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Alnico drivers
- Thread starter Goodman
- Start date
I spent DAYS doing research on this on why they are so prized.
Here is a Pic of a speaker that used them I have sitting around.
It was sold by Montgomery Wards under the Admiral Brand (Name Badge lost)
I still have one of the the other tweeters in a box someplace. Close up Bellow.
From what I recall, it does not even have a crossover in the box. No idea how it worked.
I think they were made by Jensen, but mine looked different. \
Mine have the Dimples on them.
The only thing about that magnet that makes it special is in basic terms better/Stronger then Iron. But Neo took that advantage away.
In the end? They were better in their day. People just go Wax Poetic about vintage stuff.
Kind of like saying Gradma's spices that have been sitting around for 40 years, makes them better then using Fresh Basil and Rosemary.
They do have a sound to them no doubt. But Better? Nope.
Its kind of like people who like to listen to AM Radio. Its more a matter of taste then performance.
Here is a Pic of a speaker that used them I have sitting around.
It was sold by Montgomery Wards under the Admiral Brand (Name Badge lost)
I still have one of the the other tweeters in a box someplace. Close up Bellow.
From what I recall, it does not even have a crossover in the box. No idea how it worked.
I think they were made by Jensen, but mine looked different. \
Mine have the Dimples on them.
The only thing about that magnet that makes it special is in basic terms better/Stronger then Iron. But Neo took that advantage away.
In the end? They were better in their day. People just go Wax Poetic about vintage stuff.
Kind of like saying Gradma's spices that have been sitting around for 40 years, makes them better then using Fresh Basil and Rosemary.
They do have a sound to them no doubt. But Better? Nope.
Its kind of like people who like to listen to AM Radio. Its more a matter of taste then performance.
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Field Coil Speakers everything you need to know
Field Coil Speakers everything you need to know About Field Coil Speakers and Field Coil Drivers.
www.phantom-audio.com
You could go all the way back to field coil speakers.
are air cooled engines better ?
no.
why are they so prized ?
because people are dumb.
you want to use Finite Element Analysis designed motors that use shorting rings / sleeves
aluminum or copper doesn't matter
neodymium or ferrite generally doesn't matter either
but all true high-end drivers are neodymium, but that's simply because if cost is no object there is no reason to use anything else
not because you can't build a good ferrite driver
what really separates good motors from bad is Finite Element Analysis and construction technique. cheap motors are made with stamped parts ( like that Alnico trash ). good motors are made with parts that are machined or otherwise formed to more complex shaped optimized by FEA.
the most state of the art woofers on the market right now are Eighteen Sound NTLW5000 series, B&C iPal and Powersoft M-Force. all are Neodymium and Italian. Only the NTLW5000 can be driven by a regular amplifier though.
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Killingbeans
Major Contributor
It's just a cheap alternative to neodymium?
It's not "cheap" it is "vintage"
some people like vintage stuff
ferrite > budget
neodymium > performance
alnico > vintage
in many designs as long as weight is not an issue ferrite will work as well as Neodymium. in some designs neodymium offers a clear advantage.
the easy way to tell quality is look at the shape of the motor. if it looks stamped it is low quality. if it looks machined it is high quality. typically neodyium motors are machined and ferrite are stamped but my TC Sounds LMS for example is ferrite and machined.
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Killingbeans
Major Contributor
I've only ever seen Alnico when I was briefly enthralled by the idea of building something from Audio Nirvana drivers.
I had a feeling it was just a nostalgia thing. Nice to have that confirmed.
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each magnet type also comes with different motor designs that make sense for this type of magnet ...
so apparently ALNICO for example is conductive which would have an effect on motor design ...
also the Cobalt in ALNICO is currently in short supply because Electric Car batteries need all the cobalt child slaves can mine in the republic of Congo ...
stop trolling before i put you on ignore
just forget about ALNICO
Killingbeans
Major Contributor
Not trolling. I was just genuinely ignorant
And don't worry. I don't give a rats #¤# about Alnico.
mhardy6647
Grand Contributor
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umm... I'd say yes -- if I weren't on ASR
Mostly, the phenomenon at play is what I like to call the cult of the arcane.
Beyond that -- there are claims (on the internet!) that the properties of AlNiCo magnets give AlNiCo drivers some interesting... umm... linearity properties. Something about nonlinear compression near the excursion limits making them more musical or suchlike... maybe Uncle Paul McGowan has a video to explain it, using some irrelevant piece of measurement equipment; I dunno.
Meanwhile, I am a fan.
Just... because.
Mostly, the phenomenon at play is what I like to call the cult of the arcane.
Beyond that -- there are claims (on the internet!) that the properties of AlNiCo magnets give AlNiCo drivers some interesting... umm... linearity properties. Something about nonlinear compression near the excursion limits making them more musical or suchlike... maybe Uncle Paul McGowan has a video to explain it, using some irrelevant piece of measurement equipment; I dunno.
Meanwhile, I am a fan.
Just... because.
i think people who are into Alnico are the same people who are into Japanese Hi-Fi
Japan used to be almost synonymous with electronics back when i was a kid
then they faded and even Sony now builds their TVs using panels made by LG of Korea
right now i feel the cutting edge of audio industry is in Italy with America still hanging in there but Japan has been finished for a while now ...
umm... I'd say yes -- if I weren't on ASR
Mostly, the phenomenon at play is what I like to call the cult of the arcane.
Beyond that -- there are claims (on the internet!) that the properties of AlNiCo magnets give AlNiCo drivers some interesting... umm... linearity properties. Something about nonlinear compression near the excursion limits making them more musical or suchlike... maybe Uncle Paul McGowan has a video to explain it, using some irrelevant piece of measurement equipment; I dunno.
Meanwhile, I am a fan.
Just... because.
it is 100% possible that unique properties of alnico such as conductivity may confer advantages ...
just like air cooled engines may have some advantages such as light weight or no water pump to fail ...
this isn't like two cables that are absolutely identical in performance and differ only in price ...
but the fact that not a single professional modern design AT ANY PRICE POINT uses ALNICO means that whatever those advantages may be are outweighed by disadvantages such as cost, size etc.
Field Coil Speakers everything you need to know
Field Coil Speakers everything you need to know About Field Coil Speakers and Field Coil Drivers.
You could go all the way back to field coil speakers.
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With Enough Imagination?
Martin Logan's!
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Martin Logan's!
Godataloss
Senior Member
My tweeters use alnico motors- Fostex t500a MKIII They're fairly modern.
I was into large vintage alnico co-axial drivers for a minute (mostly for the $ to flip them)- they do seem to have a nice warm tone that would make the majority of ASR folks wet their Dockers over the blasphemy. It's just another flavoring for the crowd that doesn't care about ruler-flat FR. Their approach is no less valid that the folks here that drool over plastic boxes crammed with DSP. I dabble in both worlds and take neither over-seriously.
- Thread Starter
- #15
I agree with your general comments about the diversity of audiophile species; Your fostex tweeters a crazy expensive, are they worth it?
i didn't even know ASR was about plastic boxes crammed with DSP ( new here )
that's awesome !
i LOVE plastic boxes crammed with DSP !
this morning was looking at different forum software and hosting options to start my own forum where EVERYBODY will be into plastic boxes crammed with DSP ...
think i'm going to go with Discourse forum software and Communiteq hosting ...
still haven't come up with a name for the forum though ... "plastic boxes crammed with DSP" is good but i will also have discussion of the current world slide towards 3rd world prison colony as part of the forum and the name has to somehow reflect that ...
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Fostex is Japanese - what a coincidence
it's almost like i'm always right ...
some people like to pay tomorrow's prices for yesterday's technology ...
reverse investing ...
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
I was an engineer at Altec Lansing during the period when they were changing their speakers over from alnico to 'mud' (ferrite) magnets we use today. I didn't have any particular bias or dog in that fight, but I found that the ferrite magnet speakers in all instances did not sound as good as the alnico speakers they replaced. I purchased a few of the ferrite magnet drivers for my own use but ended up selling them to other employees because I didn't like the sound. In some instances I built alnico magnet drivers myself from factory stock to get back to the sound I liked.
Please don't bang on me for graphs 'n charts to 'prove' the point because that was decades ago.
Please don't bang on me for graphs 'n charts to 'prove' the point because that was decades ago.
Godataloss
Senior Member
Yeh. They make me really happy which is the deciding factor on all my expenditures. Plus they're like 16lbs of platinum-plated brass so I can use them as a bludgeon during the zombie apocalypse. About to fork over $400 for a pair spare diaphragms since I'm not sure about continued production. I hope whoever buys them at my kids garage sale when I'm gone realizes what they are.
Some random piece found on the web.
[Edit] Found the original posts by Don McRitchie and the scoop attributed to Greg Timbers.
[Edit] Found the original posts by Don McRitchie and the scoop attributed to Greg Timbers.
The Great Alnico / Ferrite Debate
The subject of Alnico vs ferrite magnet drivers comes up fairly regularly on our site. The following is my attempt to clarify some of the issues involved. Before I get into a discussion on the merits and disadvantages of each magnet type, it is important to separate fact from fiction. To...
www.audioheritage.org
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