Condor-II (Dayton H6512 with FaitalPro 10FE200-4)

Condor-II
45 Liters Bass Reflex

In this Condor-II, I replaced the woofer with a FaitalPro 10FE200-4. My aim is to design a 10″ 2-way for professional use. For that, I need to cross the JBL 2414H-C at about 2kHz. This would serve as an alternative to the JBL JRX 200 series which uses the same compression driver/horn combo.

Fig 1 – FaitalPro 10FE200-4 RAW and Low Pass

The Black plot in Fig 1 is the RAW response of the 10FE200 in a 45L bass reflex with a baffle width of 14-1/2″. The Blue plot is with a Low Pass network for 2kHz.

Fig 2 – FaitalPro 10FE200-4 with Dayton H6512 / JBL 2414H-C

The Red plot in Fig 2 is the Dayton H6512 / JBL 2414H-C combo crossing over to the woofer at 2kHz. Even though the High Pass filter is a 2nd order electrical, the acoustic slope is at 35 dB/oct. This will enhance the robustness of the JBL 2414H-C.

Fig 3 – Condor-II Crossover Passband

The Black plot in Fig 3 is the crossover passband. The summation is generally good except for some minor cancellation at about 1.5kHz. That’s caused by the unevenness in the woofer’s response. I wouldn’t worry about this because during playback, I didn’t detect any issues.

Fig 4 – Condor-II Frequency Response

The Condor-II Frequency Response is in Fig 4. She is flat except for the two dips at 700Hz and 1.5kHz. There’s nothing I can do as the woofer’s native response is like that. Fortunately during playback, I didn’t pick up these dips.

Fig 5 – Condor-II Null

The Violet plot in Fig 5 is the null when I flipped the JBL 2414H-C wires around. It is not sharp and deep, indicating the two drivers are over-lapping. If I want to time-align them, I will have to add a delay network. But since I can’t hear the misalignment, I shall leave it as it is.

Fig 6 – Condor-II Nearfield Frequency Response

For clarity, I spliced in the nearfield response at 420Hz. This plot is a good approximation of the lower frequencies when measured in an anechoic chamber. 

Fig 7 – Condor-II Port Output

The Brown plot in Fig 7 is the output from the front port. Unlike the Condor which is a peak, the Condor-II port output is broadband. Actually, it looks more like a bandpass. As for the pipe resonance, there’s a single peak at 1.2kHz but it’s well below the fundamental to cause any issues to the midrange.

Fig 8 – Condor-II Step Response

The Condor-II is “faster” than the Condor. The transient is almost vertical, hitting the apex at an astonishing 50 microsec (Fig 8). From this step response, we can see the acoustic centers of the two drivers are very close. I don’t think it’s necessary to time align them because it wouldn’t improve on the sound. 

Fig 9 – Condor-II Excess Phase

I am stunned by the Condor-II Excess Phase (Fig 9). From this plot, we can see the Condor-II is virtually Time and Phase Coherent. This Excess Phase plot and the Step Response look similar to the Thiel’s Time & Phase Coherent speakers. 

Fig 10 – Condor-II Toneburst Energy Storage

The Toneburst plot in Fig 10 shows excess energy at 1.5kHz. At the very most, they last for only 6 cycles. That translates to 4 msec. 

Fig 11 – Condor-II Spectrogram

The Spectrogram (Fig 11) displays the energy in a 2-dimensional plane. The excess energy at 1.5kHz starts to dissipate by 4 msec. This is the 6 cycles shown in Fig 10. After 1.5kHz, the response is very clean. There’s no audible ringing in the horn. Quite an achievement by JBL. 

Fig 12 – Condor-II Impedance

The Condor-II  touches 4Ω (Fig 12) at 200Hz. This is the lowest. After that, it rises to a peak of 11Ω at 2.5kHz. The electrical phase is well controlled too. Power amplifiers designed for 4Ω will have no problems driving the Condor-II.

Fig 13 – Condor-II Bass Reflex Tuning

Fig 13 is the box tuning of the Condor-II. Port diameter is 3″. Length is 1.85″. F3=57Hz. This correlates with the Condor-II frequency response plot in Fig 4. 

Summary

I started out designing a basic pro speaker but ended up with the Holy Grail in speaker design, a Time & Phase Coherent 2-way. I don’t think there’s anything quite like it in the market. Design concept and measurements are fine but the real test is how does it sound.

Well, the midrange is as clear as can be. I can’t make it any better. There’s no boxiness in the voice. Vocal is focused and it projects. This is important when the Condor-II is used for speech reinforcement or for vocalist in a “Live” band. The voice doesn’t sound muffled at all.

The treble of the Condor-II is at HiFi quality. No audible ringing in the horn. And there’s no spitting sibilance. If there’s one thing I can’t stand in pro speakers, it’s that. Some are so bad that they actually have to use this device called a “De-esser” whose sole purpose is to attenuate the sibilance. There’s no need for this Band-Aid with the Condor-II.

What I didn’t expect in the Condor-II is the bass. It is fairly deep (57Hz at -3dB) and loud enough but not too loud to the extent of being boomy. It is great for music playback in the home but for “live” vocalist, it’s advisable to apply an EQ at 80Hz (HP) to cut off the frequencies below the human voice.

I am more than satisfied with the outcome of the Condor-II. I can recommend this speaker for “Live” Bands, Houses of Worship, Institutions of Learning, Home Theater, HiFi and more. Add to that the 95dB sensitivity, you won’t need much amplifier power. Tube amp owners will love the Condor-II.

Unless otherwise stated, all measurements were made in Full Space (4 pi) with the mic at 36 ins, tweeter axis. Impulse Window=5ms. No smoothing applied.