Cone Material

[Goodman]

Aside from the very exotics like belerium etc.. what is the consensus on mid-range cone material, paper, bextrene or Kevlar. I find lots of info on paper, bextrene and various other plastics but nothing on kevlar; Davis acoustics seem to be one of the few to manufacture kevlar speakers.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Davis acoustics seem to be one of the few to manufacture kevlar speakers.

Davis Acoustics doesn't have a clue how to properly design speakers, no one should care about what material they use, since they do not know what yo make of it.

what is the consensus on mid-range cone material, paper, bextrene or Kevlar.

Paper is probably the most common. Yet, there is no consensus.

Loudspeaker Drivers: Identifying Legitimately High Fidelity Parts

This article focuses attention on loudspeaker drivers defining the basic core elements that make up the drivers & trade offs associated with various design approaches. Better parts MAKE a difference!

www.audioholics.com

 

[freemansteve]

However well treated, paper is hygroscopic. Not a big deal in some climates, but less good in other places, long-term.

 

[AudiOhm]

Thank goodness for paper as a cone material.

When I re-foam speakers I will also make a water 80% - glue 20% mixture and

use a brush to cover the cone with it to help stiffen it up.

Not to be used in any other application...

Ohms

 

[alex-z]

Plastic Speaker Cone History

Mike Klasco explains the evolution of speaker cone materials, from paper to the first experiments in plastics and finally to Polypropylene (PP), which became the preferred resin sheet material for thermoformed speaker cones. The article also discusses recent trends in woven composite cone...

audioxpress.com

Bextrene and other plastic variants are generally inferior to treated paper, unless a complex weaving process is used in manufacturing. From a practical perspective, aluminium is usually the best choice, being relatively cheap with performance that can exceed paper. However, if you are forced to add damping layers, the additional mass negates that performance advantage.

 

[DVDdoug]

I've seen paper cones in the rear-deck of a car deteriorated from the sun. But I have home speakers with paper cones that are about 40 years old and still OK. I don't know if there is any kind of coating but they just look-like heavy-paper. The midranges have cloth surrounds and the woofers have rubber surround. (The tweeters are mylar).

I've seen lots of disintegrated foam surrounds. I don't know what they use for the foam but it's obviously not the same as the (butyl?) rubber used in my woofers.

 

[nisse.P]

Exciting materials exist https://www.composite-sound.com/

Speaker Cones — Fabrication, Materials, and Performance

This Voice Coil Focus article explores the fabrication, materials, and performance aspects of speaker cones, a critical component in driver design. With the author's extensive experience in dealing with innovative speaker designs and bringing concepts into production, the article explains vital...

audioxpress.com

Speaker Applications Using Alpine HX5 Ultra Strong Lightweight Nanocomposite

Loudspeaker designers can look forward to a couple of exciting materials that have been in stealth mode but are about to step into the spotlight. A lightweight military aviation-grade nanocomposite from Alpine Advanced Materials, HX5 may be an alternative to beryllium and high-performance...

audioxpress.com

 

[mightycicadalord]

Thank goodness for paper as a cone material.

When I re-foam speakers I will also make a water 80% - glue 20% mixture and

use a brush to cover the cone with it to help stiffen it up.

Not to be used in any other application...

Ohms

I've thrown a coating of mod podge on some pa subs before, they looked more expensive after and had at least some protection from moisture. They're probably 10 years old and still going

 

[ahofer]

Harbeth posts a bunch of samples in this thread to justify their RADIAL drivers. Frustratingly, I haven't seen these assertions connected to measurements.

 

[steve59]

My VA beethovens have a cloth dome tweeter and it might be the most resolving tweeter i've heard without going to the $500 Be units used by revel in their ultima 2, Magico and some other expensive models.

 

[sq225917]

Spread tow carbon,various reinforced papers or the ceramic used in accutons.

 

[Newman]

what is the consensus on mid-range cone material, paper, bextrene or Kevlar.

One can find terrible and excellent examples of all the above materials, hence I conclude that design and implementation are so much more important than material that it can drop out of the buyer’s decision process.

I also conclude that the many discussions on ‘the sound of a cone’s material’ are misguided, and dominated by confirmation bias (provided we are talking about examples with good design and execution).

 

[Goodman]

One can find terrible and excellent examples of all the above materials, hence I conclude that design and implementation are so much more important than material that it can drop out of the buyer’s decision process.

I also conclude that the many discussions on ‘the sound of a cone’s material’ are misguided, and dominated by confirmation bias (provided we are talking about examples with good design and execution).

The question implies that all these different material are well implemented; some manufactures like Kef have used bextrene plastic for decades, some base their whole advertising on new exotic cone material, it all leads to a sound signature that measurement will not confirm.

 

[Newman]

That’s just marketing. Believe it at your peril.

 

[Holmz]

That’s just marketing. Believe it at your peril.

But his logic was bullet proof.

 

[JRS]

I use polypropylene midbass drivers. Woofers are impregnated paper. Ribbon tweeters--aluminum.

Thought this was interesting:

Endumax from Teijin Aramid - An Exciting New Speaker Cone Material

Endumax, an innovative and superior cone material with performance beyond woven composites, has only recently been introduced to the industry. From a speaker designer’s perspective, it is possible for extremely wide cone body angles (shallow cone), smaller voice coil diameters, and/or smaller...

audioxpress.com

 

[Newman]

But his logic was bullet proof.

LOL, not!

 

[xaviescacs]

Dynaudio uses MSP, Magnesium Silicate Polymer

 

[Holmz]

LOL, not!

The joke probably lost something in translation.

It is “Bullet Proof” in the sense that Kevlar is used for bullet proof vests, and the same Kevlar as “Aramid” in tyres.

Why one needs a bullet proof cone is questionable..

 

[valerianf]

Long time ago Audax made several fiber glass midrange speakers and the end result was quite positive.
I am still owning one of them.
It is difficult to say which material is better than the other because the midrange crossover design has a very important
effect on the sound quality.