HiVi F5 5″ Midwoofer Thiele/Small

HiVi F5 Thiele/Small

I have been avoiding buying the HiVi F5 for many years. That stems from my disappointment with their 8″ M8a. When I measured the T/S with DATS, they were completely off. Hopefully, this F5 measurements will be closer.

Manufacturer’s Specs
HiVi F5 Thiele & Small Parameters (before Break-in)
As it turned out, my fears were unwarranted. My F5 T/S by DATS is close to the published specs. Qts is 0.407 which is almost HiVi’s 0.41.

Sealed Box=4 liters | F3=90Hz | Q=0.74 (Manufacturer”s TS)

Sealed Box=4 liters | F3=115Hz | Q=0.70 (DATS)

The optimal loading in a Sealed Box is 4 liters. This is great as I intend to use the F5 as a midrange. In a 3-way speaker, I can build a 4 liter sub-enclosure inside speaker box. However, if the F5 is to be used with a tweeter in a stand-alone mid/high unit as in the Swallow-BC, a larger box is preferred.

Ported Box=10 liters | Fb=50Hz | Q=0.56 (Manufacturer’s TS)

In a ported box, the F5 is ideal for a compact 10 liters 2-way or a 2.5 design like in my Robin 2.5. The tower will be smaller, only 20 liters. Another way is for a MTM for Home Theater. Two F5 with a tweeter in the middle.