band (02/18/83)
Has anyone out there any experience with the Strathearn midrange/tweeter unit? It seems to me they would be good units for the amateur to build around since, because they can be run nearly full range, careful tuning of crossovers and boxes is unnecessary. And, it is claimed by some, they are one of the best drivers around. Sooo, does anyone think they sound good enough to be worth the money? (For those who don't know, the drivers are expensive ~$275-350/pair.) What is the driver's resonant frequency? I've been told 175hz and 80hz. Assuming good, 'fast' woofers, what would be a good crossover frequency? One usually doesn't want to use a driver below it's primary resonant frequency so presumably the answer to this question is tied up with the answer to the last question. For the most coherent sound one would want to crossover at as low a frequency as possible but if the driver isn't up to it... How well damped is the driver? The basic mechanism is similar to Magnepan's but Magnepans ring badly, smearing the sound. If the Strathearn's magnets are strong enough (Samarium- cobalt anyone?) and the conductors dense enough then they might approach a true force over area type driver such as an electrostatic or a true ribbon driver (eg the Decca and Pyramid ribbon tweeters) where electromagnetic damping is very effective. Does anyone know of any similar midrange/tweeter drivers? Infinity uses one, the EMIN, in their top two models which I understand is made for them in Japan but is unavailable to the amateur builder. Are there any others? Let's hear it for roll your own audio! Peter Bandurian ucbvax!hplabs!hao!band seismo!hao!band decvax!brl-bmd!hao!band