Flat cone drivers?

I haven't seen any flat cone drivers in a while. Just curious why not? Also, what are the characteristics of flat cone drivers versus the typical concave cones? On a side note, I've always really liked the look of the flat cone subwoofers.

It just isn't a practical design.  There are no performance benifits, so the only reason to use it is for the cosmetics.  Plus a cone shape has a MUCH better stiffness to weight ratio.

Steven Kephart wrote: It just isn't a practical design.  There are no performance benifits, so the only reason to use it is for the cosmetics.  Plus a cone shape has a MUCH better stiffness to weight ratio.

Out of curiosity Steven, do you have any experience with the Arc flatlines or even the E.D. flat cones? I thought that with a flat cone, more stiffness was achieved?

I might add that I owned a pair of PPI pro flat pistons and although they blew constantly (not necessarily due to cone design) they did sound decent.

For a little comparison...Flat fiberglass isn't nearly as stiff and strong as curved fiberglass. Is this a good comparison??

Fiberglass is a good analogy- the same with sheetmetal.  If you add ribs/curved shapes you get more strength and less flexing.My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.

That's what honeycomb materials are all about... the BEST stiffness to mass ratio available for a given construction material. If I recall correctly, Blaupunkt had a flat "full-range" honeycomb speaker a few years ago, they worked really well... After I blew em up, I took them apart to test their actual strength. I was able to stand on one without it crumpling. Granted, I was WAY smaller then, but still, the diaphragm only weighed a few grams.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."

have you ever noticed the big spheres they hold oil in? The reason why they are shaped in a sphere instead of another shape is because it can take more pressure. A box would not be as strong and would be so big it would be impractical to build.

nouseforaname wrote: hhhmmm.......i wonder if i could make a round sub enclosure......

Sure, Ive seen them

double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

Likewise

Another good analogy is the egg.  The shape of an egg makes it incredibly strong.  The shells are brittle but if you squeeze an egg from end to end it's very strong.  The reason behind it is the dome shape disperses pressure evenly across the entire egg.  Flat shapes aren't going to have this working for them and they are going to bend or flex, or break if brittle, in the most stressed area.