Sposhal
Torac Audio
I had them made in china, here is the listing I used: https://a.aliexpress.com/_B1uOSz
Very nicely milled, was a bit pricey but definitely worth it for the rigidity and looks
Wasn't much different in price to having them made of aluminium except I didn't need them to be powder coated and I can order smaller quantities without the price sky rocketing.
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Sposhal
Torac Audio
Final part arrived, rubber gaskets for going between the diaphragm and the baffle to help absorb vibrations and dampen the driver.
The only thing I'm waiting on to be able to assemble these are some wafer head bolts I ordered a while back that I thought would have arrived by now.
The only thing I'm waiting on to be able to assemble these are some wafer head bolts I ordered a while back that I thought would have arrived by now.
Sposhal
Torac Audio
Sposhal
Torac Audio
Hey,
Here is an update, finished up a pair of the drivers using all the new parts a few days ago:
Taken some measurements, here is how they are currently looking.
Frequency response:
Distortion:
Overall I think they're not bad, would like to reduce the distortion hump around 600hz but I suspect that it's the diaphrams natural resonance, but it should be possible to lower it through damping.
On another note, I thought I would have some fun experimenting with making a true ribbon driver, I made this one in the last couple days using 6 micron aluminium:
Not the neatest but as it was only a quick prototype I threw together, not too bad. This one is quite wide as I wanted to see how it could perform as a headphone driver and therefore it needed to make bass. You can probably see that I gave it a bit too much power as my temporary 'etched resistor' on the left almost fully melted from the heat as almost all the power is being dissipated as heat through it...these are not very efficient drivers, they do sound excellent though. Here are some measurements I took.
Frequency response:
Distortion:
I think they measure quite nicely especially since these aren't sealed in any way, and compare with commercial offerings.
I plan to make a tweeter version at some point that isn't as wide as I think that could also be fun.
Here is an update, finished up a pair of the drivers using all the new parts a few days ago:
Taken some measurements, here is how they are currently looking.
Frequency response:
Distortion:
Overall I think they're not bad, would like to reduce the distortion hump around 600hz but I suspect that it's the diaphrams natural resonance, but it should be possible to lower it through damping.
On another note, I thought I would have some fun experimenting with making a true ribbon driver, I made this one in the last couple days using 6 micron aluminium:
Not the neatest but as it was only a quick prototype I threw together, not too bad. This one is quite wide as I wanted to see how it could perform as a headphone driver and therefore it needed to make bass. You can probably see that I gave it a bit too much power as my temporary 'etched resistor' on the left almost fully melted from the heat as almost all the power is being dissipated as heat through it...these are not very efficient drivers, they do sound excellent though. Here are some measurements I took.
Frequency response:
Distortion:
I think they measure quite nicely
especially since these aren't sealed in any way, and compare with commercial offerings.I plan to make a tweeter version at some point that isn't as wide as I think that could also be fun.
Sposhal
Torac Audio
Update on the ribbon driver.
I have been slowly perfecting my design/construction, it's pretty neat now but I have a few improvements to make yet. I will give an impression of them when I'm not as busy.
I now use a "cartridge" system to allow easy replacement/repair of the ribbon if it were to get damaged, it just slides in and out and has bolts at the bottom to secure it.
I also now use a 50w 4.7ohm resistor per channel that I have mounted to an old cpu heatsink although they barely get warm when running 25-30w a channel, which is what it needs to play very loud.
I have been slowly perfecting my design/construction, it's pretty neat now but I have a few improvements to make yet. I will give an impression of them when I'm not as busy.
I now use a "cartridge" system to allow easy replacement/repair of the ribbon if it were to get damaged, it just slides in and out and has bolts at the bottom to secure it.
I also now use a 50w 4.7ohm resistor per channel that I have mounted to an old cpu heatsink although they barely get warm when running 25-30w a channel, which is what it needs to play very loud.
Sposhal
Torac Audio
Quick update on my planar driver. I have found a method which allows me to make my own material out of any film and aluminium foil I choose within reason and etch it successfully. This has allowed me to make diaphragms using mylar as thin as 1 micron. I am now using a 3 micron material similar to mylar but with much nicer properties such as double the elasticity, this is combined with 6 micron aluminium for my trace. Here are some measurements I took of a driver I assembled using this material:
Frequency response:
Distortion:
I don't trust the bass measurements on this mic, especially below 20hz, as results vary quite a bit between measurements but as you can see midrange distortion is very good compared to my previous attempts, on average it's around 0.2%. This is all without any damping material behind the driver.
I look forward to sharing this at a hi-fi show/meet in the future
Frequency response:
Distortion:
I don't trust the bass measurements on this mic, especially below 20hz, as results vary quite a bit between measurements but as you can see midrange distortion is very good compared to my previous attempts, on average it's around 0.2%. This is all without any damping material behind the driver.
I look forward to sharing this at a hi-fi show/meet in the future
Sposhal
Torac Audio
Nice, what sort of resistance are you getting using 8 micron?
I use a solid ink printer.
Mike P
Trade: Pickwell Audio
+1
Sposhal
Torac Audio
Hi,
Sorry for not posting in forever. I've been rather busy what with starting university in October last year. Exciting news though, as a while ago I partnered with an existing small brand which I have been developing a custom driver for and hope to release a full headphone at some point soon. We're hoping to bring the performance of the upper tier planars on the market down to a more accessible price.
I would love to share all the different prototypes I have on hand at the moment but not really sure I have time right now as I'm currently busy finishing my final coursework for this year. Perhaps at a show when they are running again?
Hope everyone here are also doing well!
Sorry for not posting in forever. I've been rather busy what with starting university in October last year. Exciting news though, as a while ago I partnered with an existing small brand which I have been developing a custom driver for and hope to release a full headphone at some point soon. We're hoping to bring the performance of the upper tier planars on the market down to a more accessible price.
I would love to share all the different prototypes I have on hand at the moment but not really sure I have time right now as I'm currently busy finishing my final coursework for this year. Perhaps at a show when they are running again?
Hope everyone here are also doing well!
Sposhal
Torac Audio
Absolutely, I would definitely be up for that! Once my uni course finishes for the year I should be able to get on that and construct a pair that I think will survive more than a few listens as most of the prototype pairs I have on hand at the moment are a bit fragile (simply put together to be able to listen to the drivers I'm working on at that point).
PigletsDad
My intelligence test came back negative.
Have you tried using a matching transformer with the ribbon? This will be much, much more efficient than your dropper resistor. When I played with this, in 1983(?!), I used a big ferrite ring, as that is what I had. From memory, I used enough turns to give a decent primary inductance, and many two turn secondaries in parallel, to give a low enough ohmic resistance to drive the foil ribbon. Even with weak ferrite magnets, it was sensitive enough to match a cone driver. You can easily gain 20dB or more by getting the matching right.