Getting the best out of lowther drivers (BD-Design)
by daiwok 
, Hong Kong, Monday, October 01, 2007, 05:25 (6044 days ago)
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
Interesting article, but unless I'm missing something it seems to finish half way.
Teasing text like:
I will tell you more later about the advantages and drawbacks of this new profile.
I did not wrote any comment for now : I will give my analysis later
It also fails to cover the holey phase plug.:shame:
The article was written in Dec 2003 - so where is the rest
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
by daiwok , Hong Kong, Monday, October 01, 2007, 16:38 (6044 days ago) @ unknown
Hi Chris,
yes, baffling after all the work and data, no conclusion...and that was in 2003.
The ideas are good, so I am going to give it ago. I hope this thread stimulates some results for all. I have some wacky ideas myself 
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
Yes, when I had PM5As a good while ago before the rolled cone days, these could drill through steel at 10 paces:shame:
I tried a number of modded phase plugs, including soft rubber and a variety of wooden shapes, some like light bulbs and others like those found in the windows of Amsterdam. :wink:
The most successful was using the standard glossy plastic phase plug. I rolled out Blu Tack sausages about 3mm wide. 4 lengths were placed up and over the front of the plug so it looked like an 8 spoke star from the front. This was by far the most successful configuration. Sorry no pictures but hope this makes sense.
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
by daiwok , Hong Kong, Monday, October 01, 2007, 17:16 (6044 days ago) @ unknown
http://www.musique-concrete.com/Eexemples.htm
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/ggoodacre/centauri/diy/plugs.html
more on the subject.
My PM4a have the new rolled whizzers, but I like to experiment more. I have heard Bert's new acrylic phase plug in a pair of AER MD3 - very nice 
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
by MikeH , Thursday, October 04, 2007, 00:42 (6041 days ago) @ daiwok
Something rather peculiar.
(all of the bits of paper are marking guides and are discarded)
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
by Bert , Thursday, October 04, 2007, 11:10 (6041 days ago) @ MikeH
Something rather peculiar.
Nice looking for sure....and all the layers will for sure make the Lowther sound very different. I see a few transparent layers and on top of that the art...
I wonder what the moving mass (mms) will be when completely finished. Only that will give a major difference on its own...
Bert
--
BD-Design - Only the Best!
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
Weird...
Do you know what the theory behind this is?
Ivo
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
by MikeH , Friday, October 05, 2007, 13:23 (6040 days ago) @ Ivo
It is called EnABL and it is patented. I don't fully understand it, I will explain as I understand which may not be fully correct. the idea is to add the blocks of dense paint in a pattern designed for diffusion of waves near the changes in material in the cone, these act like those huge concrete things they put in the water near the shore to diffuse the waves.
there is a very, very light coating of clear over the top. (Tamiya Micro scale gloss I think, thinned down 50%)
It reduces the reflections within the driver's diaphragm by diffusing the sudden changes in material near the edges of the surround and the voice coil. No more "hall of mirrors" within the speaker cone material = more quiet sounds can be heard in the recording that happen behind the loud noises.
Many measurements have been made. MMS difference is next to nothing, there is a change but very small. It really is not much paint at all.
BudP on Diyaudio is the brains behind it, he is very happy to share information and try new drivers for learning.
Look here and soon after for some good explanation from those that really understand it:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1313222#post1313222
Even if it's only 10% as good as it appears it's right up your alley Bert.
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
by Bert , Monday, October 08, 2007, 19:02 (6037 days ago) @ MikeH
HI Mike,
Many measurements have been made. MMS difference is next to nothing, there
is a change but very small. It really is not much paint at all.
There will be at least 1 gram more which is about 25% more weight of the original diaphragm. Measuring Mms on full-range drivers due calculation does not work well. You should make your own cone by hand and apply the art and then you will know how much weight is added...
If a diaphragm is shiny then the paint is soaked completely in the cone and the second layer makes it shiny...
BudP on Diyaudio is the brains behind it, he is very happy to share
information and try new drivers for learning.
Always interesting and I am sure that the Lowther sounds better in some ways but also less in other ways (more towards Stamm drivers).
Bert
--
BD-Design - Only the Best!
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
Some people prefer no phase plug at all. This sounds particularly good on solo vocals. The early AERs (Mk1s) even came without phase plugs.
I was listening to my DX4s last night and without the phase plugs noted the 12mm deep recess in the centre of the whizzer down to where the centre pole of the magnet is. This abrupt hollow right at the centre of the sound emitter seems like it could have potential to reflect and disturb the higher frequencies.
Now a short 'phase plug' about 12mm long would get rid of this recess. One could then experiment with the forward face of this plug. It could be hard, shiny and reflective, or soft and absorbing. Equally it could be hollowed to give a concave shape which would seem to fit nicely with the shape of the whizzer.
Looks like time to get the wood turning lathe out again.:wink:
Getting the best out of lowther drivers
by Bert , Monday, October 08, 2007, 18:58 (6037 days ago) @ unknown
Hi Chris,
Some people prefer no phase plug at all. This sounds particularly good on
solo vocals. The early AERs (Mk1s) even came without phase plugs.
The AER's were designed to be used without plugs if not front loaded....
Lowthers do need some sort of plug to balance things out a bit. It will surely sound better on some music without but on other music they sound better (even with the standard bullets!).
Looks like time to get the wood turning lathe out again.:wink:
Have fun with that....from memory, a short 12mm flat plug won't make things better though.
Ciao,
Bert
--
BD-Design - Only the Best!