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Let's say you're the ACME speaker company and you already have a driver in a speaker that's close to what you need for a new design. Do you modify what you have or make new? I'm not talking about experiments here, I'm talking about what is best for quality. I'll offer my opinion to kick it off. I think that I'd make the new driver from scratch. Doping cones and mods like that would require an application/measurement cycle that takes some time to get right. If you start from scratch, you can make everything have the properties you want right off the start, like weight, flux, suspension, etc. I think this is better, more consistent and higher quality.
I'd prefer to have a new driver made than to dope cones or use other techniques such as those to modify parameters. Then again, if you're a hobbyist and have the time to modify and test, I suppose it's a little like jetting a carburettor. Better to have precise flow tested jets but if you don't have them, some people will use a drill bit and sandpaper. Just don't go too far...