Westrex speakers

[NickH]

Daytime drinkin' ??

[Fort Knox]

I find it a bit curious that the westrex is persumed (without hearing it) to be lively.
I haven't heard this model ...Westrex... but I have heard a larger westrex version..
and it .. sounded a lot more linear and natural than you might imagine by simply looking at it...
Sort of reminded me of the old Table radios w/tubes

[gasfan]

Aw jeez andywin, please don't be that way! I intended no slight whatsoever toward you, and do appreciate your sizable contributions, including your pictures, descriptions and the origin of the thread. I suppose I could have stated things in a better way. You need to understand that when the Lansing Heritage site founders encounter an original source such as a Westrex field engineer we get a bit weak in the knees. We started off a dozen years ago studying the enigmatic Jim Lansing, who died in 1949. Finding original sources to document such a person is not easy, though I have spoken with more than fifteen people who knew him. More often we speak with people who have heard such and such from so and so and often the stories disagree.

Mr Fenner, I eye such a thing as a compression driver turned around and used as a direct radiator with suspicion, for the reasons you have outlined. It appears that the engineers' goals were to achieve a relatively uncolored sound at living room levels, and I suppose they succeeded in this. This was the era of congested-sounding midrange horns; thankfully we have made some progress since then. One well known studio engineer here in L.A. is well known for having used Altec 1" drivers turned around as tweeters in his monitor systems over the years.

I've been following this thread with serious attention as I'm in the process of building a pair of 4345 with 2206 mid-bass and 2390 mid-range. Why? Just for fun. But the idea of building in the ability to quick-change to direct radiator with the 2441 and 2310 is intriguing. It seems a mid sized (living room) setting could benefit from this configuration. My question is, would you consider attempting it and thus eliminate the need for the 2405?

[Fort Knox]

I've been following this thread with serious attention as I'm in the process of building a pair of 4345 with 2206 mid-bass and 2390 mid-range. Why? Just for fun. But the idea of building in the ability to quick-change to direct radiator with the 2441 and 2310 is intriguing. It seems a mid sized (living room) setting could benefit from this configuration. My question is, would you consider attempting it and thus eliminate the need for the 2405?

Hey Man...You can try it.,,,.... Necessity is the mother of invention carry on...

[gasfan]

Hey Man...You can try it.,,,.... Necessity is the mother of invention carry on...

Sure, but it's become fairly obvious that the diaphragm would need to be damped. I would think the distance from the plate to the diaphragm is critical. It seems the closer the better without the diaphragm bottoming out on it during play. I suppose maximum travel in half in a 2441 reversed and sealed is what one would need to know to start with. Any ideas?

Forever grateful

[Mr. Widget]

Reversed compression drivers...

Many decades ago when testing a newly re-diaphragmed pair of LE-85s, I discovered that using the driver as a large dome radiator sounded far more linear than using it as originally intended. I considered a number of ways to implement my "discovery"... and after a bit of thought, "Hey, why not use a properly designed dome?"

This led me down the path of using Dynaudio dome radiators, ribbon tweeters and other heretical driver types and for the next couple of decades that is where my DIY projects went... eventually I discovered beryllium and that horn designs had improved and the sensitivity gain and pattern control of using a modern horn led me back to compression drivers and horns.

If you don't over-power the driver, you can have a lot of fun experimenting with them.


Widget

[Robh3606]

Reversed compression drivers...

If you decide to go that way be careful as excessive excursion is not a good thing. Either use Titanium or a Symbiotic with a mylar surround. What ever you do don't use an all aluminum like the original 2441 diaphragm or a 2440. It could potentially shorten the length of the diaphragms life by quite a bit and they are not cheap. Ti would be a much better material in this application.

Way Off Topic

Rob

[gferrell]

The 099ti comes to mind.

[gasfan]

Thanks for that insight, guys. Back to the original plan.

[andywin]

I've been following this thread with serious attention as I'm in the process of building a pair of 4345 with 2206 mid-bass and 2390 mid-range. Why? Just for fun. But the idea of building in the ability to quick-change to direct radiator with the 2441 and 2310 is intriguing. It seems a mid sized (living room) setting could benefit from this configuration. My question is, would you consider attempting it and thus eliminate the need for the 2405?

If you do decide to experiment with this you will need to remove the phase plug and provide some front damping. The Westrex uses a shaped plate with about six circular "leaves" of soft polythene. I would think Radian diaphragms with mylar surrounds would be ideal.