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Hello Michail!
I have to thank you very much for your detailed reply. I am in a situation where my decision will have a very high impact because the loudspeaker will remain with me forever.
I have collected during the years some very nice loudspeakers but not a compete speaker. I have collected 2 pairs of 12" Telefunken field coil full range drivers, 1 pair of 4" Telefunken field coil mid /tweeter drivers, a combination of Altec 515 and 288 transformed to field coil drivers, accompanied with a wooden replica of 1505 multicellular horn. These are fantastic speakers. But I have not yet made up my mind for the final thing.
My friends are manufacturing the full range speaker with the Lowther - style driver. Back loaded horn was never my cup of tea because always something was wrong in the sound. Difficult even to explain... Sometimes you think that there is no bass and after a while bass explodes. I think it has to do with the severe phase discrepancy, exactly like the phenomenon that you mention. On organs like the violoncello or double bass there seems to be an unavoidable problem or difficulty correctly portraying the fundamental frequencies and their overtones in the phase domain. I still remember that seductive sound of Telefunken 12" field coil full range driver, it was so far away... Sound was seductive, voluptuous, I was able to listen to subminute harmonics that is the complete enjoyment of listening to music! This was not evident with this Lowther style loudspeaker.
Your 15" driver with the wooden cone and the 0.02mm bronze whizzer seems fantastic! It is one of the most beautiful loudspeakers I have seen! Would you propose this speaker as an alternative? Do you make it from scratch or is it a modification of another speaker? Is it a full range driver with just a whizzer? From the pic it seems that there also exists one horn coming from inside the speaker, there seems to be a cavity. Is it coaxial like Tannoy 2-way or a full range?
Last comes to my mind the alternative of building a Western Electric speaker. Bass has to be a single or double 18" driver per channel, mid driver should be 555 and tweeter the famous 597A. 555 will drive the giant 13a wooden horn with an opening on mouth more than 160x140 cm!
My concern for western electric speakers is that they may not be the most dynamic speakers with most lustrous, shiny sound, as whatever I have listened so far was not that much immediate and dynamic specially in mid/ high frequencies.
You are much more experienced than me on loudspeakers. If our target is maximum fidelity, would you propose me to go for
1) Western Electric 18" wooden cone with 555 on 13a horn and 597A tweeter? In such case would you think that 594a might be better than 555?
2) Altec 515 wooden cone in a reflex cabinet enclosure with 288c in my already stocked wooden 1505 multicellular horn?
3) Your loudspeaker equipped with the wooden 15" cone and bronze whizzer?
Your reply would be something extremely important for me. Please keep in mind that I am seeking for the last do of authority, dynamics and shiny, glossy sound that is very hard to obtain through a full range driver.
I would be thankful if I had your reply because I consider you the real expert and guru in speakers.
My best regards from Athens.
Peter