How Good is the $30 Eminence Compression driver? Eminence F110M-8 Review

The Eminence F110M-8 is a ring radiator compression driver that costs less than $30. At that price, I had to see just what you get. Could this be used for Home Theater or pa systems? Let's take a look.
🔊 Parts Discussed:
F110M-8: parts-express....
Adapter: parts-express....
Beta 10CX: parts-express....
Eminence: parts-express....
📄Speaker Plans: toidsdiyaudio....
🔥 Where to Buy Speaker Parts and Kits:
US and Canada: parts-express.... get 5% off with code TOID
UK and Abroad: bit.ly/3skOGRJ
Worldwide: Amazon: amzn.to/3aPhKYD
Car Speakers/ Home Audio and electronics: howl.me/cg5oP9...
🏠Get Whole House Audio:
Arylic: bit.ly/2wFUUQ4
🍿Theater Seating
Valencia Theater Seating: bit.ly/3Jbagjm
📄Speaker Plans: toidsdiyaudio....
🎙️Sound Advice Podcast: anchor.fm/soun...
🎧Buy Audiophile Headphones: howl.me/cg6GDj...
🆓Get it with Prime - Free for your first 30 days: amzn.to/326cZqe
FREE Audio Books for 30 days from Audible: amzn.to/3a7lBS9
👋Connect with Me:
www.toidsdiyau...
🤝 Support:
Patreon: / 123toid
Disclosure: This channel is viewer-supported. When you buy through links on my site, I may earn an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own.

[@stephenwoolley999]

The Frequency Response & Impedance Curves shown, actually look extremely good for a compression driver. The mass break point at 2.5-3kHz and subsequent droop are classic apart from the minor 2dB bump at 6.5kHz. This curve theoretically should droop to infinity, however, the rise after 15kHz is again, classic diaphragm break up, and could be seen as 'free' HF. I'd guess this was measured on a PWT. If so, it's a very respectable product, even more so at the price. If you wish to see a 'flat' trace on a compression driver, it would automatically imply that there was axial gain on the horn. i.e. the directivity was beaming more and more with increasing frequency. Nothing is for free in acoustics!

[@cjhodgson3000]

Great post!

[@callmebigpapa]

Would a Driverak PA2 or similar smooth this out after tuning with the calibrated mic they come with?

[@danbuffington75]

"TPI" means "Threads Per Inch" as far as I understood it... It's the throat size, followed by the mounting type, 1-3/8"-18 TPI. There are different mounting types for compression drivers. For example, you can get an adapter that is just to connect the different sizes: 1-3/8"-18 TPI Screw-On to 2/3-Bolt Horn Adapter. Just wanted to share that with anyone that was curious.

[@edwjak]

Hi everybody. I'm almost 60 Years old now, and it took me about 30 (first 30) years to decide for myself that the numbers and graphs are extremely important choosing the speakers. But the most important for musician it to listen how it sounds comparing to other same type speakers on same (flat) settings. Comparing 12" cabinets Yamaha, EV, JBL, RCF... my choice was Eminence. It wasn't the loudest one, the bass was just average, treble was average (and the price by the way). But I just loved it from the first note of our singer. The sound was so balanced and delicious, very rich mid and mid-bass. It was just perfect match for the musicians. A lot of our colleagues purchased the same speakers and using with various amps or powered mixers had perfect results. I used it for 15 years till switched from the life restaurant music to the touring job. But till today, having all those powered speakers, line arrays and DSPs, I miss my old eminence sound. :) :) maybe I'm just longing for my youth....

[@endall39]

Always appreciate your vids. For me, I can’t see building with a compression driver that can’t carry the whole high range. What this does make me think of is how much I’d like to build a pro audio/PA style boom box that could fill a larger room by using horn loaded compression drivers and super efficient woofers. Would love to see you work up a design for that!

[@Toid]

Thanks for this. I was actually considering something like that later on. Not sure when I'll get to it though.

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

Those crimp on/quick connect terminals can be bent 90 degrees with pliers, so the wires go out the sides rather than towards the horn. I’m glad that isn’t a woofer that is like that. I have fixed a Mackie srm450 PA speaker that had push terminals and quite long wires on the woofer. The problem was a rattle when the bass hit. The cause? The wires were shoved up against the cone! I had to move the wires around to fix it. Have not tested it, but it should be fixed. How do you think this could happen? It was a speaker owned by the school I go to, where they allow the children to repair their audio equipment and instruments, so maybe some other student was trying to “fix” something else and put it together wrong for me to fix?

[@Quetzalcoatl0]

Cheaper driver and complex crossover or Expensive driver and simpler crossover ? I think the second option would be better.

[@joeygonzo]

You can't fix bad drivers .

[@jbarelds78]

I agree. But a simple crossover does not mean anything goes. Would be a shame to ruin a good driver by getting the cheapest crossover components.

[@Quetzalcoatl0]

​@@jbarelds78 well i said "simpler" crossover not "cheaper"

[@rhalfik]

Frequency response is not all. when you EQ some band, you are also rising distortion and someitmes even introducing noise in the most extreme examples (with DSP). Good drivers are almost always a way to go.

[@davidperry4013]

A 30 dollar soft dome tweeter can sound pretty good but you get a 20 db efficiency penalty over a compression driver. It won’t sound as good as a high end soft dome tweeter or a vintage Alnico magnet compression driver. Really good compression drivers specifically made for home audio only needs a simple ass crossover with just an air core inductor in series with the woofer and a film foil cap for the tweeter then power it with vacuum tubes and go to town.

[@altops4490]

I want to build a 3 or 4 way pair of eminence home speakers. 15inches woofers and horns, maybe a rear radiator. Any recipes out there?

[@sc0or]

As a typical 90dB tweeter it might be good (so, 3-way, not 4, or even 2-way if you take a woofer that plays up to 5kHz) But is this worth to use a compression driver as a low sensitivity tweeter? They have a lot of 90dB dom tweeters playing from 1.5-5kHz, less directional, which requires a simpler crossover…

[@csj9619]

Eminence drivers are good value for money in my experience. I am a fan of HLCD's and also a fan of good comp. drivers that are affordable. As far as 1" models are concerned, my go-to's are PRV D-280 ($38), Selenium D220-Ti ($55) and B & C DE250 ($110) * the B & C is what alot of 1" comp. drivers are copies of. Eminence also sound good, I just haven't used any of 'em before.

[@roybertalotto6355]

I just bought these same drivers, CX10 and F110M......I'm going to use them in open baffle at first just to see how that works out. And then build a cabinet to copy the Zu SOUL IV with a down firing passive radiator or a down firing port. I'm going to need help designing the cabinet and the Xover........Thanks!

[@Toid]

No worries. I saw you just become a patreon. I'll make sure to help out.

[@leehodge2415]

The thumb tacts, fill with 20 minute mud, then use a damp sponge to level without any dust.

[@spiral9198]

Excellent video Toids.

[@philhowey156]

You mentioned the surround project & have seen the THX clone fronts. Might there be a matching center project in the future as well? I was excited to build some Uglies, but Parts Express isn't stocking the mid basses (and I'm not interested if I have to buy 50!), so a Klipsch THX clone system sounds interesting.

[@Toid]

I'm thinking of making the cinema version - KPT-8000M

[@philhowey156]

@@Toid a 15" woofer on a surround? That could be a SAF challenge, but I can actually put the cabinet in-wall to offset that. With a 68 Hz 3dB down point, it could even see that working as an L&R. Still leaves me jonesing for a center design though....

[@Toid]

@@philhowey156 hahaha, that would be a challenge. However, I think you looked at a different model. The 8000m uses an 8-in woofer with a 1-in tweet in a 90x90 waveguide. Although I'd probably do more like 90 by 40 or 90 by 60. That way you wouldn't be as concerned about ceiling bounce. The movie theaters don't need to worry about that as much as we would.

[@philhowey156]

@@Toid LOL - I must have! That's what I get for surging on my phone.

[@kencohagen4967]

Lol, when I bought my first house the couple who owned it we’re going through a divorce. He was Air Force, and She was Phillipino. Hot hot hot Phillipino! In fact the day we looked at the house there was a half nude picture of her on the dresser and So when we got to the living room, oh yah it had one of those too. She had kind of like what Native Americans call Dream Catchers on both the front and rear walls of the room.they were probably beautiful while they weren’t covered in dust. Well, the floor was a mess, it needed paint and refinished bathrooms. But since we had saved up to recarpet the floor and retire the kitchen and dining room it didn’t matter if we spilled or splattered paint anywhere. We painted first. My Dad painted schools I. Ohio when he had summers off from teaching, so he came over to teach me how. But before we could get started I had to fill 206 nail holes on one wall and 190 on the other, then sand it all down and vacuum up all the dust. I spent a week coming in after work and sealing off holes until daylight was gone, but ignore it done. Then we started painting, so, I feel your pain! Good luck!

[@joshlindsey8393]

awesome vid bro keep em coming

[@Toid]

Thank you

[@floydloonie4880]

Are you sure those holes are from thumbtacks?? Could be some crosseyed dart thrower tried his luck tossing darts... I love throwing darts with my pals.

[@jworthe]

Curious, do you have any beaming issues running the 10" woofer up past (13560/10 =) 1356 Hz? I'd love to build something like this, but this potential issue is what's holding me back from pulling the trigger.

[@chrishouser9146]

Really would like to see a faital pro hf105 review see what ya think.

[@joicejewerly5579]

Nice tuning 🎉🎉🎉

[@BirdArvid]

I'm not in any way an expert, but it seems to me that by bringing the sensitivity down to create what you consider a better frequency response, you take away its main plus point which is the same enormous sensitivity. If you want to use it at that low a sensitivity, I assume there are better drivers around.

[@Toid]

Well that always depends on the sensitivity of the drivers that you're mating it with. Most compression drivers sensitivity, are going to be significantly higher than the midwoofer or woofer that you're mating it with. In this particular case, with the driver I was using, this was not an issue at all. However, there could be cases where you would not be able to do what I did with this driver. In those cases, this would not be a good driver to choose.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

You can also see the sensitivity as the extra headroom that makes it so very adaptable. Sensitivity isn't really useful if you don't pair it with other very sensitive drivers, it would just overpower them. And if less sensitive drivers aren't available with the response you are looking for, you would have a lot less flexibilith getting less sensitive drivers paired up properly with the rest of the drivers. Loads of different ways to achieve simmilar results in the end.

[@csj9619]

What modeling software are you using in this video?

[@mkshffr4936]

How much sensitivity did you give up there?

[@bazrazin1]

what's the difference between compression drivers & the similar voice coil unit behind PA system horn. and do you have to connect a horn guide at the throat of comp. drv.

[@norvillerodgersspeaks]

This would be a good driver for a bass cab if you could use 4 in series parallel for power handling.

[@bassheadlife492]

Why not run a dsp instead of passive Xovers?

[@alaingingras7224]

What program do you use for the crossover ajustements .Thank You

[@Toid]

Xsim

[@thirumalkumaran]

Is it worth sacrificing all the sensitivity just to make it work? Can't we just make it a midrange compression like Klipsch forte, and another high end one for all the cost spent on electronics and effort? Doesn't sound like a good sale to me!

[@Toid]

That would depend on the woofer you're using. In this case I wasn't really sacrificing any sensitivity, since I was going to have to pad it down with resistors anyway to match the woofers sensitivity.

[@thirumalkumaran]

@@Toid that's a very good point. But shouldn't your driver selection be based on the sensitivity of all the drivers? The major reason I would pick up a horn driver is sensitivity! If my specs demand a 85db midrange or tweeter, in this case I would go for a dome ones which might be easier to tame. This driver will work wonderfully, if I'm planning to make a forte clone and use this as a midrange.

[@Toid]

@@thirumalkumaran that's a very good point. I should have mentioned that these were not taken at one Watt per meter. They were taken at a lower volume. so the sensitivity you're seeing on the response graph is not the actual sensitivity at one Watt 1 m.

[@underground_man]

I’m a guitar player so when I saw Eminence I clicked. Not what I was expecting but interesting lol

[@Toid]

On a side note. I'm working on a guitar amplifier build using an Eminence driver.

[@underground_man]

@@Toid Cool. What style circuit is it? Is it an original design?

[@rooseveltscarsce9009]

Sir what software you are using to correct and tuning the frequency response of the diving network thanks.

[@Toid]

I'm using a free program called Xsim

[@DJDREXTV]

Is this better than the horn that's in the alto ts212... Please help

[@__--JY-Moe--__]

it would be nice 2 see the build that use these products!!!

[@Toid]

Here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4TdemB6dq13fKc

[@__--JY-Moe--__]

@@Toid 👍

[@aaronrobbins1458]

Is there a video for people with less experience? I absolutely do not understand screwing a tweeter to the back for a sub. Doesn't that mean the tweeter would be inside the box?

[@johnsweda2999]

Can you use that software in real time adjusting the crossover so I could look it up and adjust it while I'm listening to it. You got a link for this software is it free or you have to pay

[@Toid]

You can't really use the software real-time is it's not going to show the difference in frequency response. There's a place to download the software for free on my website toidsdiyaudio.com/community/postid/4853/ I use the Omni mic, which allows me to do real-time adjustments to crossover

[@Durolith]

made 2 T-Line with push-pull beta 12B 98db 1w 16ohm with an FS of 55hz they pound clearly verry hard xD

[@FSXgta]

Wayy to high FS to make T line let alone subwoofer

[@Durolith]

@@FSXgta was wondering if push pull was lowering it since there is 2 driver 16 ohm each in parallel in push pull config

[@Durolith]

@@FSXgta they have a 12db low pass at around 90hz and sound really good tough placed behind my leather sofa xD

[@Durolith]

@@FSXgta they play down 20hz easy feel and hear notes too

[@FSXgta]

@@Durolith perhaps but they are PA drivers, not really made for subwoofer use. I guess they were cheaper than a real subwoofer is why you used them instead

[@CABohol]

Nice

[@jessicaembers924]

25 Watts? I'd need 400 of the damn things! Wtf?

[@Joshualbm]

Seems really problematic. Probably due to the horn interface and some resonance creating cancellations and ringing. If you had the horn you could play with the physical parameters first. Because whoever buys this driver is going to have different issues based on what they end up using.

[@Durolith]

eminence have better product than they look like to be lol

[@yttean98]

4 way too many x-overs points, not such a good idea.

[@BIGDADDYFRESHx]

Those klipsch speakers mentioned in the video are all active behind the screen behemoths

[@laniroli3714]

Now Eminence is bought by B&C. Wait for the new models. Leave this 💩