whats so special about kevlar speakers?

aidynphoenix

aidynphoenix

Super Member
i've heard a single kevlar speaker before, it was a single 5" driver at (the sound room) i was impressed. there seemed to be alot of details that could be heard in the music.. not sure if it was just the setup or if they had it Eq'd or not.. music source was an ipod..
anyways google didnt get me anywhere when searching for kevlar speakers.
is there anything special about them? what sets them apart from a papercone??
 
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What's so special about Kevlar speakers: A.) They look really cool and "high tech", B.) You can brag to your friends that kevlar is the same material they make bullet proof vests out of! (lol) Kevlar speakers appeared even before "carbon fiber" became a fashion statement among high performance new model car types.

Kevlar is extremely strong and stiff for its weight and should also be impervious to moisture and temperature over time. When B&W began using it they claimed it had better internal damping properties than paper and plastic cone materials and acted more like a pure piston. Its also going to be more expensive to manufacture than more standard cone materials, so it will always be a bit more exclusive.
 
I have had a Kevlar canoe for 25 years and have been very happy with it (lighter and tougher than fiberglass alone).

I Never thought that anyone would make speaker cones out of it though
 
Light weight, but very rigid. Less mass to move, and less likely it's going to distort in shape while it is moving, thus more like a true piston (as mentioned above).

Was it a single, full range driver speaker? That could also sound detailed because of the lack of a complicated crossover or driver interaction. (?). More people more knowledgeable than I will be around shortly...
 
Stiff but little self damping, when they leave their pistonic band and break up they go haywire like metal cones do. Most need complex crosovers and filtering to kill crazy peaks and spikes.

Many people interpret such breakup as increased detail.
 
These be Carbon fiber not Kevlar(R)

Can't wait to finish this project (from 1997 :sigh:) with these little Altecs. Honest to God Carbon fiber. Matching them with the Heil AMT monopoles. Kevlar looks nicer and you can touch it. These fiber beauties are uncoated and will fray if you do.
 

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epicure had a few models back in the '80s . they were ok, but i didn't think they
sounded as good as he poly/paper/foam versions
 
thanks for all the replys and info..
im not positive but i think they were 2 way..
i had listened to a classic rock song.. i cant recall whitch one..
the gutar seemed to just come alive..

it could just be what tom suggested,, (Many people interpret such breakup as increased detail. )
i've had an experience similar to this before, hearing things i never heard before,, out of a verry poor fullrange speaker..
 
aidynphoenix said:
it could just be what tom suggested,, (Many people interpret such breakup as increased detail. )
Click to expand...

Could be, or it could be that they were good speakers/system.

Here are some speakers with 8" Focal kevlars. They sound mighty fine to me.

JH3%20Reference.jpg
 
I got kevlar spkrs in my B&W DM602s and they sound great. If B&W uses them thats good enuf for me. Others do to.
 
Spikedart said:
Can't wait to finish this project (from 1997 :sigh:) with these little Altecs. Honest to God Carbon fiber. Matching them with the Heil AMT monopoles. Kevlar looks nicer and you can touch it. These fiber beauties are uncoated and will fray if you do.
Click to expand...

Carbon fiber is merely paper that's suffered arrested development.

Haven't heard too many Kevlar drivers that I honestly liked, but then that's been awhile. I'll probably be branded a heretic, but I've never cared much for B&W speakers, they never seem to have the "Harbeth Sound."

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
TerryO said:
Carbon fiber is merely paper that's suffered arrested development.

Haven't heard too many Kevlar drivers that I honestly liked, but then that's been awhile. I'll probably be branded a heretic, but I've never cared much for B&W speakers, they never seem to have the "Harbeth Sound."

Best Regards,
TerryO
Click to expand...

It's really odd...I think I went two years without reading "Harbeth" on AK and suddenly in the past week I've seen it multiple times. Nothing wrong with that...just odd.
 
Tom Brennan said:
Stiff but little self damping, when they leave their pistonic band and break up they go haywire like metal cones do. Most need complex crosovers and filtering to kill crazy peaks and spikes.

Many people interpret such breakup as increased detail.
Click to expand...


With the possible (?!) exception of the last statement, Tom hit the nail on the head. Terrible break-up out of (above) the intended passband, requiring complex, expensive, and power-wasting crossover design. A Kevlar FR driver would not be a good idea.
 
burnt toast-like?

TerryO said:
Carbon fiber is merely paper that's suffered arrested development.

Best Regards,
TerryO
Click to expand...

nice description :lmao:

a quick test A to B against the 5 1/4" RS drivers in a small bookshelf system I made proves that these "arrested development" drivers from altec sound far, far better than the paper ones. no boom, better definition.
 
Maybe they were Kevlar or just CF cones on my Alesis monitors. To combat modes there were 3 little weights attached to the cones 120 degrees apart. These had no pretense at being full-rangers; nothing below 70 Hz and a silk dome above.

For the CF/Kevlar I'd be happy to see them use a parabolic or other curve instead... I don't see Tannoy Reds with simple ice cream cone shapes.
 
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Susurus said:
Maybe they were Kevlar or just CF cones on my Alesis monitors. To combat modes there were 3 little weights attached to the cones 120 degrees apart. These had no pretense at being full-rangers; nothing below 70 Hz and a silk dome above.

For the CF/Kevlar I'd be happy to see them use a parabolic or other curve instead... I don't see Tannoy Reds with simple ice cream cone shapes.
Click to expand...

The three weights may have been intended to change the "Q" of the driver. If they aren't actually weights, then they may have been for damping break-up modes, however it's always possible that it was intended as both. It's always neat to get a combo!
:thmbsp:

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
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