Howdy all. I've got a little time on my hands and have a couple of widgets at my disposal. I'm running Stevens Audio Full Body horns in my ride and have a few compression drivers to try out. The compression drivers I've collected so far are the Stevens Audio Pro Drive, Dayton Audio D250P-8, and the DIY Sound Group DNA-360. I've head them here and there, but not long enough to decide which are the best for me. I've got one of those Dayton Audio DATS thingies, so I decided to test out my compression drivers and see what the impedance curve looks like with and without the horn body. I figure I'd share them and spur some discussion on how important the impedance curve is regarding sound quality.

Lets start off with some measurements of the drivers without the horn.

Up first is a compression driver making a strong showing in the home theater scene, the DIY Sound Group DNA-360.


Here is the DNA-360 in my scientific testing lab.


Up next is Dayton Audio's offering the D250P-8


The Dayton driver going through the ringer.


Lastly the Stevens Audio Pro Driver.


The Pro Driver being tested.


Now lets see the drivers tested with the horn body installed.

First up is the DNA-360. This is what it looks like on the horn body.


Up close of the DNA-360 driver.


Here is the setup in the testing facility.


This is what the DATS had to say about the DNA-360 in the Stevens Audio Full size horn body.


Up next the Dayton D250P-8 installed on the horn.


Here is a close up of the D250P-8.


This is the Dayton driver getting tested.


Here is what the Dayton D250P-8's impedance curve looks like when installed on the Stevens Audio full size horn body.


Lastly the Stevens Audio Pro Driver on the horn body.


Up close and personal with the Pro Driver.


The Pro Drive getting it's turn through the test rig.


The results of the Pro Driver.


For shits and giggles here is my Electro Voice DH1A driver on a AutoTech 350Hz Tractrix Horn body going through the test rig.


The results of the EV.




Here are some side by sides of the D250P-8, DNA-360, and the Pro Driver.


Any thoughts?

um, nice collection@!

 you have no idea.. when you look up audiophile in the dictionary .... there is a picture of hugo!

I envy your collection of compression drivers. I know you say you dont know which one is best for you, but any pros and cons between the three?

Sound quality is a net result influenced by factors sure, but as with any compromise in car audio you deal with it. Much better to start looking at published impedance curves and frequency response charts that were acquired on a turntable if you want to garner some insight.

 

I envy your collection of compression drivers.

Same Here !!!

Thanks for chiming in dudes, I appreciate the complements. I'll throw up some more info as soon as I get a chance.

Hi,.....Damping factor only becomes a concern when it is low enough to affect the speakers frequency response enough to be audible. The lower the damping factor, the more the amps output voltage amplitude will follow (mimic) the speakers impedance curve, even though it is being fed with a flat frequency response input signal.With properly chosen amplifiers and cables, any advantage gained by using a higher impedance load becomes too small to be detected by the human ear. However, when paralleling speakers, the benefits of the extra available output power (+6 dB) are immediately obvious. This makes it a worthwhile choice as long as care is taken to chose the right equipment.

 

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