HF driver comparison 23744 vs 34647

[Altec Best]

Pretty difficult to do since used diaphragms don't have odometers or hour meters.

But there's something that should be said for what looks like a 35+ year old diaphragm that is still outperforming a newer one on paper. (Flatter Response)

I finally landed some nice 802-8G HF compression drivers with the "lite" diaphragms part # 23744, so I thought I would do some measurements and see if there is a quantifiable difference between the lite frams and the replacement frams that came along shortly after (part # 34647).

To conduct the tests, I wanted to control as much variability as possible, so I used the same 802-8G driver for all measurements, and swapped out the frams only. I took measurements from exactly the same positions, using the same amp, same levels, etc. I measured using three different horns that I have on hand: the MR931-12, 811, and 511.

Here are the measurements for the 34647 fram on all three horns:


And here are the measurements for the 23744 on all three horns:


Here is the fram side x side compare on the 511 horn:

Nice Job Mike ! I've been meaning to do this myself and then 20 other things seem to take priority "Such as Life"...

2 things stand out to me.That is backed up by what I hear.. So there is a lot of validity to those measurements IMHO. First is the more extended and smoother response of the 23744 which is (My Favorite) small format diaphragm.. And the response on the MR-931 horn, which I never liked much.