What's the best 7" & 8" woofers available?

Mr Ehider your post is THE best post for the year on audiogon...points of the UTMOST importance..and yes ain't nobody listening...and could care less..but like you i'm after a SUPERIOR balanced system..and that means superior drivers + SUPERIOR xovers...which i'm afraid if the commercials did use both..their prices would be even higher...and they are already over priced..the xovers you mention sound excellent...i'm very green on the tech info of speakers..so the xovers you mention i'll have to discuss with my designer...my jadis has an out so i may be in luck to biamp the 3 way SEAS W22 + SEAS W12CY + PHILIPS RT8P..if the out RCA jack is for biamping then i'll look into a used ELECTROCOMPANIET AW series stero amp to drive the 8 inch SEAS woofer and let the jadis take care of the 4.5 inch SEAS midwoofer and the RT8 isodynamic tweeter...BTW go to the LINWITZ (spelling) web page ..this master of speaker engineering talks about active xovers allowing the amps to perform at a much greater efficiency than your basic passiver xovers..yes a skanning woofer on a poor design xover and inferior quality xover parts is a defeating objective..and the ETONS do not rank with the top 4 SEAS SCANSPEAK FOCAL PHL..these 4 offer superior technology..and if you can afford..go SKANNING..yes the folks are spending $$! and some $$$..$! on interconnects..and totally ignoring the drivers and xovers in their speakers..i've got a story to tell about MEADOWLARK's web page..i'll save for later..keep me informed about your researches in the xover tech..thanks tweekerman out

Tweekerman,

Thanks so much for the complement. I've been writing here for the last two years not to stroke my ego, or push what I own on others, but to help others with their quest to find great sound, without all the hype or non-sense. Lately I've about given up because these forums are dominated by others who want to prove that their current equipment purchases are the best for everyone (There are some good posters, but there are more product pushing posters IMHO). I really appreciate when someone realizes that I'm passing EXTREMELY valuable information on to them.

I've spent over 20 years in high end audio, getting to know many of the big name desingers personally and getting on the "inside" of some high end reviewers. Unfortunately, these guys are a big part of the problem. The reviewers are just propenciating the idea that you have to spend stupid money to get "over the top" sound. Most of the circuit designers are re-circulating existing circuit designs, and are constantly finding new ways to charge a fortune for their so-called "best of the best" products.

I find it hillarious that my custom little pre-amplifier is cleaner sounding that all the AR, Krell, Pass, Rowland, Spectral, CJ, Levinson and other pricy gear I've compared it to. What's so hillarious is that it only cost $750.00 to build. Imagine the reactions at various high-end dealers when this little tiny box beats their $10,000.00+ top of the line pre-amplifiers. It's become a truly sad state of affairs in high end. Everybody thinks you have to spend thousands and thousands, just to get great sound. Oh well, enough said on this subject...

In regard to your posting regarding active crossovers, you are dead on man! This is the wave of the future, yet nobody is paying attention yet. Active XO's allow each amplifer to couple to that particular driver better, which in turn will give you greater detail extraction. If done properly, it is the TRUE "state of the art" way to properly integrate speakers and amplifers. We will shortly see this happen as the newest wave of digital amplifers make their way into silicon chipsets by the Japanese manufacturers, in the next couple of years. Analog amplification is truly doomed in the long run.

I'm telling everyone I know to aquire the new AV Reality digital amplifier (while they are cheap, before the patent royalties on the ICE patent starts charging more to use this design). Every reviewer in Europe who has heard it, has purchased one. They are selling like ice-cream on a warm summer day in Europe. Last week an ultra high end magazine editor who used Gryphon mono-blocks (way more pricy than a Levinson or Krell, but definately a top conteder for the best of the best in anlog amplification) was shocked that the AV Reality digital amp was better sounding in every respect. (He bought one also).

We have entered a paradigm shift in amplification technology, yet no one is raving about this breakthrough??. I guess there are too may Krell type owners who just love their big expensive mono-blocks, and have egos to satisfy.

Thanks again for the kudos!

Humble thanks from me too for all the info. Now,
a Zobel question. Will a multi-way speaker with all-active
crossovers benefit as much (or at all) as passive crossover
multi-way system?

Rbj, the answer to your question depends on the drivers and their crossover points. When using active crossovers, they should be used to bracket the ranges that the drivers are most suited to drive.If you use only the flattest center sections of the response curve for that driver, then you will likely also be free of the typical phase shifting and impedance rise areas of that driver. Use steep enough slopes to have them well rolled off before they reach the "bad zones". The woofer will probably benefit from a Zobel network tuned for the resonant freq(Fs) to deal with the spike around that freq. The tweeter may also have a similar problem, depending on where it is crossed-in. If you try to run any of the drivers in a wide-range manner, you are likely to need it due to your running into the extreme upper and lower freq.s that driver can handle. This is where most phase shift and impedance rises occur with most drivers(there are exceptions).I have found it to be very beneficial in single driver systems also, where the impedance peaks on both ends of the spectrum must be dealt with. Very useful circuits.

I have also enjoyed this thread. I almost always read all the speaker threads but this one really zeros in on the huge rip off most manufactures charge for their products. All of my equipment sounds great (to my ears) and are either produced by company's that represent great value (in high ends terms) or I buy a great piece used. I have been wondering for quite some time if I would be capable of building a quality speaker, amp, pre-amp myself using top quality brands. You guys have me fired up. Ehider I have been looking for a new pre-amp I wonder if you could share with us a site or components you used with your pre-amp. Iam interested.