Scanspeak 18W vs. Peerless SLS6 vs. Mpyre 65m review for 3 way front stage.

[Ge0]

I run a three way front staqe. My midbass drivers are required to play from approximately 60Hz up to 300Hz crossed over with 24db/octave filters at each end.

Drivers I have tried:

a/d/s/ 346is
Image dynamics XS65
Scanspeak 18W revelator
Peerless SLS6
Mpyre 65m

I will not include my thoughts on the a/d/s/ and Image Dynamics drivers as they were used in a 2 way front stage vs. the 3 way I have now. Both drivers were great in the vocal range but peter out below 80Hz. The exception would be the Scan 18W. It did GREAT in the lower octaves an of course excelled in the upper octaves. My favorite for a two way front stage. But, I digress, this review is for midbass duty only.

I'll start with the Scans:



I hope my install did them justice. What can I say about these drivers? They are the perfect solution IF you don't get rowdy and crank them up when crossed below 80Hz mounted IB in a door. They offer THE BEST bass extension combined with upper octave extension I have ever encountered. However, they are not the best solution for midbass only duties. They tended to make a lot of mechanical noise and stress while pushed too hard down low. Something they were not designed for mind you. But, when push comes to shove, you want good bump up front at all times. Even when you kick up the volume a notch or two .

Next, the Mpyre 65M:





The 65m is based off the same XBL2 stuff the Adire Extremis was fashioned from. Quite a nice (and REAL light) driver due to its Ne0 motor. Though, it was about 1/8" deeper than the Scan 18W or SLS6. It produced an abundance of midbass crossed 55Hz up to 300hz. Its upper frequency response was OK too, but, I didn't use it in this fashion for this evaluation so I won't go into details. It was a tough call between this and the SLS6. However, in the long run, I could sense the speaker was stressing a little when I really laid on the volume. I could hear it sputtering a little when playing bass heavy content. Mind you, it did so gracefully, but, if I can hear anything but music it is a distraction. It behaved well and was totally satisfactory up until approx 113db. After that, I could sense that all was not well with it living in this environment.

Enter the Peerless SLS6:


Quite a plain looking driver to the blind eye. Its response drops off like a brick wall above 500Hz. However, this sucker can POUND down in the lower octaves. I run mine from 50Hz up to 300Hz. Unless I reach the upper extremes of its power handling I can't even tell they are there. These suckers take a licking and keep on ticking. They do nothing but midbass and they do it well. I hear no mechanical noise from the motor what so ever. They are like the Energizer bunny. They keep going and going and going. I was going to try an 8" driver in my doors. However, I doubt many will beat this little gem unless they have a clean 8mm of x-max or greater and make no mechanical noise. The only thing I think would be better for midbass would be an SLS8. I can't tell you enough how happy I am with these little SOB's. Clean midbass 53Hz to 300hz at levels up to and exceeding 114db. No signs of stress or mechanical noise whatsoever. They just disappear. I defintely would not use them in a 2 way front stage setup. But, if you run a 3 way front and are limited to the diameter or depth (in my instance) of a 6.5" driver then seriously consider trying these cheap little suckers out. You will not be sorry.

I'll post RTA plots if you want to see them. All three drivers are pretty much the same from 50Hz up to 300Hz. The Scan and the SLS6 beat out the Mypre by about 5db from 70Hz down to the crossover limit of 50ish Hz on my passengers side. Everything else is equivalent.

The major difference being the mechanical noise mentioned throughout this review.

1st: Peerless SLS6
2nd: MPypre 65m
3rd: Scan 18W.

Mind you others (err, like Matt R) were able to get excellent results from the Scan 18W. However, they mount theirs in a closer proximity to a real and optimized enclosure or doubled up on drivers to alleviate the x-max mechanical displacement problem like Kevin K. Given my circumstances, and my install, the SLS6 is the driver for me.

This may not be your idea of a perfect review. I don't add the fluff you may be accustomed to. But, if you have questions please feel free to ask away...

Ge0

[DIYMA]

[RMAT]

dude thanks so much for this thread. This is exactly waht I was looking for and may just have to give the peerless a try.

[mvw2]

Cool review and some nice options. Those SLS drivers do tend to get ignored a bit, but they excel in what they were designed for. It's tough to beat their price too.

[Candisa]

Aaaah, the Peerless SLS, great midbass drivers, I was planning to use them too, and I recommend them to anybody that wants a good midbass-only driver, even if they budget allows much more expensive drivers.

Unfortunately a subwoofer-setup that can keep up with them would add a lot of weight in the trunk and take a lot of space and that's something I don't want in my car, that's why I'll go with the TangBand 6" 'subwoofers', according to WinISD they should give the same midbass output level, but thanks to the extended x-max of 11.5mm (compared to 8mm on the SLS6), I can let them play almost all the subbass too and I'll only need a single 10 or 12" sub in a sealed enclosure to help them a little with that, instead of needing 2 12" subs in a big ported or PRed enclosure.

Playing a bit more than 1 octave trough 2 different drivers (a 12" in the trunk *and* 4 6.5"es in the front doors) isn't optimal and will require quite some tuning to get it right, that's why I don't recommend it to anybody else because I'm not sure if it'll work out well, 1 or 2 sets of woofers for midbass only up front and a powerfull sub-system in the back does and the Peerless SLS is the perfect driver for midbass-only duty.

greetz,
Isabelle

[WLDock]

Gerorge,

Thanks for the review...really would like to take a listen. I agree about the SLS drivers....after hearing the 8" SLS drivers that I picked up for $80 there really was no reason to keep the JL Audio Drivers that I paid ~$220 for....the SLS's just get it done in a clean fashion. Just need to figure out where they will work best....Spring will be a busy time.

Walt

[machinehead]

How did you know i was having trouble deciding between the mpyre and sls? So even with all that xmax, the mpyre didnt have more output? I kinda saw the mechanical noise issue coming, sooo much extention for a 6.5. I'm still trying to figure a way to sneak some 8's into my doors...

[Boostedrex]

Very nice review. Thanks for taking the time to write it up for us.

[bassfromspace]

Excellent review Ge0!

[nomed]

Good review!

[bass_lover1]

For the price, as a dedicated midbass the SLS 6.5s are pretty much impossible to beat.

They are usable in a 2-way setup, just don't expect any kind of decent output above 1khz, though the natural roll off of the SLS does lend it self a very mild midrange, no break ups or harshness but you'll need some heavy EQ work in that area to get a level response.

[fish]

Beside the fact the SLS series doesn't play too high, I don't think I've read anything negative about them.

[kappa546]

that's not really a negative, they simply weren't designed to pay that high. but yea... sls are fantastic.

[FoxPro5]

Originally Posted by Ge0

I'll post RTA plots if you want to see them. All three drivers are pretty much the same from 50Hz up to 300Hz. The Scan and the SLS6 beat out the Mypre by about 5db from 70Hz down to the crossover limit of 50ish Hz on my passengers side. Everything else is equivalent.

Yes please.

So even with Madisound dropping the price on the 18W a little, it's still more than four times the price of the SLS ($200 vs $45). I guess you have to pay for that bandwidth, though, and the sweet Rev sound up top.

Just looking at the Sd on both, the Scan has the SLS by about 15% (150 vs 129 cm2). Just thought this was interesting as the SLS has the SS by 1.5mm xmax. Methinks lower xmax make for more betterer MB's...but i should really stop thinking.

[mvw2]

2-way with a wideband mid on-axis maybe.

[Ge0]

Originally Posted by machinehead

How did you know i was having trouble deciding between the mpyre and sls? So even with all that xmax, the mpyre didnt have more output? I kinda saw the mechanical noise issue coming, sooo much extention for a 6.5. I'm still trying to figure a way to sneak some 8's into my doors...

Both had an equivalent amount of output. The main difference is that I could hear the Mypres motor and cone stressing whereas the Peerless do not. ANY other 6.5" midbass I have ever tried makes mechanical noise when pushed to these limits. The Peerless do not. I'd hate to go so far as to say they are the BEST driver, but, they are damn hard to beat for this purpose.

Ge0

[machinehead]

I'm still tryin to talk myself into chopping up my doors for the 8"

[Ge0]

Originally Posted by FoxPro5

Yes please.

So even with Madisound dropping the price on the 18W a little, it's still more than four times the price of the SLS ($200 vs $45). I guess you have to pay for that bandwidth, though, and the sweet Rev sound up top.

Just looking at the Sd on both, the Scan has the SLS by about 15% (150 vs 129 cm2). Just thought this was interesting as the SLS has the SS by 1.5mm xmax. Methinks lower xmax make for more betterer MB's...but i should really stop thinking.

My 18w'S are sitting collecting dust for now, what as shame... If I ever go back to a 2 way system they will be put back to use as my first and only choice. What you say is true, SWEET upper end.

But, not even the mighty Revelator could go without fault in the lower octaves. It shows signs of weakness when you really put its deep bass response to the test. At lower volumes you are in heaven. But, kick it up a few notches and it lets you know right quick that it is not happy about it.

I have a rather unique circumstance though. My sub response has a sucking hole at approx 60Hz. NO enclosure or placement combination I tried could correct this. So, I overlap this region with my midbasses to fill in the blank. To date, the SLS6 is the only driver that has been up to this challenge.

I'm not saying other drivers are not superior to the SLS6 in all other aspects, err, say distortion for one thing... But, at that low of a frequency your brain can tolerate high levels of distortion without notice. Mechanical buzzing, farting, slapping, etc. is just not as tolerable.

Ge0

[Ge0]

Originally Posted by machinehead

I'm still tryin to talk myself into chopping up my doors for the 8"

I'm with you brother. All I would have to do is cut out the fake plastic speaker grill in my decorative door skin:



And I could fit up to a 10" driver in there. To put it into perspective, the perforated fake grill you see is 7.5" in diameter. The outer ring is 10.5". I'm planning how to make a good decorative speaker grill to cover the driver now. An 8" would be flush with the door trim. A 10" would definitely stick out beyond the plane of my door skin. Hmmm... Good summer project?

Ge0

[Ge0]

Thanks for the good words everyone.

Ge0

[quality_sound]

What is the model of the comparable SLS 8" driver?

[nycsurfer]

great review ,tempting about the scans

[t3sn4f2]

Originally Posted by quality_sound

What is the model of the comparable SLS 8" driver?

830667 | Tymphany

[MuTT]

Good review, and yup, I'm liking my sls's as well....now if they just built a door that could handle them....oh well, going to the kicks shortly.

[quality_sound]

Now I want to compare these to the ZR800s. The ZR800 has more cone area, more excursion, and is 4 Ohms vs. 8 Ohms. Both are 87dB but measured differently. JL is 1W/1m, Peerless is 2.83V/1M. I can't remember which yields the higher efficiency rating.

Should be interesting.

[bass_lover1]

Originally Posted by quality_sound

Now I want to compare these to the ZR800s. The ZR800 has more cone area, more excursion, and is 4 Ohms vs. 8 Ohms. Both are 87dB but measured differently. JL is 1W/1m, Peerless is 2.83V/1M. I can't remember which yields the higher efficiency rating.

Should be interesting.

If the JL was measured @ 2.83 volts, it would be equivalent to 2 watts. I'm guessing the efficiency on both is pretty similar.


Anywho, I never was able to push the SLS 6.5s to their mechanical limits, the surround would hit my door panel before that could happen. And that was playing from 40hz-250 just for fun, and they took it pretty damn well. They were also being powered by a LP 2.2HV so I had plenty of power behind them as well.