Silver Flute W20RC38-08 with Pyle PDS442 + Dayton H07E

SILVER FLUTE W20RC38 PYLE PDS442 DAYTON H07E

Silver Flute W20RC38-08 with Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E

This is my third attempt at trying to mate an 8″ woofer with the Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E combo. In this instance, I’m using a HiFi woofer, a Silver Flute W20RC38-08. I’ve never heard this woofer before so it’ll be interesting to see what is the outcome. I loaded the W20RC38-08 onto a 25 liters ported box with outboard electronic crossover set for 2.5kHz.

Crossing the Silver Flute W20RC38-08 with Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E

Ported Box = 25 liters. Baffle Width = 13.5″SILVER FLUTE W20RC38-08 CROSSOVERFig 1 – Frequency Response of Silver Flute W20RC38-08 and Pyle PDS442/Dayton H07E.
Mic at 36 ins, Horn axis. Impulse Window=5ms. No Smoothing. Nearfield below 500Hz.

Though my electronic crossover is at 2.5kHz (24dB/oct, Linkwitz Riley), the Silver Flute W20RC38-08 and the Pyle PDS442 combo are crossing acoustically at 2kHz.

Summed Response of Silver Flute W20RC38-08 with Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E
SILVER FLUTE W20RC38-08 SUMMED RESPONSE

Fig 2 – Summed Response with Pyle PDS442+H07E wired in Normal Phase.

The summed response of the Silver Flute W20RC38-08 with the Pyle PDS442/H07E is quite impressive. It is virtually flat from 1kHz~8kHz. More importantly, the W20RC38-08 doesn’t exhibit the horrendous bump of the Dayton PA200 at 700Hz.

Summed Response with Crossover Null
SILVER FLUTE W20RC38-08 CROSSOVER NULL

Fig 3 – Summed Response with Pyle PDS442 wired in Reversed Phase.

Fig 3 is with the Pyle PDS442 wired in reversed phase. A sharp null is centered at 2kHz, which is exactly where the two drivers crossed acoustically in Fig 1. 

Harmonic Distortion of the Silver Flute W20RC38-08
SILVER FLUTE W20RC38-08 DISTORTION

Fig 4 – Distortion Sweep with Mic at 24 ins on Silver Flute W20RC38-08 axis.

The Silver Flute W20RC38-08 distortion is shown in Fig 4. This is the harmonic distortion of the raw driver, without the Pyle PDS442+H07E combo and not connected to any crossover.

Strangely, there is a rise in the 3rd harmonic (Violet plot), peaking at 1.5kHz. Fortunately, it is still -40dB below the fundamental. During playback, I did not detect any hardness in this region. Vocals and instruments sound normal.

On the plus side, the 2nd harmonic registered an impressive -55dB~-60dB below. 

How’s the Sound?

In one word – Marvellous.

I must admit I didn’t expect the Silver Flute W20RC38-08 to be this good. This 8″ version is miles ahead of the smaller 6.5″ W17RC38 and the 5.5″ W14RC25. I should know. I’ve worked with those two smaller ones for years and I could never get them to sing.

What struck me first is the perfect tonal balance of the W20RC38-08. The vocals are not over-bearing. The mid-range doesn’t shout at you. So much so that no Baffle Step Compensation required.

The mid-bass (90Hz~200Hz) on the other hand, has just about the right volume and punch. Not too hard and yet not flabby.

When the W20RC38-08 is combined with the Pyle PDS442/H07E, the speaker sounds heavenly. Vocals and instruments are both reproduced smoothly. This is one speaker that is very relaxing to listen to. 

As for the roll-off at 8kHz, I have no issues with it as there’s very little information up there. However, I can add a super tweeter to extend the ultra high frequencies to 20kHz if desired. 

I will definitely work more on this 8″ Silver Flute. One version will obviously be with a HiFi tweeter in a 2-way. Another will be a 3-way.

This Silver Flute W20RC38-08 cost only $38.20 at Madisound. Don’t let the low price fool you. It’s a gem of a woofer.