Testing the Faital Pro HF200 driver on the Eliptrac400

[Rudy81]

Dave, I'm almost there. Yes, the sanding does take a long time. Started out with a rough file, then used dremel sanding tool, then my orbital sander where it fits and finally, good old elbow grease. This takes a tremendous amount of work! I just hope it will be worth it. I am planning on usin lacquer for the finish. Is that what you used on yours?

[Guest David H]

I am planning on usin lacquer for the finish. Is that what you used on yours?

Rudy, first I dump about a half a can of rustoleum primer on the inside of the horn only, which turns the surface of the mdf very hard, then I apply rustoleum flat black and sand between coats til I have the desired finish. Last I apply Rustoleum black fine textured finish.

Dave

[djk]

"Started out with a rough file,"

The best?

Half-round surform file.

[Guest David H]

That file works nicely.

Dave

[Rudy81]

I started a short build thread here:

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/147077.aspx

so as not to take up this thread with my DIY project. I will be adding the test results of the HF200 and this horn as well as the P. Audio horns I have.

[Rudy81]

Here are the results of a sweep done to compare the HF200 with the P. Audio BM-D750 (K69) on my P. Audio 4525 horns. The HF200 certainly has a better top end I will be installing those in the P. Audio horns in a couple of days. Sadly, the round DIY project did not produce good enough results to replace the P. Auio horns.

Green line is the HF 200, Black line is the BM-D750

[Rudy81]

Al, or anyone else familiar with theHF200. I noticed when I was removing the driver form my DIY horn that the metal enclosure which contains the throat of the driver was loose. I removed the two screws holding it and realized the driver opening is smaller than the 2" throat, unlike my P. Audio driver which has a 2" throat. Is there any difference in physical performance based on this throat size difference?

[DrWho]

Here are the results of a sweep done to compare the HF200 with the P. Audio BM-D750 (K69) on my P. Audio 4525 horns. The HF200 certainly has a better top end I will be installing those in the P. Audio horns in a couple of days. Sadly, the round DIY project did not produce good enough results to replace the P. Auio horns.

Green line is the HF 200, Black line is the BM-D750

Is this with the exact same input voltage? And is the nominal impedance the same? If you normalize the response so that the midband (2k to 5k) is the same amplitude, then the BMD750 looks to have very comparable (if not better) HF performance....on-axis at least. Could you do an off-axis comparison too?

[Rudy81]

DrWho, I will see how much time I have today to work on this. I'm about to get started. From the EQ I have had to do on the P. Audio drivers, I'm pretty sure they don't have as good HF performance as the Faital Pro driver. That was the sole reason for getting the Faital drivers. I know they are close, but I beleive the Faital Pro driver is a bit better.

[Rudy81]

DrWho, I ran a whole bunch of more sweeps with all my DIY horns and also another set comparing the HF200 with the BM-D750 in the P. Audio 4525 horn.

I'll post that one here for comparisson with the graph above. The BM-D750 does a respectable job, but the HF200 seems to be more consistant at the higher frequencies and does not have the huge drop that the BM-D750 shows.

These tests were with the horns pointed skyward. I will post some more graphs of my DIY horns on that thread, including off axis plots.

[Rudy81]

Al, since the HF200 does not have a 2" exit, but rather a type of hood that takes the exit from less than 2" to 2", is there any detrimental effects to this setup? Is distortion an issue with the smaller exit? Just asking since the change in flare from the driver to my DIY horn may be causing a slight anomaly at 14kHz. Is this driver considered a true 2" driver?

[ClaudeJ1]

The K-55 is an amazing driver. I often receive email from customers looking for a better 1 inch driver for their KHorns. To my knowlege ther isn't a better 1 inch driver for that application, and on top of that the K-55 sounds great.

A bit of praise for the long time reigning LF capable1 inch champ, the "K-55"

I dont know what gave PWK the idea to use an outdoor PA driver for a mid, but I am pleased he did.

Dave.

That's an easy one to answer. He tested the heck out of everything in his Lab. I was in there with him in 1985. He did lots of R&D, even in his 80's (hae was 81 at the time).

[ClaudeJ1]

Thanks VT. I have no info on the GPA are true listening time so nice to hear someone has some info.

I have always thought that you needed a 2" to go as low as 250hz-800hz. But right now it seems for the money these Faital CDs might be one of the best values for money.

If you need to get that range (see my Avatar) you need to find a used Peavey MB-1 horn. I cross mine at 120-700. You can get a used pair with 12" drivers for $500 US per pair or less. Rare but worth it. They are huge and heavy in the 3/4" plywood enclosures, but their 6" throat with Phase Plug gives the best definition of vocals, piano, saxophone, guitar, upper bass, etc. I have ever heard. 109 db/Watt efficiency at 8 ohms. They replaced LaScala bottoms for me on top of my MWMs. Took me years to figure this out. Just remember you are STRAINING these little 1" and 2" drivers at 250 Hz.

They are called Mid Bass, but are really more lower midrange to my way of thinking.

[KT66]

Have comparison intermod plots been made with against stock M55 K401 ?

What about an Ellip 400 and a BMS driver?

[Droogne]

On 28-2-2011 at 12:14 PM, londonloud said:

The Faital HF200 is a great sounding driver, great to see someone is "really" testing them. Never heard of them until recently. We were even more impressed by the HF20AT! Can't wait for someone to test this one as well. We were so taken aback by the sound we started swapping out our RCF 850 drivers in our performence space. They are a little hard to come by, but we did find a sound company in NY that extended a generous deal. Don't know their number offhand, but I'm sure it's posted on their site - www.kprosound.com. Not sure if it was a one shot deal or an ongoing deal. But can't hurt to ask. FYI - their NY location was the only location selling them.

Now let's hope someone decides to test the HF20AK too!

Sorby

Faital pro them self recommend the HF206 for hifi use. It uses a different diaphragm. Did you ever do testing (or known someone who has) between the 200 and 20AT?

 

EDIT: Bob Crites discredits this statement. He wouldnt pick the HF206 for this kind of setup.

 

 

 

 

 

[Spiralzen]

I have a pair of Horns Symphony speakers with Faitalpro HF200 compression drivers. Am looking for recommendations for other drivers that could replace them and make the experience even better. The HF200 is 2" - 140w - 8Ohm - 109db (0,5-18khz) titanium. Perhaps beryllium is the way to  go?