I gre out of Be Tweeters


I was at a bar the other day (well probably yesterday .... hahahah)


In any event, I was discussing how much my taste in beer has changed. I started with lagers, especially Mexican brands. Then I became a Guiness snob, and then I went over to IPAs and Belgian Abbey-style ales. Now while I can tolerate a lager, I can't stand a Belgian white at all. 


What makes me think of this here is tweeters. There was a short period of time when I thought I loved Be tweeters. I've grown completely out of them. I don't particularly like the "affordable" diamond tweeters either. I'm done.


What about you? Is there a technology you liked  earlier in this hobby and now have turned completely against?
erik_squires
I have recently been wondering about what I really want a tweeter to do in a system.


This is true for many. I have grown out of sparkle, and air, and that seems to correlate well with smoother FR and lower distortion (when I've been able to measure them).

That doesn't mean you should. My point here is there's something like what I call a residual sound. Like scented body wash, and in the right music, environment that can be a lot of fun.

The most natural tweets, like Troels Graveson has said, to me, disappear. They sound like they are simply not there. The best AMT's can be there, as can the best diamond, and Be, and there are a lot of soft domes and ring radiators which are not bad in these terms.

The AMTs in Alta Audio speakers don't call overly attention to themselves.  I wonder what brand he's using.
Ultimately a large percentage of the final sound all comes down to implementation.  Even Be dome can sound very natural if implemented properly.  Inversely, one can have a pair of speakers with soft domes that can sound harsh and unpleasant if not properly implemented.  
Hi @andy

As some one who has made his own speakers and is active in the DIY speaker community (well, in terms of discussions) I want to say I think you are partly right, but partly wrong.
The crossover designer has a lot of latitude in making speakers sound balanced, bright, even control dispersion and lobing, but it is very difficult to "fix" ragged frequency responses and excess energy storage within a driver. You also can’t "fix" distortion, something it seems, in my opinion, some drivers are actually selling.

One other dimension is dynamic range. The ability to change output level while maintaining the frequency response and distortion profile. Can't fix this in the crossover.

At the same time, there are lots of smooth, extended tweeters out there at various price points.

So, I agree you can make a pair or triad of drivers sound bright, or dull or bassy or boomy with the crossover, but I also think drivers can bring a lot of character to the design.

Best,

Erik
The resonances of driver cone/dome itself can produce coloration.
You can't correct it with crossover.