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Author Topic: Mismatched drivers  (Read 4016 times)

jamesheyser

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Mismatched drivers
« on: December 21, 2022, 04:50:36 PM »

Scale of 1-10, how "bad" is it to run cabinets with mismatched drivers.

In my case it would be running EAW SB180's and SB180z's together. 

One is a touch more efficient and the other a touch higher wattage rating. So I could keep them all below the rating for the z's and the regular 180's would produce about one db less SPL.

Since the cabinets that house the drivers are identical, I'm assuming I don't have to worry about phase issues, and I'm not worried about the 1db, just wondering if I should be sweating something I'm unaware of.


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Nathan Riddle

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2022, 05:07:24 PM »

Scale of 1-10, how "bad" is it to run cabinets with mismatched drivers.

In my case it would be running EAW SB180's and SB180z's together. 

One is a touch more efficient and the other a touch higher wattage rating. So I could keep them all below the rating for the z's and the regular 180's would produce about one db less SPL.

Since the cabinets that house the drivers are identical, I'm assuming I don't have to worry about phase issues, and I'm not worried about the 1db, just wondering if I should be sweating something I'm unaware of.


[insert snark/funnies] "On a scale of 1-10 how much food coloring in a rainbow cake does it take to taste good?"

Nonsensical question.

How 'bad' it is to run simultaneously they are is purely down to phase. Nothing else.

Frequency response & output SPL don't matter from a 'bad' perspective; they matter from an economical perspective though.
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Mike Caldwell

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2022, 05:15:56 PM »

A very non technical test is if you have a 180 playing and you add the 180z does
it get louder?

Set them apart maybe 30 feet, stand out front in the middle, have one side playing and then turn on the other side. Does the sound appear to come from the center point between the speakers.
If yes to the above they are at least in phase...or close to each other.

Helge A Bentsen

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2022, 05:41:52 PM »

IIRC EAW SB180 had RCF L18P200N.
SB180z has 18sound 18LW1400.

IDK about the tunings of these cabinets, haven't researched them myself. My go-to approach would be to verify tuning and cabinet volume, measure the actual response by Smaart (or similar) and give it a go.
If they're identical in tuning/volume, I would consider dropping in new 18LW1400 in the old boxes just to keep things easy in the long run.

FWIW I'm refurbishing a bunch of old RCF subs loaded with L18P200N. Couldn't find any recone kits for them, so I dropped in 18LW1400 and it sounds (and measures) good.
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jamesheyser

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2022, 06:03:20 PM »

IIRC EAW SB180 had RCF L18P200N.
SB180z has 18sound 18LW1400.

IDK about the tunings of these cabinets, haven't researched them myself. My go-to approach would be to verify tuning and cabinet volume, measure the actual response by Smaart (or similar) and give it a go.
If they're identical in tuning/volume, I would consider dropping in new 18LW1400 in the old boxes just to keep things easy in the long run.

FWIW I'm refurbishing a bunch of old RCF subs loaded with L18P200N. Couldn't find any recone kits for them, so I dropped in 18LW1400 and it sounds (and measures) good.
I'm deciding whether to purchase some z's that don't match mine.

Eventually I could afford to upgrade drivers.


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Art Welter

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2022, 06:26:46 PM »

I'm deciding whether to purchase some z's that don't match mine.
If you are correct about the cabinets being identical, and Helge is correct about the drivers used in each, their TS parameters are "close enough for rock & roll", as long as the drivers check out well.

They would each need different EQ to match frequency response, which could also be said of the same drivers if compared at different stages in their life span..
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Mike Caldwell

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2022, 07:45:05 PM »

I going to stay with my low tech approach here assuming you don't have test equipment or software available.

Doing a quick check the cabinets appear to be the same size not sure on the porting and if the drivers are original in both and working pop them with a 9 volt battery + on the battery to + on the speaker connection if all the speakers cones move outward, rock on.
I would run a high pass about 30hz on them.

EAW did not re invent the wheel with those cabinets, some reverse engineering with a speaker enclosure program you would find quite a few choices today that would drop in and work well and have your system all matching.

Unless you know the history of them buying used subs can be a gamble, you may want to check that the drivers at least are the same in the cabinets and have not been randomly replaced.

jamesheyser

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2022, 08:52:28 PM »

I going to stay with my low tech approach here assuming you don't have test equipment or software available.

Doing a quick check the cabinets appear to be the same size not sure on the porting and if the drivers are original in both and working pop them with a 9 volt battery + on the battery to + on the speaker connection if all the speakers cones move outward, rock on.
I would run a high pass about 30hz on them.

EAW did not re invent the wheel with those cabinets, some reverse engineering with a speaker enclosure program you would find quite a few choices today that would drop in and work well and have your system all matching.

Unless you know the history of them buying used subs can be a gamble, you may want to check that the drivers at least are the same in the cabinets and have not been randomly replaced.

Yeah, I'm trying to get the best quality sound possible, but for the time being I'm on a limited budget. Just picking up 8 drivers (eventually I'd like 4 more/8 total of these) isn't feasible. .

But it sounds like mixing won't create any unforeseen catastrophes.

Oh, and yea, whatever I do pick up I'm gonna check the drivers. Blown isn't so bad but a crappy replacement driver is another story.
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Jim McKeveny

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #8 on: December 23, 2022, 01:10:42 PM »

Moderately off-topic-

Had a colleague who reloaded 8 tired EAW SB850F (Flying) subs with new RCF L18p300's. Same model as originally loaded......except somewhere in late 1990's RCF had introduced an entirely new speaker named L18p300. They were completely incompatible with the box: unloading and popping, etc.
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jamesheyser

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Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2022, 01:17:39 PM »

Moderately off-topic-

Had a colleague who reloaded 8 tired EAW SB850F (Flying) subs with new RCF L18p300's. Same model as originally loaded......except somewhere in late 1990's RCF had introduced an entirely new speaker named L18p300. They were completely incompatible with the box: unloading and popping, etc.
When you say "new", do you mean "newly from the manufacturer", "new old stock", or "new to him"?

The first thing that popped into my head when you described those symptoms was a poorly done recone job.

I'm not saying I know better, just thinking aloud.


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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Mismatched drivers
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2022, 01:17:39 PM »


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