Compression drivers and horns.

This section seemed to need a kick start. So here goes.
Lets get a consensus of opinion about horns and drivers to see if we can agree on the ultimate components, based on experience. Only talk about things you have tried. Don't talk about paper specs. There seems to be new stuff coming out all the time, so lets keep every one in formed of what we see and hear and of course use.

Missing word.Edited by: Tony.A.S.S.

I have basically spent the last 6 months building my new P.A. * systems based around BMS drivers and also I bring in a few of the drivers which I also retail.

I just about wore out my ears listening to the various BMS comps. trying to understand the different opinions of them that I had read.

My twopence worth.


They are capable of very high outputs due to the efficiency.

The recommended X-over frequency is as published and I find that they do indeed work perfectly happy down to what appears to be a too low figure.

Sound quality is as we all know very very subjective so obviously my opinions may be completely at odds with yours. My normal listening system at home utilises what are considered to be one of the finest tweeters ever made (Scan-Speak Revelators)so I am used to a very high quality of top end so bear that in mind.

The BMS comps do not like bad sound sources as they are very analytical. With the right recordings they almost disappear but feed them crap and they make no effort to smooth off the edges, you get what you give.
I would be perfectly happy to have them in my home system and the only other ones that I can say that about up till now have been the B&C DE12 and DE250.

The star of the show has to be the diminutive H4524 25w 2000-30000 working range perfectly happy to be crossed at 2000 @ 18db/octave with a sound quality only just behind the Revelators. Its sort of a DE12 on steroids as it has the same 25w handling of the B&C BUT 6db more sensitive. When you take into account its budget price it deserves to be more widely used.

I will write in detail about the co-axial range when i have a bit more time,

Regards

Tony

* With the help of Dom who did the basic boxes.

Is the H4524 a BMS product or something else. To me it's not clear.

The B&C's 1" drivers are tried and tested, I use the DE25 and DE250 and love them.

In my 2x12" mid-tops I've got some of the PD C14 drivers which are sadly discontinued. Shame because the price they were selling them for, they are superb. Excellent built quality and great sound.

I've started using some of the 18Sound compression drivers. Put some ND1080's (also now discontinued strangely) in some 8"+1" boxes (hugely overkill) and was very pleased with the sound quality. Didn't put them up against the B&C's unfortunately. I use the ND1424BT in my 15"+1.4" multipurpose boxes and am very impressed. Excellent high frequency response.

Sorry Tony yes I did not make it clear. Yes it is a newish driver that they released last year but only became available around Christmas time. In the leaflets they say that it is also suitable for studio monitors and I can see why.
PM me your address and I will send you one so you can have a listen.

Tony

Tony is there any online info for the 4524?

Found it
bmspro.com/4524.bms4524.0.html

I'm gonna be boring and go along with the majority. I've use BMS4538s and love them. If you're on a tight budget the B&C DE12 really takes some beating........ Only 25 watts according to the spec, but it's what FBT use in the Maxx4 and Maxx4A cabinets. Plus it's one of the sweetest HF drivers you'll ever hear.

I heard a lot about the B&C 1" ME45 Cast horn, and bought a couple.

They do sound much better than a lot of others, and have got me hooked on quality cast horns now. They are now for sale, as I'm into 2"s now.

I've just obtained 4x Selenium 2" 305TIs, and 4x new diaphragms for them, so will update people once I've heard them.

I'm thinking JBL 2380s might be the job for these...

Got a couple of BMS 4590 (ferrite coaxial 2-inch). They rule. I run them from 600Hz-6.3K and 6.3K-20K active and the crossover point can be made to disappear if you tweak the controller enough.

Horn is the eminence TI2000 2" horn flare. It's only PVC but it's very thick PVC and firmly put together. This horn has a diffraction slot, which worried me at first because I thought it would do bad things to the 10-20K range, but in fact everything seems to work out OK and coverage seems constant-ish.

I've never heard them distorting, but they're overpowered compared to the rest of the system (can leave the rest of the system standing) so I'm not running them at full power. At full power, a cutoff of 800Hz to 1K might be better. Even so, it's a straightforward solution to all your frequency needs above 1K and works well.

Of course, there is the UK school of midrange which says that a cone driver gives better sound. But for amateurs, it can be hard to make the right phase plugs and source the right drivers (phl do a great one for the W8C top, but if you try to order two or four they will say, "Vous avez le cervau d'un sandwich au fromage etvous êtes une pomme de terre avec le visage d'un cochon d'inde. Brûlez dans l'enfer.")
Edited by: jsg