midrange boxes

kemoz wrote: ok just run me tru 2 things, 1) whats the diameter of the speaker has to do with loudness or clarity ? 2) spl is their primary goal? i thought spl was dealing with sound presure lvl ?

1: The phrase beaming refers to the diameter of the driver vs. the frequency it's playing. The wider the diaphragm, the lower the frequency that this beaming function happens or begins to occur. Google "woofer polar plots". This will show you what's actually happening, acoustically. Basically, you have a reference frequency (Fs), at a reference angle (0°), and a reference SPL (90dB, for example). As you move away from reference angle to any side, the SPL will fall from reference output. Higher frequencies will be quieter than lower frequencies at the same angle off 0°. The beaming frequency is determined by the diameter of the diaphragm. A six inch diaphragm, for example, will start to "pull in" at about 1000Hz. A 10" diaphragm will start to "pull in" around 800Hz. By the time you get to 2000Hz, a 10" driver will have about 18dB less output at 22° than it does on axis. As far as "clarity", they will probably sound JUST as "clear" as a good quality true mid-range driver... ON AXIS, and in a VERY narrow bandwidth... As mentioned, about 150Hz to 750Hz. Two and a half octaves is a VERY tiny portion of the overall frequency response you are trying to reproduce. Once and sort of even intermediate off-axis listening starts happening, you'll lose everything involved with clarity. 2: SPL does mean sound pressure level. I submitted that SPL would be all those were good for. I don't understand your mentioning of it. They are PA drivers. They are designed with very high efficiencies in mind, to be VERY loud, in on-axis concert hall venues. They'll do that all day long. Off-axis, as mentioned by pretty much everybody, they will sound terrible.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."