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dmr View Drop Down
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    Posted: 22 February 2017 at 9:41pm
Hi All,

Its about time to replace the awful piezos I have in my tops, i'm looking at some cheap and cheerful 1" comps like the Fane CD130 or around that budget, however, I don't know how to find a compatible horn.

The drivers they are going to be above can play up to 2.5k so a 1" should be ok with crossing over around there, but what makes the difference between a £4.80 horn and a £50 horn - If the cutoff frequency and dispersion are what i'm looking for what more do I get for the money? And what should I be looking for in a comparable horn, there doesn't seem to be a lot of parameters regarding high freq drivers?

Also it would be nice to hear your budget tried and tested horn+driver combos

Thanks
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Good questions.. also interested to hear some opinions 
Reverence Sound system
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Originally posted by dmr dmr wrote:

The drivers they are going to be above can play up to 2.5k
  It probably won't change anything but what drivers are they?

Originally posted by dmr dmr wrote:

what makes the difference between a £4.80 horn and a £50 horn - If the cutoff frequency and dispersion are what i'm looking for what more do I get for the money?


The difference is in the materials used and how accurate the shape is to the ideal. The dirt cheap horns are made from thin plastic that will generate all kinds of interesting resonances while the more expensive ones are made of heavier plastic, fiberglass, or even aluminum. The more expensive horns will produce better polar response too so as usual.. you get what you pay for.
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dmr View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Conanski Conanski wrote:

Originally posted by dmr dmr wrote:

The drivers they are going to be above can play up to 2.5k
  It probably won't change anything but what drivers are they?

McKenzie C12-200, that 2.5k figure I stated is based on my ears as i've long lost the bassbox files that held the specs.


So its a deal of grab the most expensive one that's within budget?

What about size, some are tiny and some are huge, is that purely in relation to the cutoff frequency?
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Originally posted by dmr dmr wrote:

What about size, some are tiny and some are huge, is that purely in relation to the cutoff frequency?

Yes it is. Dont mind choosing one playing a bit lower though. It can avoid mountain in group delay response.
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Just a couple of observations, that may help in your decision making. 2.5k seems quite high for a 12 inch to play. It will start to beam long before that. I'd be looking at a crossover point of about 1.5k. Also, do you need a screw thread driver? There is a much wider choice of bolt on drivers, offering better performance for similar money. Although I'm not expressly recommending this driver horn combo, as I've never used it myself, but you could try something along the lines of P audio BM-D446 mk2 and Faital Pro LTH-102, crossing over at 1.5k ish. Good luck with your project!!
Nothing is foolproof because fools are so ingenious
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dmr View Drop Down
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Got me eye on the P Audio SD-34BF (plays down to 1.2k) with the super cheap Fane FH 240. Anybody used the FH 240? It has the dispersion/cutoff I want but i'm concerned that with that price tag id be better of with something else?
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Whatever the specs say, the SD34BF will not work down to 1.2kHz with any significant power handling. It only has a 34mm diaphragm. For any 1" compression driver to work that low would also require quite a large horn.

Most 1" drivers, especially cheaper ones are happier above 2kHz. The BM-D446 will run a bit lower than some of the other options but at the expense of some sparkle at the top end.

The SD-44BF is a nice driver for not a lot more money and a bit more power handling than the 34, especially if you want to run with a lower crossover point.

If you stick with the SD34 then I'd recommend a crossover of 2.2 or 2.5kHz. The Fane horn should be fine, you'd have to spend quite a bit more to get anything significantly better. The combo will be a big improvement on Piezo's anyway. Unfortunately crossovers to run it all (not forgetting you'll need to add a suitable L-Pad too) will increase the cost.
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BMS 4554 + 18 Sound XT1464

Or to save a little money

BMS 4538 + 18 Sound XT1086

Job done 



Edited by Sinai Sound - 24 February 2017 at 9:10am
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dmr View Drop Down
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The BMS/18Sound options are a little outside my budget - I don't expect to see any of the money back that I put into this project!

I think ill order the SD-44BF + Fane horn combination tonight.

On the topic of powering these - I've got a DCX that ill run 3 way. What would be the recommended power for the 44BF? I've got a little Hafler 50W into 8R amp kicking about, so long as its not driven into clipping will that be alright? Or do you need quite a lot of overhead with HF stuff?
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BMS 4524 + 18sound XT120 !

I have these for sale if you are interested..
We need more SPL!
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Originally posted by dmr dmr wrote:

The BMS/18Sound options are a little outside my budget - I don't expect to see any of the money back that I put into this project!

<span style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">I think ill order the SD-44BF + Fane horn combination tonight.</span>
<span style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">
</span>
<span style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">On the topic of powering these - I've got a DCX that ill run 3 way. What would be the recommended power for the 44BF? I've got a little Hafler 50W into 8R amp kicking about, so long as its not driven into clipping will that be alright? Or do you need quite a lot of overhead with HF stuff?</span>


I would definitely recommend a bit more headroom. I work on about 4x RMS for HF. You don't want to risk it ever clipping.
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