There's some exciting news coming from one of my favorite driver manufacturers B&C out of Via Poggiomoro Italy. They've very recently introduced a new compression driver that is very unique compared to other drivers even from other manufacturers. What makes this driver unique is the high bandwidth covering an extremely low 300Hz - 20kHz! Normally this only achieved by using exotic and expensive Beryllium for the diaphragm. This blog post will discuss the implications of this new driver for my own horn products. B&C actually doesn't currently offer a horn for this compression driver. B&C had to have a custom horn made so that testing could be carried out by some reviewers such as AudioXpress Test Bench which can be found here.
Photo courtesy of AudioXpress Test Bench
The B&C DCX464 is a prime candidate for use with my large format 300Hz Biradial Wood Horn (ES-290 Biradial). The ES-290 is an exclusive product that's specifically designed for audiophile 2-channel music applications. The product link can be found here.
The DCX464 exhibits excellent acoustical measurements which I comment here on briefly. Starting with the excellent frequency response for the mid range section...
Photo courtesy of AudioXpress Test Bench
The midrange is extremely linear from 300Hz - 3.5kHz with an astounding 110dB@1watt sensivity. Triode amplifier fans will be thrilled with this result! This translates into 112dB at the listening position with a 300B tube amplifier outputting only 8 watts.
The high frequency portion of the driver exhibits almost as good frequency response which extends to 20kHz strongly.
Photo courtesy of AudioXpress Test Bench
But what I'm really excited about is the excellent cumulative spectral decay plots that show no significant resonance from the driver across the specific bandwidth that each would cover. The decay plot shown below shows that the driver is fully decayed -25dB before the next cycle (3ms@300Hz & 1ms@1kHz). This translates into very non-resonant sound with excellent low level detail retrieval.
Photo courtesy of AudioXpress Test Bench
The same can be said for the high frequency portion of the driver...
Photo courtesy of AudioXpress Test Bench
The DXC464 uses a 1.4" throat which translates into a wider coverage pattern in the upper treble compared to a 2.0" throat. Below is the off-axis coloured polar map for the ES-600 horn which uses a 1.4" throat. I would expect the ES-290 with a 1.4" throat to perform similar. For some context this coverage would be comparable to a 1" dome tweeter. A wide coverage pattern in the upper treble translates into a wide soundstage and good overall timbrel balance with the rest of the frequency spectrum.
Below is a rendering of the ES-290 with a new mid-bass horn that I'm developing below it. The person to the left is shown for scale. The ES-290 is a full 688mm wide 300mm tall.
Below is the ES-290 being CNC machined from solid walnut.
For inquiries please contact joseph_crowe@josephcrowe.com