So... trying to pick up all the lose ends
Zvu has a point about the 10F. I can afford it and it measures really well. But Headshake has a good point too. It's very small and even though the low mass and good measurements are close to ideal, then my SB23 will suffer a bit, because of distortion - If it has to be clean, let it be clean.
I'm willing to change woofers too. Out with the paper SB and in with some Dayton RS225's or maybe a single Satori WO24.
MrPeabody could be right about the CTC - but the 10F is very small and if I went for the Bliesma T25 - which is even smaller - like Zvu mentioned - , then they would all be even closer. But here the T25 surprises me a bit - that off-axis looks super smooth.... what about the front baffle?
Keith Conroy has mentioned some details about drivers - that kinda all points to a Textreme - like the 5" 13TX that I started out with in my questions. But what I mostly see, is drivers having higher mass, for them to play lower in a 2 way design - not the best midrange right?
My current RS125's cone weighs around 5gr. The 10F weighs 3 gr - better I guess - and smaller too. Physics seems to rule here.
It would be nice for them not to have a really annoying shape, so I need some weird cut-out and end up with a speaker that is also not that nice to look at...... looks is nice - after all.
I mostly use 4'th order LR filters. It seems like a good compromise between all the hard choices in filtering a speaker - at least between midrange and tweeter that is. The software I use, can pin-point exactly the gain and Q that would fit a given EQ best. So if I have a pump in the response. Then I can actually simulate the change in the response - as I change the response in the DSP.
I run 3 x 200W in 8 ohms for the mains and has 800W class H amplifier for the subwoofers. The system is really quiet and refined, which makes it awesome to listen to the depth of recordings and enjoying the accurate position of voices and instrument in the sound image.
The reason I go for a well behaved dispersion/directivity. Is because I always liked speakers with this type of behavior. Building my speaker with the same criteria - seem to make me relax when listening to music and simply makes me want more.
Wavecor is interesting, since they have a very high Qms - which should be good.... even though it has a rather high weight of the cone. Maybe this helps with damping?
I've tried many drivers. SB15NRX, Illuminator 5", Accuton C82-T8 and now the RS125. Paper seems to damped.... lacking detail - whereas the Accuton kept me happy for years.... also played it really loud with a Seas Magnum tweeter - after I disliked the Morel Supreme. Since then hard cones/domes was my way to go.
Paper drivers seems to breakup already around 1kHz.... smoothly but clearly. Maybe this is what gives them a slightly less detailed sound - because the breaking up, dampens the sound, when the drivers lose it's pistonic movement and flexes(in a "nice" way).
I did try to dampen the breakup on my Accuton - which in return lowered the low order harminics too. But the RS125 seemed to make all this easier, by pushing the break-up further up.
I did try the BMS 6C150 - which I fell for at a show with a set of Geuine Audio Neo. Again at home... it seems to lack detail in the upper midrange - even though I do think that it plays fine..... but still "PA" not refined like HIFI - in the lack of a better description.
The RS125 is a surprising little thing... that plays cleanly and open.... pretty loud too. But if there was something a bit more awesome..... then why not?
Purifi is paper... it breaks up too... just lower in frequency.... just smoother. Again... is this what makes them lack detail? Can it be too detailed? Or do people just usally prefer a "warmer" sound.... which also makes it easier for passive filters?
Hipper is spot on. Building a fully active system with great power and control, to get the bass perfect. This helped tons on midrange/tweeter clarity - no doubt about it. I have preaching multi-subs and bass-EQ for years now, because of this.
Peerless NE series could be a nice choice too. It's a paper cone, but It sure measures nicely. No off-axis on hifi-compass though.
Did I miss anyone?