B&C DCM50 use

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Posted on November 15, 2012 at 02:57:26

gordan
Audiophile

Posts: 434
Location: Belgrade Serbia
Joined: July 9, 2005

I know B&C DCM50 is a modern production driver of choice of Bill Woods for his AH300 horn.

However I'm wondering if anyone knows or heard it in a different application.

Actually I'm wondering what kind of horn would be the best to expand it as low as possible for home use, with a several watt amp - between 2w and 5w

Maybe I can get my hands on Yuichi 280 horn. I can also borrow Jabo 300hz horn. But, I'm afraid both are not suitable for such a low loading.

The idea is to use BCM50 as a lowmid/mid driver bellow Beyma TPL-150, on (say) 400-2k range. The reason to cross to Beyma a bit higher is to relieve it from low duties so it can play more relaxed in the upper HF where it has problems.

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RE: B&C DCM50 use

cin5

11:56:31 05/24/24

RE: B&C DCM50 use

Retsel

16:16:00 04/19/24

RE: B&C DCM50 use

cin5

09:31:04 06/05/24

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RE: B&C DCM50 use

cin5

11:56:31 05/24/24

RE: B&C DCM50 use

Retsel

16:16:00 04/19/24

RE: B&C DCM50 use

cin5

09:31:04 06/05/24

RE: B&C DCM50 use

gordan

01:39:58 11/21/12

B&C DCM50: Best Horn Driver for Compressed Recordings?

cin5

14:14:37 04/19/24

RE: B&C DCM50 use

tomservo

11:06:33 11/19/12

RE: B&C DCM50 use, posted on November 19, 2012 at 11:06:33
tomservo Manufacturer Posts: 8615 Joined: July 4, 2002	Try it, it is the closest thing i know of available for a reasonable price that is "like" a WE or RCA in it's approach. We use a LOT of their drivers although i have not used that one. Best, Tom

RE: B&C DCM50 use, posted on November 21, 2012 at 01:39:58
gordan Audiophile Posts: 434 Location: Belgrade Serbia Joined: July 9, 2005	thanks tom i'm surprised how little use it seems that DCM50 got in the horn audio community. apart from bill woods recommendation and hype that surrounded von langa use of it for RCA field coil replica, i don't think i've ever seen anyone using it in the real world.... shame, it looks very interesting on paper.

B&C DCM50: Best Horn Driver for Compressed Recordings?, posted on April 19, 2024 at 14:14:37

cin5
Audiophile

Posts: 71
Location: Long Island
Joined: August 17, 2015

I've been struggling to settle on horn/driver combinations to use atop my pair of sealed Altec 416-8B midwoofers. The most likely candidates are SB Audience 65 CDNT, Yamaha JA6681B, B&C DCM50 and Radian 745neoBe.

Regarding the DCM50, I seen posts such as here https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=169189.0 https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/search/&q="dcm50"%20&quick=1&search_and_or=and&sortby=relevancy ,where it seems as if others like me also have struggled with the dilemma of owning or wanting the benefits of high res horn speakers but troubled over how your less than pristine recordings will sound on them.

Indeed, so many of my treasured 60s pop and soundtrack music-many of which otherwise respectably recorded (fairly low noise and distortion)-were then deliberately mastered with lots of compression. No doubt this was done to make them playable on cheap vinyl players, or even the SOTA turntables of the day.

But in Troy Crowe's review of these drivers, please take time to watch this video entirely from 17:15 to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8haDt66kueM

Notice that during his listening test ratings, Troy gives the DMC50 a less than 10/10 rating for dynamic range. My question is would the B&C DMC50 be a much better choice for playing our over compressed recordings than one with more higher sensitivity, and thus more dynamic range, such as the Radian 745neoBE?

Comparing basic specs:
https://www.bcspeakers.com/en/products/hf-driver/archive/dcm50-8
https://www.usspeaker.com/radian 745neoBepb-1.htm

And might the DCM50 also be a better choice for playing compressed recordings because it uses a "composite" or paper diaphragm, rather than a beryllium one, like the 745neoBE?

RE: B&C DCM50 use, posted on April 19, 2024 at 16:16:00

Retsel
Audiophile

Posts: 1240
Joined: April 17, 2000

I don't know if you're a wild and crazy guy who is willing to try something wild and crazy, but check out this blog post on DIY Audio:

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/fieldcoil-k-tube.363723/

That guy fitted large Transylvania tubes onto field coil drivers for his midrange speakers and liked the result. It is not too difficult to try (easy to try out, although could be problematic to master, not unlike horns though).

Cin5 commented on the DCM50 was rated as being less dynamic, maybe attributed to the paper diaphragm. I remember a while back that after trying many compression drivers, a prolific DIY speaker designer, experimenter settled on cone drivers for his midrange drivers - he said that the cone drivers had better tone. Maybe the DCM50 drivers will be slightly less dynamic, but have better tone - all speakers have tradeoffs...

Retsel

RE: B&C DCM50 use, posted on May 24, 2024 at 11:56:31

cin5
Audiophile

Posts: 71
Location: Long Island
Joined: August 17, 2015

Hi Gordon,

Long ago, but FWIW, you should check out Troy Crowe's review of these drivers on his ES450 horn. He does thorough distortion reviews on the DCM50 (save for Gedlee), AND checkout his listening tests on that driver from ~ 16:15 to the end of the video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8haDt66kueM&t=832s

Please get back to me with your thoughts and experiences with the DCM50 and horn selection.

Thanks.

Greg

RE: B&C DCM50 use, posted on June 5, 2024 at 09:31:04

cin5
Audiophile

Posts: 71
Location: Long Island
Joined: August 17, 2015

Yes, based on Troy Crowe's in-depth review of the DCM50 (towards the end of this video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8haDt66kueM&t=869s

I'm thinking of using it in a 3-way system with Troy Crowe's ES450 or ES290 above my sealed Altec 416-8B woofers. https://josephcrowe.com/collections/300hz-horns

When you're finished reading/hearing Troy's listening impressions, I'm also wondering if you might think that this driver is somehow especially appropriate for home theater? If yes, could that be due to how it might tend to make the sometimes less than pristine audio from DVD and BD movies sound more agreeable than might titanium or beryllium drivers?

OTOH, might there be anything about the DCM50's "warmish" tonality that becomes at all fatiguing?

Also, which if any make/model tweeter? Troy seems often to recommend those Fostex bullet tweeters with Alnico magnets (like my Altec 416-8B woofers-BUT with his lens which he claims removes all
"harsh/ hashy" sound from this tweeter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oEwQ85iyyA&t=18s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6QiCzbUhkg&t=31s

Please reply with your thoughts and experiences!

High Efficiency Speaker Asylum

B&C DCM50 use

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