Comparison of midrange drivers - frequency response, distortion (Faital Pro, Alpine, Morel) 

I do appreciate every video you do. Even as someone who has done installs for years its nice to have a visualization of what ive been taught or discovered.

Amazing. I've been looking for a video like this for forever

I’ve been in love with some midranges since I got my Swan M3A powered speakers. I love the sound when matched with ribbon tweeter that is crossed over correctly.

Thank you for this info. I've wondered about these type of speakers for a while. Long time really.

This explains a lot when I tune the Morel 3 way the result is better imaging and stage.

i do car audio in the usa and morel has been my go to midrange for all the same reasons you mention here. i'm the final tuner and totally blind so it was neat that you explained the measurements that have made me go back to these drivers over and over.

There is actually a neodymium version of the Faital Pro drivers called 3FE22, i bought a pair of those to replace the crappy original drivers in a pair of nice wooden JVC cabinets from a micro system, i am running them full range and they sound waaay better compared to the original drivers (i bet they used alot of digital processing to make them sound alright with the original amplifier). There is a peak like you showed that could be flattened with crossover components, but they still sound very good for the price even without crossover, they are very efficient and can get pretty loud and actually play low frequencies way better then i thought they would (cabinets are ported, not sure of tuning freq), but i also have a subwoofer connected to take care of the lowest frequencies.

Just wanted to say thankyou, I've only just come across you're heaps of videos getting into the real nitty gritty of noob sq setup and how to proceed if you have a lot of the gear, you you into a lot of detail that some of the other greats out there just can't because they are sharing info that's super useful but in a business that has them under the pump so you fill the gap they can't always doo that and you're super impartial and test a lot of things yourself but with us getting the benefits really a lot of great information for even people who've been tinkering with car audio for a long time but have not entered the DSP SQ scene until now and even some more experience people no doubt can learn a lot so thank you and to subscription for me because I am just getting into it myself I was always just SPL not competition focused but I just like very loud obnoxious music as I have matured I want something that can still bang but is sound quality focused but can pump when the mood takes me which is quite a fine wine to walk since SQ drivers are not designed to scream at Crazy decibels although some of the high-end stuff is capable due to its bigger Motors bigger voice coils etc in some of their products but the price makes you not want to risk it also so I love the fact that you're looking into different drivers and what they can achieve this is fantastic as I have not purchased my Twitter or mid yet for 3 way active

I'm putting my neo faitals into my pillars next week.... looking forward how they sound in the car.

i keep learning with every video. :)

Cool I like this all ready

Your testing and, hence your results, are ALL OVER the place.

I use a pair of Morel MDM 55 soft dome midranges in a set of tri-amped 3-way speakers I've built. The clairity at loud volumes is unreal with no fatigue whatsoever. I also use an electronic crossover as well so, there's no crossover distortion to speak of. They are very impressive.

This is why they say dont play wavelengths of the radius of the cone. Damn i would love those Morel MDM85's, they are so damn nice

Would be interested to see the waterfall decays response on all these drivers to reveals the settling time, ringing etc. and on/ off grill responses.

I run morel 3 ways in my car with the dome midrange and they sound fantastic.

I should remind you durning the top end of that drivers frequency during the crossover the tweeter is playing to. And the effective diameter is extended to the tweeter radiation surface. And that’s a far greater outer edge to outer edge or center to center distance then even then the small 2/4” drivers alone. This issue is of greater concern then the off axis roll of issues above 3/4k. Cross low and keep the drivers close basically to minimize. The polar issues and for a better directivity index. I’d almost rather have a driver that can encompass the bottom end of the speech bubble than one that plays nicer around 4/6k of axis.

Great info and I appreciate your interest in these “real world” variables with drivers. I do wonder if results would be different outdoors or in another, more neutral environment. The room, itself, and reflections might be influencing many of the results. You did mention distortion over frequency response so there is that. My concern, then, with the dome midrange is having it cross over so high (500) when in a pillar installation. Good stuff!

In your opinion, if you were running the fatal pro lower tier driver. To reduce the third harmonics distortion level or should I say the harshness what EQ bands would you focus on tam down to create a more smoother response?

Love the Morels, I’ve got a set of Elate MW6, CDM 700’s, and Altos. I notice there is a dip around 500hz though, where I have my crossover point to the woofers. Thinking out loud, could this be a phase issue? Or inherent with the drivers somehow?

Hi just a quick question, how would you compare your old Alpine X-W12D4 Subwoofer to your New HDZ-110 and is there a big difference?

Thank you for posting this 🤜🤛 Do measure distortion with the drivers mounted in the car? Or is the method you shown going to give the same results?

So on the Crossover portion you will cross on the electrical crossover or Acostic crossover base on the distortion? Example on one of the mid that the distortion start from 500Hz and below you will cross it at 500Hz High Pass, electric crossover?

What's the baffle step loss? Have you tried the measurements with a cabinet with a narrow front?

You are making so much useful videos, It is going to help the community very much and makes the choosing of driver easier. Midrange play best when installed on the dash in the corner right, how much off axis in general that would be ? 65deg or more?

Hi, some interesing videos you have. One note on loudspeaker measurements on baffle or in box, especialy mid/hi range drivers should be flush with the surface to avoid 1st order diffraction that will disrupt your measurements and freq response. Dips can be as high as 10db. If you don't have some quet acoustic room, try doing your measurements outside ( without nearby walls or obstacles at least 5m ) You will get much cleaner measurement that is more usefull. In house measurements at 1m distance are usually worth nothing.

Would it be possible to do a comparison with a mid driver tha has an inverted dust cap? Like a German miestro M line 4"?

They played the other styles beautifully

So now im wondering how often we can run a midbass up to 500hz to meet the morel? Isthis a thing we can do in most cars or a select few?

Do you think the Alpine status 3-ways are worth the money? I know you said in another video that they are some of the best speakers you have ever heard but maybe their are cheaper speakers that will do a very similar job?

Your interpretations are in some cases here way off. Some of the most expensive speakers in the 6 figures use "regular" cone midranges. Cone material matters...alot as well as surround design. Also the same amount of differences in your graph are either large or small depending on your bias. Stuffing does make a difference as it absorbs the backwave. Lastly the distortion of the driver matters as to which frequency it occurs. The same distortion at 1kHz may be more objectionable than the same percentage at 400Hz.

Hi, regarding cdm, I tried to play with them from 500 Hz to 5000 Hz Led Zeppelin, they don't get along well with the distortion of the guitars. On the other hand, a speaker with a membrane (con) plays Led Zeppelin without problems!!!

Judging from your reaction in the video, I think I see a pair of Morels in your near future.😀 Can’t wait to see them in the Jazz with a proper tune. Do you have an idea where you may cross them with the tweeter? I think the MT230 can cross at 2200hz. Not sure if that’s the tweeter that came with the set though.

Car speakers usually have high Qts and the car door is considered an Infinite Baffle. I don't believe car audio speakers are meant to be mounted in a Box as they have different electromechanical characteristics. I am not sure how that would affect your measurements, but it would be better to mount in a flat board with nothing covering the back of the driver, for testing.

After the video I saw, I realized that too large a volume causes the cdm to have more distortions and I placed them in a volume of about 800-1000 cc. This is probably my problem. I will prepare them for a much smaller volume and check the results. What is your reaction?

How to check distortion with USB mic RTA with REW?

@RAW-CAt- Your voice sounds like another youtube channel, called original omni i think? He talks about Dungeon Defenders 2. Nice video.

Hi thank you very much indeed for this great video You say that the distortion is measured for a 90dB spl at 1 meter ? is there a video where you describe the distortion testing procedure ? i would like to add a comment I listened to a very not flat speaker but with a very low distortion also at high SPLs i enjoy the sound very much indeed Low distortion for me is an essential thing

I connected two in series (8 ohm) and supplied them with 50w.rms from a Genesis 60 two-channel stereo amplifier😅

and a vacuum tube preamplifier

Would you be interested in doing this between an AF GB25 and a Stereo Integrity M3? I'll pay shipping to you and back to me

The Faital unit is in fact a full range driver.

Pretty sure "soft dome" doesn't mean it's soft but rather it isn't made of metal.

I try from 1k and no good

And why Iam talking about distortion? Your measurements show distortion about one percent, right? My distortion charts are about 0,1 to max 0,5 on not really good speakers. So your distortions are about ten times worse? You wouldnt like speaker like that...

I do appologize here becouse Iam not trying to be negative, but I thing the measurements are done wrong way. If you really want to see, what the speaker is doing itself, you should measure 1cm from the cone. Just in that way you see the distortion as it should be. But of course you cant measure that way in angles. But you shouldnt have anything in one meter distance. So even your floor is a bit too close... And who cares about issues at 8kHz if you want to use tweeter anyway? I preffer to cross them in lower frequency to have longer waves to properly overlay between mid and tweeter, right? Becouse 8kHz is like 4,2cm short.

You can do better.