ichabod wrote:THanks again. Enjoyed the accompaying pictures better now since I've listened at Joey's, and having met you here in Cebu. If Pasamba has any of his cello works on cds, I'd be happy to get them as well. The cello's tone sounds very good on the OBs with the 403As. Looking at a pair of altec biflex 12 inchers. Are they any better on OBs? Thanks.
I don't think Willie P. has any CDs at the moment. He's in Kansas and we just email from time to time but if I hear something I'll let you know.
Even if the 419A and 412 Biflexes were advertised as full range they really gel with a nice upper midrange horn [811/802, 3000 or Fostex horn]. The 419As Nilo owns came from me and I tried them in both BR [more bass] and OB [better mids]. He finally settled using them as the bass/mid in his 2-way horn set up.
If midrange is a top priority you are better off staying with 8" drivers. For perspective listen to Joel's 755C since that's as close to the best 8" sound one can get IMHO short of a 755A. What sets the 755 series apart from other vintage 8" drivers isn't really a matter of specs, it's their ability to present a 3D quality [especially in the midrange] that fools the ear to think that it's bigger and more extended than it actually is. Of course it goes without saying that all other ancilliary components in the signal chain were voiced to squeeze out the last ounce of performance out of these drivers. IIRC, the bolt pattern of a 403A is shared with the 755s. You should bring it to Joel's place. Who knows maybe that day he might also have 755As, PIM8s, or other drivers there for comparison. Yikes that'll be a gruelling session....
The best midrange performance from 10-12" FR designs are the WE/Altec 756 and 728 which unfortunately are unobtainable, still they need help above 10khz and don't go as low as the later Altec Biflexes. If you want to extend both frequency extremes and stay realistic in price, you may want to investigate vintage Electovoice 12" or 15" trx or trxbs and also Altec 601, 603 or 604. But be ready to sacrifice some of that midrange purity from a good 8" driver....as you see it's still all about compromise and finding one you can live with.
JE