Whizzer cone drivers

Kingharold,

You have an interesting system. I’ve heard, and really liked, the BD3 driver and I also like Fostex bullet tweeters, particularly when they are crossed in very high up in frequency.  What kind of woofers do you use, and what horn loading do you employ?  I like your use of a full-range driver to handle the midrange.  While I am a fan of horn midrange drivers, this typically requires a crossover at 500 hz or even higher, and modern, big, high efficiency woofers aren’t made to come in that high in frequency.  A full-range driver can easily reach low in frequency so that is not a problem.  

The holy grail of these drivers is a flat power response combined with the transient capabilities enabled by the lack of hysteresis inherent in all inductor and capacitor based crossovers. Sonically, that is an immediacy and clarity traditonal speakers simply cannot achieve. The flip side is this is very difficult to accomplish due to the competing requirements.

While we are talking about how to extend the resposne of a single driver, I encourage you all to look up "Woofer-Assisted Wide Band."

Essentially a two-way with a very low crossover point vs. the traditional 2kHz or so crossover point used by most modern 2-way designs.

I have heard, and liked several woofer-assisted wide band speakers.  The Cube Audio Nenuphar Basis is a good example.  It is not just that the woofer adds lower frequency support, the overall sound, including the midrange and upper frequencies sound smoother and better balanced.  I've also heard, and liked, the other way--a tweeter added to a full-range driver.  While that approach also does extend the frequency range of the system, the main thing it does is smooth out harsh peaks in the upper midrange.  There are many ways to use full-range drivers, and ways to tame harsh peaks or nasal coloration or other faults while retaining the incredible speed and dynamics of such drivers.  

enabled by the lack of hysteresis inherent in all inductor and capacitor based crossovers.

I get why driving speakers directly can sound better, but this explanation isn't it.

IME working with 'full range' drivers over the last 20 years they simply aren't. You need both a tweeter and a sub to really make them work.

Whizzer cones seem to often suffer breakups. These are easy to see if you use pink noise and spectral analysis (which is available as an app for a smartphone).