Neo Vs Ferrite

It is unusual for a company to release exactly the same drivers with an option of Neo or Ferrite. Have a look at the following two photo's that graphically shows the difference. It is a 12" driver.

Which do you think is more likely to survive if you dropped a cab?

Tony

Hi Tony.

I'm not 100% sure on this, maybe someone can confirm? but this is what i've been lead to belive:-

Early Neo magnets were more susseptable to becoming De-magnatised.
Typicaly when they either became extreamly hot or took a hard knock (such as dropping the cab)
However in recent years with refining and newer manufacturing techniques they are far more stable.
But still not as tough as the Ferrite.

Like i say thou this is just what i got told....

The down side with the ferrite is obviously weight, i have know of large magnets "shifting" when cabs are dropped hard (the Assembly slips off center from the chassis) this would be less likely to happen if you drop a Neo one as it would suffer less shock on inpact due to overall mass of the magnet assembly)

James

Th earlier Neo materials had a few problems but the newer grades are very stable. Because of their intolerance to intense heat it has forced the driver manufacturers to come up with new techniques to cool the motor assembly which has resulted in some outstanding designs.

The sample shown above is a very good example.

Tony

Are these improved cooling techniques not adopted on the ferrite types too?
would stand to reason that any improved cooling would also be utalized on the ferrite range..

James

No, because of the much lower mass of the neo motor assembly they have taken the opportunity to re-design the chassis into a much lighter construction. It is this redesign that has resulted in the newer cooling techniques.

Over the last 12 months most of the exiting driver developments have been Neo based.

I think you will now see the slow decline in the use of ferrite.

Tony

Ahh so the chassis are totally diffrent then....

I've alway liked the idea of Neo stuff with weight reduction and often space saving behind driver.
but been put off by how easely they could become de-magnatised.
For a time it seemed as thou "neo" was the new "Buzz sales word" which dosent always make it "better"

have you had much personal experience with the newer Neo drivers youself?


James

hixxie wrote: Ahh so the chassis are totally diffrent then....

Which is why I posted the original photo because unusually the chassis are the same and of a modern design.


have you had much personal experience with the newer Neo drivers youself?

Just a little bit.


James

This is my take on the subject. Heat has been a concern right from the beginning with Neo. In the early days I was told that when the slug got hot, it would start to lose its magnetic power. The original pieces I saw were 5 times more efficient than ferrite, which put them on a par with original Alnico magnets.
The biggest difference I have noticed is that with a standard bass speaker ( rather than a sub woofer speaker ) there is more accent on the the upper mid band than you would get in a ferrite magnet speaker.
I believe the current market and development of Neos is led by line array systems. A long line of these cabs depends on the weight factor that the Neos provide.
Do the bass speakers sound any better? Personally, I'm not sure.

Tony, To be honest I think that sound quality is not an issue at all. In the example I posted above the 2 bass drivers sound exactly the same. I would only choose the Neo if weight was an issue. For an install I would always take the ferrite if only because it is cheaper.

As far as I am aware there is no scientific reason why drivers with different magnet materials should sound different as long as the gap strength is exactly the same.

Tony

My observation regarding tonal balance come from changing from a ferrite 12 to a Neo in a monitor. Crossing over at around 1.6 into the horn. Two things became apparent. firstly, it seemed a little bass light, and then there was more info in the mid band. This is due to harmonics as much as anything else. The difference between the speakers when measured was very little, but there was certainly a difference to be heard. In this case, the neo was ideal, because it was better in the vocal, which was the main purpose of these particular cabs