Customer reviews

I think sound quality of this inexpensive driver is suprisingly good if used as mid range

The nomenclature for the Peerless FSL-0512R01-08 is a bit misleading in my opinion, as I would not truly rank it as a full range speaker, in the way that some 75-125mm drivers are capable of operating.
But, its design and performance reflects decisions which make it a very capable and attractive midrange, and easy to work with.

The factory response curve is not truly indicative of its capabilities- a QNF measurement (Quasi Near Field) can be more revealing of the innate driver characteristics with environmental issues minimized. Unfortunately I cannot attach images to this review. However, I measure a response which is within a +/- 1 dB window from about 175Hz to 5 kHz, above which one gets into cone breakup modes, which fortunately do not rise above the baseline response.

Note that polar response out to 50 degrees is quite consistent and tracks closely, depending on baffle diffraction, up to about 2200Hz, diverging rapidly above that, the 50 degree angle being down ~5dB at 3kHz and 10 dB at 4kHz.

At standard reference level for testing, HD2 and HD3 performance are good, around -60dB in the 100-400Hz area, but probably due to lack of "copper in the gap" the HD3 slowly rises, to about -52 dB at 1kHz, and not exceeding that range higher up. HD2, OTOH, drops somewhat, to about -70 dB at 1kHz, and stays close to that range with increasing frequency.

In crossover development, a Duelund approach for a project seemed reasonable for this driver, with a center frequency of 800Hz and an aleph factor of 2.75. Parallel impedance stabilization networks were used for the LF resonance in enclosure, and the HF impedance rise. Very good compliance to the target curve was achieved from 150Hz to 4kHz. The complete system using this driver has not yet been assembled and tested, but this will occur soon, starting with the MF-HF module.

Measurement tools are Røde Fuzzmeasure software, an Earthworks M30 microphone with Motu M4 audio interface, and design software is VituixCAD 2.

If there is a better midrange driver for under 100 euro, I would like to hear about it...