# Sound of metal-coned speakers?



## Chucka (Feb 17, 2014)

Do metal-coned speakers have a different "sound" than their pulp-coned counterpart? 

I have not yet been able to listen to too many examples and I see that a number of high-end models have used metal coned speaker, while other manufacturers have refined their use of advance non-metallic designs. I know that decisions should be made by listening to the product without being influenced by materials, but I am curious as to what others have found.


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## blitzer (Mar 5, 2010)

Take a look at this article - great start on this subject.


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## Chucka (Feb 17, 2014)

blitzer said:


> Take a look at this article - great start on this subject.


Thank you for the link to this article as it is a great start. But the truth is in the listening, so I (we) would be interested in seeing what other listeners feel about what they think they are hearing between metal vs Pulp vs plastic cone low and mid-frequency bandwidth speakers (not tweeter material here) in two and three way designs.


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## zieglj01 (Jun 20, 2011)

Chucka said:


> Thank you for the link to this article as it is a great start. But the truth is in the listening, so I (we) would be interested in seeing what other listeners feel about what they think they are hearing between metal vs Pulp vs plastic cone low and mid-frequency bandwidth speakers (not tweeter material here) in two and three way designs.


Metal woofers tend to sound a little more vivid (not artificial) to me, and the good
ones do not sound harsh or sharp/edgy. > The key is for the designer/engineer, to
choose quality material and balance/work it out with a good crossover to the tweeter.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

I think it mostly depends upon the engineering and design that goes into it. I've had poly and pulp coned speakers that were really tiring to listen to and metal coned drivers that are very pleasing. All of my current speakers have aluminum drivers, some even have aluminum tweeters as well. They are well designed and I have not noticed any resonance or ringing. The stiff aluminum also helps with detail, power handling and even heat dispersion. 
I would not worry about materials of construction if the speaker was well designed. I love my aluminum drivers as they are very dynamic, can effortlessly go from extremely loud without breaking up, being fatiguing or loosing detail to extremely detailed, subtle and nuanced at low volumes, flawlessly reproducing every note.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I find it hard to generalize sound to materials. There are so many other ways that a speaker can be well or poorly designed.


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## Chucka (Feb 17, 2014)

lcaillo said:


> I find it hard to generalize sound to materials. There are so many other ways that a speaker can be well or poorly designed.


Agree!


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