BillFitzmaurice.info

Been doing some looking at drivers.....

Has anyone compared the NSD 2005 and the PSD 2013? The PSD shows to have a higher power rating at 85W vs. 50W. It also looks to have a little more punch in the 1.5 -3K range. The trade off is that it has a ferrite vs. neodymium magnet and quite a bit more weight - 3x as much and a little bigger physically.

The PSD is also $30 cheaper.

I guess I'm wondering if they sound the same, or if the PSD is worth the extra weight in order to get higher power handling and the cheaper price?

Leland, have you tried the PSD? Anyone else?

The power difference is inconsequential, due to the higher sensitivity of the NSD. Also keep in mind that those ratings are with only 12dB filtering, and that the power content above 1.2kHz is only about 12% of the total spectrum. The PSD is heavy, so you have to be sure that the horn is well built, especially the connection of the mounting flange to the throat. I added some additional bracing pieces there for just that reason.

I mentioned the PSD's a good while back, and for me they aren't an option (ie for DR's).
I can't comment on how they sound.
You mentioned size. The PSD 2013 is 5 1/4" wide (compared to under 4" for the NSD), but it also has more depth.
Have you looked yet to see if there is the physical space required for the PSD 2013 to fit?
That was the reason they are a no go for the DR250.
You will probably need to retrofit the extra horn supports between the body and the flange for the PSD's too. Not a big deal really.

Given your other post, have you worked out what happened to blow the diaphragm. That's a couple in the last 12 months ish...

Grant Bunter wrote: Given your other post, have you worked out what happened to blow the diaphragm.

+1 ... that voice coil still looks good in that post, the diaphragm on the other hand not so much.

CoronaOperator wrote:

Grant Bunter wrote: Given your other post, have you worked out what happened to blow the diaphragm.

+1 ... that voice coil still looks good in that post, the diaphragm on the other hand not so much.

No, I really don't know what ate the diaphragm. These haven't been hit hard at all in a few months....

And Grant, it was actually almost 2 years ago that I blew some diaphragms.....one blew and shorted, causing my amp to go thermal and shut down. That was a fun show and a scramble to get parts before the next show......and that's why I now keep spares. Although, I just used my spare this morning.....time for another order.

Bruce Weldy wrote: And Grant, it was actually almost 2 years ago that I blew some diaphragms.....

Aww hell, where does time go then? Seems like 12 months ago

At least I remembered it did actually happen.

edit: it's a shame the Otop12 isn't quite high enough to build the dual driver CD horn that can be found in the DR250.

Grant Bunter wrote: it's a shame the Otop12 isn't quite high enough to build the dual driver CD horn that can be found in the DR250.

The DRs use dual drivers because it's not possible to center a single driver on the HF horn. A single NSD has no issue keeping up with a 3012HO. Whatever caused that damage wasn't normal usage. Since the coil wasn't toasted it must have been a high intensity short duration pulse insufficient to cook the coil but sufficient to push the diaphragm past xlim.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:

Grant Bunter wrote: it's a shame the Otop12 isn't quite high enough to build the dual driver CD horn that can be found in the DR250.

The DRs use dual drivers because it's not possible to center a single driver on the HF horn. A single NSD has no issue keeping up with a 3012HO. Whatever caused that damage wasn't normal usage. Since the coil wasn't toasted it must have been a high intensity short duration pulse insufficient to cook the coil but sufficient to push the diaphragm past xlim.

And that's what's weird....I didn't have any situations that concerned me. It had to have happened before yesterday as I noticed it when just running some music at low volume to make sure everything was on and working. I've had those times where someone unplugs a condenser mic with the volume up - you hear those and immediately start checking to make sure everything came out alive. I always turn on and off in the right order and don't ever have self-inflicted wounds....and work really hard to keep others from inflicting them too....

It's entirely possible that it happened at a big show at the end of the year....and I didn't notice it at the last gig at this small venue in January....it was so damned cold, I'm not sure I paid a lot of attention prior to the gig.

PSD2013 is a killer driver for the money. It's my go to comp driver for everything. The tradeoff is size and weight. If that's not a problem, use it. It also doesn't die until about 18k. The NSD is done around 15k. Nothing wrong with that really for prosound use, but the graphs are prettier. I can't hear that high anymore.

LelandCrooks wrote:PSD2013 is a killer driver for the money. It's my go to comp driver for everything. The tradeoff is size and weight. If that's not a problem, use it. It also doesn't die until about 18k. The NSD is done around 15k. Nothing wrong with that really for prosound use, but the graphs are prettier. I can't hear that high anymore.

Thanks Leland, that's great to know. That begs the next question.....will they play together if you mix the two? I'm guessing so, since I mix CD and melded array with no problem.

No big reason why not.

Bruce Weldy wrote:....it was so damned cold, I'm not sure I paid a lot of attention prior to the gig.

So what counts as cold in Texas? I always had thought that it's permanently hot there - like an American Australia!

escapemcp wrote:

Bruce Weldy wrote:....it was so damned cold, I'm not sure I paid a lot of attention prior to the gig.

So what counts as cold in Texas? I always had thought that it's permanently hot there - like an American Australia!

Well, we were playing outside and it was in the 40s and some wind. Not that cold for hanging out, but the fingers don't want to bend properly on those steel strings.

We did a party outside once when it was -5°C (23°F) - I was so glad when that one got shut down early!

escapemcp wrote:We did a party outside once when it was -5°C (23°F) - I was so glad when that one got shut down early!

Well, that's got me beat...but, I did run sound for an event outside last year where the high for the day was 37. Glad I wasn't trying to play that day....just turning knobs was painful.