best sounding high efficiency mids (6 1/2" - 8")
 

i'm putting a very different system together. it's a bicycle trailer street party system. it's currently based around an xduoo X2 media player, a planet audio BB1200.4 class D 4 channel amp with the fronts driving a pair of 96dB proel flash 8P DJ speakers (i might add a pair of 8 inch rockvilles) as mains with the rear channels bridged to drive a JBL GT5-15 sub i intend to buy a 1.9 cubic foot sealed box for powered by 3-4 12v 18Ah AGM batteries. >>>> it's going to be a very heavy system, but when i get some work to make more money, i'd like to build a 2.0 system from scratch out of fiberglass keeping the planet audio amp, but switching to lighter lithium ion batterie$, possibly with a new sub, or even 4x10s or 12s and with 2 or maybe even 4 pairs high efficiency drivers as mains with either beyma aluminum domes or maybe even air motion tweeters, but the system will need mids. >>>> i've checked a bunch of SPL systems and driver videos out on youtube, starting with DS18 drivers because they're so cheap, and found that pretty much ALL of the systems sound extremely thin, shouty and even shrill and papery, NOT what i'd consider hi-fi. the best sounding demo i heard was a raw faital pro mid sounding a little less papery and shrill than DS18 and beyma. >>>> i've read a bunch of driver reviews that heap praise on MOST of the SPL and PA driver brands, but am not convinced yet that they're worth using as TECHNICALLY i'm building more of an SQ than SPL system, but as it's portable, run times and efficiency are a big issue. i'm inclined to just use multiples of regular 90dB drivers to get 3-6dB higher efficiency, but that could get heavy and expensive too. >>>> i've tried researching SPL mids, but there's virtually NO INFO online according to search engines eg. best sounding SPL speakers or most popular SPL drivers etc. >>>> back to DS18, most of the info i found in forums was about their subs & amps. >>>> what i'm looking for is a better idea of what high efficiency mids sound the best. i'd prefer 6 1/2" mids for speed & midrange clarity, but they, and smaller, drivers aren't as efficient as 8"+ drivers and seem to top out around 93dB unless you get sealed back mids that can only go down to 300Hz at best. i'm looking for mids that can do at least 150Hz, but 100Hz would be even better. i'm also not looking to buy 4 (or 8) @ $150+ each drivers if i want to get the new system finished before summer's over. right now, i'm playing catch up after a serious unexpected financial setback. with all that said, what are your favorite competition mids, especially if you can compare them to other brands and say WHY you prefer one over another. it seems like an ESSENTIAL topic that isn't covered anywhere that i could find online. i don't care what you own. if you heard the speakers in a shop or at a show, that's fine as long as you have at least a little experience comparing brands. thanks in advance for everyone's help, and here's to hoping this thread helps a bunch of other people with the same question in the future. a showdown thread would be even better, but so far, my only experience with high efficiency drivers is a nice sounding pair of $40 each 12" subs i got at MCM and the surprisingly hi-fi sounding celestion drivers in my proels. they list for $500 a pair, but i got an awesome $100 pair deal on mine at MCM, but they were gone before i could order a second pair after checking them out. PS what's up with forums like this that REFUSE to do paragraphs and quotation marks?

the silence was deafening one would think members of the SPL forum would have some experience with and opinions about SPL mids

not that anyone's contributing, but the best sounding mids i've heard so far, according to videos, are soundstream and DB drive where everything else, including professional PA drivers sounds shrill and spitty, soundstream & DB seemed to sound warmer and smoother without that annoying buzzsaw edge. BUT, it's also possible that the demos that never sound right are just playing louder on mics that can't take it. i've never heard any SPL mids in person.

this question is first of all very subjective and also far to complicated.
Simplify your question into a sentence not a large paragraph and it will be easier to discuss

I DID, it's called a "topic"

through further research and positive experience owning both celestion home speakers and proel flash 8P PA speakers with celestion drivers, as well as THIS youtube demo,
i've decided to stick with what i know (the celestion brand) and will likely use 8" TF0818s as they sound great in the demo, have a pretty flat frequency response compared to other drivers, are affordable at $50, and kevlar/paper sounds like a nice cone material. kevlar's good enough for B&W's top of the line 800 series which do sound pretty good, and the 5 1/2" kevlar mid-woofers in my energy RC10s were the best sounding out of any speaker i've ever owned and then some.

http://i.share.pho.to/153716b0_o.png
that's a REALLY flat curve from 200Hz - 2kHz! even hifi drivers aren't that flat a lot of the time. sadly, affordable ribbon/planar/AMT tweeters rarely go down to 2kHz where crossovers are less intrusive.

i was just hoping to get a dialogue started and hear what everyone here likes and doesn't.

(PS i INTENDED the original post to be several easier to digest paragraphs, but couldn't create any apparently because i hadn't OKed this forum with noscript)

what do i know.. only been on this forum 10 years

i don't know what you know seeing you didn't share any insight. "best sounding high efficiency midranges" is a pretty simple concept, and not particularly open to equivocating. either a driver sounds good, or it doesn't. from what i've heard in youtube videos, MOST high efficiency drivers sound like paper resonant crap. there's no rational debate why such a distortion should EVER be considered acceptable.

don't learn or "listen" from youtube.