Worried about my Audiophile status - full range speaker love

[gmfgmfgmf1]

I now have 3 tri-ax and two "twin tone" full range driver speakers

I also have some expensive conventional speakers - but these old full range units just seem to get me - so satisfying.

Latest antique is this pair of Goodman's Axiom 301. I have read some put tweeters with them. I don't know they sound so good already.

Perhaps I need some intervention.

 

[Drugolf]

I don't think you are alone with that feeling. They can just be so smooth.

 

[chip18sw]

I have never seen those but they look fantastic!!

 

[gmfgmfgmf1]

Guess I should ask - What are regarded as the best full range drivers?

 

[jeb98]

Guess I should ask - What are regarded as the best full range drivers?

I know many consider the Altec/Western Electric 755a speakers to be "best" or their favorite. I had a pair, and they did some things really well. They brought vocals out in to the forefront and to me, they had enough high frequency extension not to need a tweeter. But, they didn't have enough bass for me, even when I built cabinets that did augment the bass some. If they weren't so expensive I would keep them as a secondary system for listening to jazz and vocals stuff but their value outweighed the cost to hold on to them and I had to sell them. I'm not really a full range driver guy as I need a lot of bass for certain types of music I listen to, but I do miss those speakers sometimes. I recently found some Zenith 49CZ852 speakers and they sound pretty nice but definitely need a tweeter to me.

Best of luck with your goodman speakers by the way!

 

[thomo57]

All my favourite speakers l own are home built and either triaxials or coaxials.
A friend of mine l met several years ago was always into electrostatic speakers and big mono blocks listened to a couple of my systems and has gone ballistic buying old speakers and valve amps.
He's hooked big time

As a foot note.
After he heard mine and expressed interest in them saying" l want those speakers"
I put up a wanted to buy post on gumtree( buy and sell) without telling him.
Within 2 days l was contacted by a seller with a pair of Goodman 301 with mid range, trebax tweeters and crossovers.
My friend was ecstatic and bought them and had the cabinets built.
Since then l think he's bought several pairs of Goodman drivers

 

[slimecity]

I love fullrange sound. I know they arent regarded as the "pinnacle" in sound quality but I love the sound of my fostex FE206en. They are a pretty easily-available modern fullrange driver to get

 

[mhardy6647]

Guess I should ask - What are regarded as the best full range drivers?

There is probably no best; the 755 family was/is a darned good one, but they're (all) also almost outrageously expensive these days.
speaking of the 755(A) -- this is a fun read (IMO)
https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-116

There are many, many, many good choices -- new or vintage, and much has been written here at AK and elsewhere on the topic.

The Lafayette SK-98/Pioneer PIM-8(L) (or PIM-20A) 'biflex' style cone driver is a nice one that isn't exactly below the radar but also isn't terrifyingly expensive, if vintage drivers are of interest.

Pioneer LRE biflexes by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(Blue-basket speaker on the left is an LRE SK-98 -- same basic driver as the PIM-8)

http://rutcho.com/speaker_drivers/pioneer_pim8l/pioneer_pim8l.html
https://audio-heritage.jp/PIONEER-EXCLUSIVE/unit/pim-20a.html

Another personal fave is the Radio Shack 40-1354 5-1/4" twincone driver; these aren't too hard to find and aren't too expensive, either.

source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (1991) -- first appearance in 1983

DSCN5289 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I also like the Fostex FE-207E -- essentially the same as the FE206-E, but shielded and with slightly higher Qts, making it a little easier to get bass from (and, to my ears, a bit better balanced-sounding than the 206, albeit still kind of lean sounding).

DSC_5663 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
FE207E by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(cat added to indicate scale )
... but there are many, many, many more... oh, I said that already

 

[winters860]

I've not played with the 755 family, but after comparing a number of 8" full-range drivers, I've fallen in love with the Stephens Trusonic 80FR. They aren't great contenders for open baffle, and if we're being picky, they benefit from a tweeter, but their sins are largely those of omission.



So far, my runner-up nod would have to go to the Pioneer/Lafayette speakers Mark mentioned, which get downright affordable if you know where to look...

You might have figured it out already, but one conclusion I've come to is that I'm not a fan of whizzer cones.

 

[mhardy6647]

So far, my runner-up nod would have to go to the Pioneer/Lafayette speakers Mark mentioned, which get downright affordable if you know where to look...

So true, so true

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot -- pretty much all "fullrange" drivers will benefit from some HF help -- well, maybe not Lowthers -- they are apt to become lethal if their treble output is enhanced.

 

[WaynerN]

The problem is that almost all full range drivers are not full range. They are either weak at the bottom, weak at the top or shy of power.

A friend of mine acquired a nice pair of Tannoys but of course they were coaxial and required a cross-over. JBL had a few drivers (LE8T), Fostex and even Dayton audio has a couple of models. I certainly like the no cross-over concept....

 

[slimecity]

Plus - a good fullranger is ludicrously efficient and easy to drive. The Fostex Fe206 are something like 96dB sensitivity.

This means you can use some really good, low-power amps. So you can drive some pretty special speakers with pretty special amps.

 

[sqlsavior]

Voxativ full-rangers had a beautiful sound at RMAF 2016.



No need to worry about your audiophile status with these, just your pocketbook...

 

[the skipper]

This is exactly why I rile at the term "audiophile".

You can always find something that sounds better, at least at first*. It's what sounds best over an extended period is the on that I would choose to live with.

* "Change" is not necessarily better, just different. Different always sounds better at first but time can change that.

 

[illinoisteve]

Those 5 1/4" twin-cone Radio Shack speakers look like something made to go into a car door. Are there any inexpensive automotive full-range speakers that could be surprisingly useful in a good-sounding, if minimalist, stereo system?

There is probably no best; the 755 family was/is a darned good one, but they're (all) also almost outrageously expensive these days.
speaking of the 755(A) -- this is a fun read (IMO)
https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-116

There are many, many, many good choices -- new or vintage, and much has been written here at AK and elsewhere on the topic.

The Lafayette SK-98/Pioneer PIM-8(L) (or PIM-20A) 'biflex' style cone driver is a nice one that isn't exactly below the radar but also isn't terrifyingly expensive, if vintage drivers are of interest.

Pioneer LRE biflexes by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(Blue-basket speaker on the left is an LRE SK-98 -- same basic driver as the PIM-8)

http://rutcho.com/speaker_drivers/pioneer_pim8l/pioneer_pim8l.html
https://audio-heritage.jp/PIONEER-EXCLUSIVE/unit/pim-20a.html

Another personal fave is the Radio Shack 40-1354 5-1/4" twincone driver; these aren't too hard to find and aren't too expensive, either.
View attachment 1317103
source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (1991) -- first appearance in 1983

DSCN5289 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I also like the Fostex FE-207E -- essentially the same as the FE206-E, but shielded and with slightly higher Qts, making it a little easier to get bass from (and, to my ears, a bit better balanced-sounding than the 206, albeit still kind of lean sounding).

DSC_5663 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
FE207E by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(cat added to indicate scale )
... but there are many, many, many more... oh, I said that already

 

[mhardy6647]

Those 5 1/4" twin-cone Radio Shack speakers look like something made to go into a car door. Are there any inexpensive automotive full-range speakers that could be surprisingly useful in a good-sounding, if minimalist, stereo system?

They look like that -- because that's exactly what they were... but the fleapower guys discovered that they get the midrange right in a way that's pretty rare in any driver -- much less a cheap-jack one from Radio Shack.

There have been occasional car audio drivers that 'crossed over' into hifi, yes -- they're few and far between, and even the ones that developed something of a following were, shall we say, acquired tastes. One that pops into mind was a Radio Shack 4 x 10 inch twincone; catalog number 40-1297.


source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (1988)


As an aside, I once had a Chevy Cavalier that used the 4 x 10" speakers - GM foisted these things on America for a few years in the 1980s in several, perhaps many, models

The other "popular" (in certain circles) R/S "fullrange" driver of that era was the 4" 40-1197, which was an OEM version of Fostex's FE-103. This one wasn't aimed at car audio per se, but they did develop a reputation. R/S sold them for many, many ears (ca. 2 decades), and Fostex still has a couple of FE-103 models in production. Personally, I preferred - and still prefer - the 40-1354. I've always found the 40-1197 to be a bit tizzy-sounding. Folks had all kinds of tricks and tweaks to tame these drivers -- Dammar varnish treatment of the cone being one of them.


source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (1968)


source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (2000)

... that's thirty-two years in their catalogs

James (Jamie) Melhuish's Full Range Driver site & forum was/were Mecca for the fullrangers back in the day. There used to be an archive of the forum on a chipamp site -- I have no idea if it is still extant or not.

 

[Gazdatronik]

Those 5 1/4" twin-cone Radio Shack speakers look like something made to go into a car door. Are there any inexpensive automotive full-range speakers that could be surprisingly useful in a good-sounding, if minimalist, stereo system?

Try out the stock 6.5" speakers from the front door of an early 90's Ford Taurus. They are quite nice.

 

[45rpmspinner]

They look like that -- because that's exactly what they were... but the fleapower guys discovered that they get the midrange right in a way that's pretty rare in any driver -- much less a cheap-jack one from Radio Shack.

There have been occasional car audio drivers that 'crossed over' into hifi, yes -- they're few and far between, and even the ones that developed something of a following were, shall we say, acquired tastes. One that pops into mind was a Radio Shack 4 x 10 inch twincone; catalog number 40-1297.

View attachment 1317553
source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (1988)


As an aside, I once had a Chevy Cavalier that used the 4 x 10" speakers - GM foisted these things on America for a few years in the 1980s in several, perhaps many, models

The other "popular" (in certain circles) R/S "fullrange" driver of that era was the 4" 40-1197, which was an OEM version of Fostex's FE-103. This one wasn't aimed at car audio per se, but they did develop a reputation. R/S sold them for many, many ears (ca. 2 decades), and Fostex still has a couple of FE-103 models in production. Personally, I preferred - and still prefer - the 40-1354. I've always found the 40-1197 to be a bit tizzy-sounding. Folks had all kinds of tricks and tweaks to tame these drivers -- Dammar varnish treatment of the cone being one of them.

View attachment 1317554
source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (1968)

View attachment 1317558
source: www.radioshackcatalogs.com (2000)

... that's thirty-two years in their catalogs

James (Jamie) Melhuish's Full Range Driver site & forum was/were Mecca for the fullrangers back in the day. There used to be an archive of the forum on a chipamp site -- I have no idea if it is still extant or not.

That's really funny.
Awhile back I pulled a box out my storage unit which contained the RS drivers I pulled from my 69 Mustang when I sold it in 1978.
What can I say? I'm clearly a long time driver hoarder.
They're no. 5 [5x7in] shown in the catalog.

I didn't realize that RS sold a version of FE 103's.
Look basically the same as the 10F3-3AF's found in Akai R2R's.

 

[JoeESP9]

The only true single driver full range speakers are large electrostatics.

 

[illinoisteve]

For some reason I was thinking of oval car speakers, as possible better car speakers, when I asked about those RS 5 1/4" ones. Then I hear about 4x10s and 5x7s.