the Vifa in a small 0.25 ft3 ported cab with the Dayton Silkie or Hi-Vi K1 to start out with. I'll give these to my brother for his bedroom and will try to get away with a minimalistic crossover. I'm also going to do my first veneer job on them so it should make for a good first project. I would buy the drivers from PE but I'm not seeing a whole lot of cheaper, easy to use drivers from there. The only one that comes to mind is the Tang Band W5-704S, which increased in price recently. I am taking a trip to Dayton to visit a friend next weekend and could avoid the shipping charges but I'll still have to pay sales tax. Decisions...decisions...

The reverse engineering is also a good idea I didn't think of. I'll tackle a basic two-way myself first and probably do that next.

Thanks again.