I’ve completed the measurements for the Satori MW16P-4 mid-woofer. This is the new mid-woofer “flagship” driver from SB Acostics and is clearly targeted to compete with the very best mid-woofer drivers from e.g. ScanSpeak Revelator and Illuminator series and perhaps drivers from AudioTechnology and Accuton etc.
My tested driver units are the 4 Ohm version of the Satori mid-woofer.
For detailed measurements see: SB Acoustics Satori MW16P-4
How does it stack up against the competition?
If we first look at the price for this driver, it costs 288$ which isn’t exactly the cheapest driver out there. Here is a price comparison of similar drivers that compete in the same class:
The Satori mid-woofer places it self somewhere in the middle of the price range, but to be honest it is also a slightly larger mid-woofer than the rest of the drivers on list. There aren’t many true 6.5” mid-woofers on the market today and on the list the Accuton driver is the closest match.
If we increase the size to about 7”, which is the most common size today the comparison fails a bit since with this driver size we seldom can use them up to about 3kHz, as in the case of the Satori.
If we look at the technical aspect of the Satori mid-woofer and to sum-up its key performance features, we have the following:
- A low resonance frequency of 29Hz out of the box without any burn-in.
- A large linear excursion capability of +/- 6mm.
- A very low inductance.
- A very stiff cone without any severe cone break-ups.
- An extreme linear and extended frequency response up to 15kHz, on-axis.
- A low loss rubber surround with very low mechanical damping.
- A low mechanical noise from surround at higher excursions
- A high Qms and low Rms together with the properties of the surround, provides the possibility of a fast and dynamic bass response.
- A very low distortion profile throughout the mid-woofers usable range.
- A usable frequency range up to 3kHz and it allows the use of shallow sloped filters.
- A high sensitivity of approximately 90dB 2.83V/1m
- A low bass response from a relative small enclosure of 18-22 liters (34-35Hz @ -6dB)
- A good consistency between the two tested driver unit samples.
Are there any cons? Yes, it has a modest spike of odd-order distortion and an elevated second-order distortion at the cone edge resonance.
I think this is an excellent top performer and worth its price compared to the competitors, but I haven’t yet subjectively listened to it in an actual loudspeaker design and I can’t tell if it is also high performer audibly, but it certainly has the potential to be a top sonic performer!
Right now I’m testing different tweeters to match the Satori and eventually there will be a “Satori Two – Monitor” design.
Regards
/Göran