Hi All
This topic was hinted at recently in another thread so I thought I'd give it a bit of air-time .
I've been using le14a woofers ( or le14h ) in original S99 boxes biamped to whatever horn/driver combo grabs my interest ( usually 288-8K on a round horn - but today its 2440/2450SL ). Crossover point is 900 Hz. These small boxes ( virtual volume @ 1.6 cu ft ) give that woofer as much help in the mid as it's ever going to get. The last octave of info in the le14s is really quite dead ( like dead as in a door nail ) . Comparing to a 2235 on the other channel, its' pretty apparent that the huge amount of aquaplas coating in the le14 ( maybe 50 grams ) has smoothered the transients in the mid area. To my ears , the 2235 is able to deliver more life-like mids than a le14a .
As a result of this impression, I find it hard to believe that JBL used this exact cone assembly ( unaltered ) in the S9500 or M9500 series. My guess is the speaker would voice better with a 50/50 split between a mass ring and aquaplas treatment on the cone . (just my opnion)
I've been pursuing assembling a budget version of a S9500 since late fall. That's how I got to this conclusion. But, I found all is not lost for my project. I found putting a le10 in a smaller box sitting over top of the horn has restored the midrange transients. This 10" runs in parrallel with the le14 . They are very complementary to each other. Sensitivities match nicely and one fills in the others response weaknesses. Like the S9500 , this is not a bonafide D'Appolito setup ( the woofers are just too far apart to expect true midrange combining ) Still, works well with no apparent comb filtering . It is a a DIY nightmare when it comes to aligning the coils of the two speaker types because of the two different basket depths. A modular approach is the only way to go for alignment.
Anyone else have experiences of this nature ?
regards<. Earl K