GPA "Classic" alnico's to tame highs on Synergy horn

[Audiomind]

I have Altec 288-8K's . They sound great . They ( IMHO ) are one of the real under-appreciated drivers in the HiFi world . They sport a ceramic magnet . Altec did a great job with the sound of this driver .

I do hear a difference between ceramic & alnico woofers ( thinking JBL here ). I prefer JBL's SFG version of the ceramic magnet . I feel ( it actually ) kicks ( or accelerates ) differently than the alnico equivalent ( as well as sounds cleaner ) .

Generally,

I put more weight ( when choosing a driver ) in the mechanical makeup of the diaphragm versus the magnet type ( for hifi usage ) / something like 80/20 .

I also give much more weight to network design than thinking about magnet considerations .

I consider capacitor choice ( for the HF leg of a crossover ) more important to spend my time on , than magnet type .

Also , amp types are a more important consideration than magnet type .

And so on .

( Obviously ) YMDV !

If there is a place for ceramics I would say subwoofer land might not be a bad use and yes ceramics seem to have a tighter thump usually compared to its alnico equivalent . The higher you go with your woofer, I feel the more need you have for the alnico. Mids alnico for sure. Highs and extreme highs, I am again a little more open to non alnico here.

I do like alnico very much but I would like to say you are correct there are many much more important factors that the magnet type. Alnico is the icing on the cake.

The diaphragm and phase plug design are absolute huge factors and the alnico pales in comparison but when all is sorted out I want icing on my cake.

[Old Guy]

Audiomind, be aware I did live sound probably longer than you have been alive. You are expressing a lot of strong opinions others are not going to agree with. You need to back off and express it as opinion only.

You might want to research the forum a bit and find out more about your conversation partners.

[Audiomind]

Audiomind, be aware I did live sound probably longer than you have been alive. You are expressing a lot of strong opinions others are not going to agree with. You need to back off and express it as opinion only.

You might want to research the forum a bit and find out more about your conversation partners.

Ok, I have now calmed down a bit since I made this thread but there are two issues at hand here on my thread starter so let me clarify a little more in a different manner.

1. My preference for alnico is one which I have a very strong "opinion" about and yes I will agree it is an opinion for anybody not realizing it.

Sorry if it is strong opinion but I believe working at a speaker reconing shop for years and using my own personal funds to buy drivers, borrow drivers and test as many drivers I could get my hands on should carry some weight to have a strong opinion? I did say at the end of my rant to tell me to shut up if you so think so I don't have a problem with being told to cool it.

2. Now here is one of the "facts" that got me all worked up to start the thread in the first place. It has driven me nuts to no end to hear people say there is no difference in sound between the alnico and ceramic versions of a driver using the same phase plug and diaphragm

This is where I might could step on the toes people off that can't hear that well possibly and I apologize and do not mean to harp on someone with a handicap as there is nothing they can do about it and I now realize it may get people upset some to find out they can not hear as well as they thought.

Two groups of listeners

1. I want to know is it that some people really not hearing the difference because of a hearing deficiency. It is fairly easy to test your ears but I wonder how many do it?

2. Does the person have financial reasons for saying there is no difference in sound and shove the customer with a ceramic? This one is the one that really gets under my skin as the people who say there is no difference and know they are lying where as group #1 is innocent and may really not hear a difference.

I have noticed in the past 5 years or so a huge surge in the use of alnico on all type of high end audio products, even phono cartridges.

It is my opinion that a high end speaker maker like Danley should offer a top model with mid and highs of alnico, cost can not be blamed as a factor these days with GPA selling a 1" alnico for $250 retail.

Ok, if you think I am still out of line let me know.

[Panomaniac]

It is my opinion that a high end speaker maker like Danley should offer a top model with mid and highs of alnico, cost can not be blamed as a factor these days with GPA selling a 1" alnico for $250 retail.

Perhaps you have confused "High End" and "Hi-Fi." The Danley line is not for the Hi-Fi market, it's pro and mostly for stadiums. Tom and I have discussed the Hi-Fi market several times, he would certainly like to go there, but the bread and butter of the company is pro sound. "Maybe" if Danley ever gets into the Hi-Fi market, you'll see drivers that are aimed at that. Right now that is not the focus.

[rontec]

I too have no opinion concerning alnico versus ceramic. However having owned several pairs of D220 TI's on both 811 and 511 Altec horns for me the 802 G's are far superior. If you mean to say this is true because the D220 TI's are ceramic and the 802 G's are alnico, I would find doubtful. Far too many other design parameters that must be taken into account to attribute to overall sound quality IMO. Sorry if I missed something here....

[mah]

Ask Tom Danley about his designs, you will get informed answers from him!

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[Audiomind]

Audiomind, be aware I did live sound probably longer than you have been alive. You are expressing a lot of strong opinions others are not going to agree with. You need to back off and express it as opinion only.

You might want to research the forum a bit and find out more about your conversation partners.

Old guy do you think the poll is a little over the top? Now that I look at it again it may be a silly idea.

I have never done a poll before but it may be helpful to get opinions to see if my opinion on alnico has any merit with a user group which has most likely tried both.

[Old Guy]

Regarding ALL speaker choices...as I have said, it's a system composed of speakers and electronics. I suspect some speakers may sound better on some electronics.

Since none of us could possibly live long enough to try ALL possible combinations, best to talk about combinations you like rather than declaring one option to be the absolute.

[Audiomind]

Regarding ALL speaker choices...as I have said, it's a system composed of speakers and electronics. I suspect some speakers may sound better on some electronics.

Since none of us could possibly live long enough to try ALL possible combinations, best to talk about combinations you like rather than declaring one option to be the absolute.

Now I did refer to getting other things in the system correct first in post #7 and I will interject my opinion again that I do believe alnico is the top choice for a system of top quality where everything is well sorted and max resolution and tone is desired.

You do bring up a good point though that in certain lower quality systems sometimes you might want that ceramic magnet to cover up problems and if you have done live sound as long as you say you should know really well what I am talking about.

Although since it is my "opinion" that alnico top choice for a magnet structure,
why waste time trying to get the system right with any other type of magnet
if you are going for the best? ( I assume most want the best sound but I may be wrong.....!??!)

Just food for thought.

[Old Guy]

You don't seem to allow the possibility your opinions might ever be wrong.