what drivers are best? thinking of a DIY project

Audio Nirvana 15' drivers blew me away at RMAF. They were leashed to an EL34 tube amp, and I was astounded by the coherence and extension that could be had for the price.

Morel, ScanSpeak and Seas all built very good drivers. Here's a good place to shop: (https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com) Studying the very comprehensive specs, included in the descriptions, should help you best choose your combo.

Are you thinking a single driver speaker or multi-way?
Passive or active crossover?

DiyAudio.com is the place for that. I'm scratching the surface, looking at building a 4-way active system. I started a couple of threads there you might want to check out. I use the same ID there. Especially the Bass Section thread. A lot of reading.

Lenardaudio.com is a good primer on a number of considerations, but he does believe in 4-way active as THE way. Of course there are many ways, like everything it seems to be more about implementation and tradeoffs. But it's a good read/intro to a number of important aspects.

Cheers!

01-10-15: Rodman99999
Morel, ScanSpeak and Seas all built very good drivers. Here's a good place to shop: (https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com) Studying the very comprehensive specs, included in the descriptions, should help you best choose your combo.

Good advice & agreed, but since the OP asked which are the best drivers, I would add RAAL ribbon tweeters to that list. They are the most natural sounding and best sound staging ribbong tweeters i've ever heard.

ooops sorry

I am building a single driver system nothing too complex

Lowther is too pricey but some feel the midrange on the Fostex is "shouty" so I am asking around

I will go to the sites you guys mention and thanks

I may post again as I have a long road ahead...

best Phil

206en in a nagaoka cabinets a good sound but use nagaoka's design not others

I use my Merrill Zigmahornets daily and can't believe how good they are. You can get the instructions on-line to build the 1/4 wave transmission line cabinets. My only mods were to use better wiring, real binding posts and spiked feet.

The bass from these is tremendous due to the cabinet design. I run them with a 10 watt tube amp and never run out of power. Guessing at 94-94db efficiency. They are very smooth and not "shouty" at all like some mentioned above. The Lowthers have that bump around 1000hz which is very noticable in my opinion.

Since the Merrill drivers are no longer available, my preference would probably be the Jordan 4". The closest I have seen to these in a production model is the Role Audio to give you an idea of what you will get.

I just wanted to mention that if need be you could also add a Super tweeter that would sit on top of your speaker cabinets.
I ended up doing that for a pair of single driver speakers I had.
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/bullet-tweeters/fostex-t90a-top-mount-horn-super-tweeter/
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/index.php?p=home

you guys are the best

I will have to fire up all my brain cells and do more digging

thank you and I will post my progress/questions

Omega speakers.

I will try without the super tweeter for now

I do not see raw drivers on the Omega website

Audio Nirvana was recommended by another person as well they look interesting

I am looking for single driver technology at this time Melbguy1 and maybe I should mention good cabinets plans (not too difficult {this time}).

all the best Phil

Make sure you check out the Markaudio drivers. They are very highly regarded by the single driver DIY crowd.

thanks Seikosha I feel like I am getting somewhere now

thanks to all who have posted I blame myself for not wording my question right

Theres always great posts on madisounds site. Im a firm believer that smaller is better. Id rather sacrifice some bass to get seamless mids to highs. Also, the jordans i suggested are used in the 47 labs speakers.

Elevick. 47 labs makes some great stuff I will look into the Jordans and Madisounds website thanks.

Elevick are you talking about the Jordan EIKONA speaker? Also could you direct me to a website that features your 1/4 wave transmission line cabinets? From what I have seen the design varies and also look a bit complicated. The drivers are intriguing for sure.

thank you for taking the time to help me

Phil

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/zigmahornet/zigmahornet.html

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/139493-zigmahornet-family-project-if-you-cant-beatem-joinem.html

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/diy/1109/merrill_dca_4.htm

The second link should have plans. These are loved by all because they are so easy. The Jordan driver used by 47 labs is just a modded jx series driver. The 92s is new but should all be the same. Not cheap though.

If I were building these as a beginner, I might be inclined to start with cheap 4" drivers from Fostex or similar. Once you are blown away by that quality, then upgrade drivers.

I'll try to upload my office system today or tomorrow so you can see what I'm playing with...

Elevick thanks for the links I see now about the easy cabinet design. I am getting cold feet a bit because I have such a big room (about 16 x 28) but may build these with the cheaper drivers as you suggest (and consider it an on going quest). The magic midrange and perfectly blended highs can be really good I know as a former owner of Quad 57s.

Phil,
I just uploaded my system "My Desktop System". Should show in forum threads.
I did have these in my living room which is 15 x 25 and they did great. Imaging was beyond expectations. I was only using 10 watts so it wasn't earth shattering. 30 watts would have done the job.
If you are worried about filling the room you could consider adding a sub? I did try supertweeters but these are so efficient that it was hard to pick up on the gains. Come to Pittsburgh and listen for yourself?

Elevick,

thankyou so much for the invitation I wish I could fly to Pittsburgh and listen. I just missed some Markaudio 4" drivers on AA $99 down from $160. I will have to get my ducks in a row and report back.

thanks again for all your help