They look pretty messy in the critical frequencies from 400hz-1khz, lots of 3rd and 5th order harmonic distortion: small midrange shootout: Faital Pro 4FE32 and ScanSpeak 10F4424G00 - Techtalk Speaker Building, Audio, Video Discussion Forum

But they're pretty cheap so maybe they're worth the low cost.

 

I agree w/GreatLaBroski.

Basically it breaks down like this, IMHO:

1) The Scan Speak 10F is basically The Gold Standard for a 4" midrange. Not cheap, but if you can afford it...

2) The Tymphany TC9 basically offers 80% of the performance for 10% of the cost. Probably one of the best midranges ever made for under $20.

3) The primary appeal of the Faitals is higher efficiency. The downside is higher distortion, not weatherproof, and their published specs are misleading.

 

Great. Thank you!

If the 10F is the standard, where does leave the ScanSpeak 12MU?

 

Law of diminishing returns, I guess?

The 10F is better than the Tymphany TC9, but it's also nine times as much.

The 12MU offers a little more xmax and a lot more power handling. It might be compelling if you were willing to spend $200 more for two or three dB more output.

If it were me, I'd just use two midranges instead of one, and raise the output by 6dB while also gaining some directivity control.

 

I have used the faital pro’s for years . Crossed at 250hz on 18db slope. Mounted in the kick panels in a sealed chamber. They have an air of depth and realism that that was surprising . I ran 60 watts to them. Never measured them just listened to them.they paired well to the 8 inch silver flutes midbass in my doors. Bad news, I burned 2 voice coils over 2 years of daily commuting and jamming . Replaced the faitals with 5 inch silver flutes. I lost my depth
. Have thought about sb acoustics .or maybe peerless mids . Liked them , just ran them too hard. And they’re not always in stock.

 

My waveguides would be a great replacement:

1) four times as many voice coils, which should help with the power handling

2) My waveguides play out to 24khz, whereas a 5" driver won't

3) The directivity of my waveguides is basically as good as it gets. If there's anything else that does 500hz - 24khz with controlled directivity, I'm not aware of it. A TAD TD 2001 is close, but costs $2000 a pair :O

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/319698-unitized-image-control-waveguide-post5776541.html

 

I did A-pillars for them for a friend. They sounded OK for their price, but nothing to rave about. They were crossed at 315Hz. I had to fab beauty rings for them to cover cheapo looking speaker basket. I would rather go with some other low budged midrange like TangBAnd or similar.

 

The 12mu are very good sounding drivers. They sound better than the 10Fs, although the 10F's are great for the price. I own both.

But it's true you're very much into the land of diminishing returns for your extra cash.