Martin Poulin
After the good subjective result from the entry level Celestion CDX1-1445, I decided to buy a better compression driver. Initially, I was thinking of the Radian 475PB, but I've been recommended, with moderate enthusiasm, to get the CDX1-1425 instead. The CDX1-1425 also has a small diaphragm format (35mm) and handles high frequencies very well, while the Radian 475PB's 44mm diaphragm exhibits a higher mass. Obviously, the Radian can play lower, but I don’t need this advantage. So, I've gone ahead and ordered a pair of CDX1-1425’s.
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The CDX1-1425 differs from the CDX1-1445 per the following:
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It uses a Neodymium magnet, which I’m hopeful is more powerful.
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Has a cooper inductance sleeve for reduced inductance and better highs.
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Has an aluminum diaphragm.
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Its 3x more expensive, but still not in TAD pricing territory.
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It has to be crossed higher as Celestion recommend 2500 Hz as a minimum. I'm aiming at 4 kHz - 5kHz and higher, so I'm good with this.
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Measurements below (except DATS which is free air) are mounted on a Faital PRO STH100 Horn.
Subjectively, it's too early to say if they’re a keeper. I’ll let them play and burn-in.
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With the house now sold, and less than two months before I hit the road, I'm using a make shift system in the kitchen, and await the move into the new house to do some serious set-up again. The system really looks good in the kitchen, but with no acoustic treatment at all, it isn’t the sound I'm used to.
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Below is the system I'm using for the next two months, with no subwoofer, as they're boxed and ready for shipment.
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30-230 Hz Dual parallel Fane 15XS in bass reflex mode (box tuned at ~36hz)
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230-2.5 kHz Max Fidelity Pr65NEO in sealed enclosure
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2.5 KHz up CDX1-1425 on Faital STH100 horn
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PR65 Neo is the bottleneck as it's only ~96 dB efficient. The B&C 8PE21 enclosure is being built.
MiniDSP 4x10HD and modded Krell Showcase 7 amplifier as always, and a modded Parasound T3 Tuner.
