Aluminum vs Kevlar vs Polypropelyne (1 Viewer)

[RandomPinkPie]

Hello,
I have a task in chemistry to find the major differences and sort accordingly, Aluminum, Kevlar and Polypropelyne speaker drivers.
So far my research and chemical theroy (which i wont bore you with) states that, for long term uses, Aluminum would make a good low ot mid sound range, Kevlar med to high and PP for constant high volume uses like stage work.
However this is all just what the facts and figures say from each of their structual formulas and etc. I need a real world comparrison from a virarity of different uses. Because so far all I've got is compairing T.V and computer speakers to my Turtle Beach headset, which still produces static alot of times with the volumes I use it, but im not going to pull it apart just to find out what the drivers made out of.
To me thats a little (okay alot) skewed for data.
Thanks for any feedback
~RandomPinkPie

 

[Robert_J]

Kevlar reinforced paper pulp is the material of choice for most of the high powered subs. It offers a light weight while being able to withstand the forces generated by motors (magnet structures) that weight 50+ pounds. I also have subs with poly cones, aluminum cones and titanium cones. Titanium is great but difficult to work with and expensive. A few companies make pure kevlar or carbon fiber cones but they are rare and expensive.
Woofers are usually aluminum or paper. The material is based on the sound characteristics the designer is after.
Mids can be aluminum, paper, titanium and in the case of some 2" dome mids I have - silk.
Tweeters can be paper, mylar, silk (my favorite), aluminum and titanium.
Basically, the driver designer chooses the material based on the sound characteristics, cost and application. How are you going to sort the materials when you don't have a driver goal in mind?

 

[RandomPinkPie]

I thank you for your controbution,
My aim is to compare and analyse. Basicly, I'm to get three different substances (preferably polymers) used in the drivers and compare the uses, pros and cons to then make a final decision of which would be the better choice and for what reasoning.
Also I should have mentioned in my previous post, I would mostly be using Mids and tweeters. Woofers have a different range out of the everyday standard for most average speaker systems.

 

[Robert_J]

The material is usually chosen to give the designer the sound he wants. With mids and tweeters, there's not enough material to factor into the price.
Check out Parts Express. Their Dayton line of speakers is set up with two price points. I've used their lower end models in a lot of builds and they are great. Both their 6.5" woofers and 5.25" woofers in this line are paper. Their tweeters in this line are silk and aluminum. The woofers sound very similar. The tweeters on the other hand do sound different. The silk is more of a natural sound and the aluminum is crisp (my best description).
The higher end line (the RS series) is aluminum from the subs to the tweeters and some extended (aka full range) drivers.