Replacing my tweeters a good idea?

Do you think that my cables/interconnects may be my problem? I have kimber cables running them, the grey and black ones, the 4VS model. Is there any speaker cable that might be better for about the same money? my interconnects are not that flash.. any reccomendations?

I hate to have to say it again, but changing the impedance of the driver ( or the load that the passive crossover sees ) WILL affect crossover frequency. If you don't believe me, try asking on the Madisound board. Calculate the crossover for a 4 ohm driver and then substitute an 8 ohm driver in its place. BAD NEWS, guaranteed. Nothing will work as you expected. That's why most quality speakers use impedance compensated L-pads or factor in the attenuators in the first place. Otherwise the hinge points would change as you varied the level of attenuation by altering the impedance of the circuit. I think that either Parts Express or MCM even covers this with charts for the various impedance drivers in one of their catalogues. Wiring a resistor that matches the tweeters impedance in parallel and then placing one that was rated for half its impedance in series would reduce the output while maintaining the same load / crossover point. Another "side effect / benefit" to doing this would be increased power handling in the high frequency section. Sean >

Opinions on speaker crossover theory are as varied as the colors of the world. Disagreements regarding how to design/modify/tweak a speaker are a dime a dozen(1000X more so than any other area of audio). The only thing that can be absolutely said is that you cannot follow all the rules. Everything that you do, breaks at least 25% of them(and wait till you compound them all together...). If anyone disagrees with that they have never done anything in the world of speakers. I believe in simple crossovers(I don't say that others don't work), and simple solutions(wiring a resistor in series to attenuate a driver). My current speakers(Coincident) have exactly TWO components in the crossover(a capacitor on the tweeter, and an inductor on the coil). Some may say that's ludicrous, "what about notch filters, Zobel networks, attenuation circuits, etc. - you NEED those". NO, you don't. My speakers sound fabulous. And Israel Blume is revered by an increasing amount of people every day. Bud Fried had his business(when it still was in business) 5 minutes from my home. Most of what he said directly contradicted what the "experts" said, and vice versa. He would(and still will) get into violent arguments(with ANYONE) regarding what he believed in(transmission line bass loading, series crossover networks, driver selection, how he didn't care about how rock sounded on his speakers - it was only the music of drug addicts, etc.). Despite this, Fried speakers are legendary(and even sound good with rock music despite Bud's discounting it), as are the products of many other companies(basically almost every other speaker company). My opinions are based on the personal experience of building and listening to many speakers. Along the way, I came across many a person who would use the suggested technique, foremost would be Joe D'Appolito. Obviously, others have differing views. If someone disagrees with this technique, fine. Try an alternate route. But I KNOW this works.

I didn't say that it WOULD NOT attenuate the high frequency response. It's pretty obvious that it would do that. I simply stated that it could also effect other parameters of the speakers design. Making a suggestion to one's own beliefs without noting the possibility for known side effects is both reckless and irresponsible. Experimenting with ones' own equipment and wallet is one thing, but making "generic" recommendations can lead inexperienced tinkerers into bad situations. Just because something "works" when you put it back together doesn't mean that it's working optimally or what you did was necessarily good for the unit as a whole. It might achieve what you were looking to do, but at what expense ??? Do you find out that "it wasn't such a good idea" when the unit fails or develops problems ??? Keep in mind my comments pertain to ALL electronics, not just the conversation ( speakers ) at hand. I am an electronics tech by trade and get to deal with "homebrew remedies" and "mods" on a daily basis. The "right" way to "mod" something is the way that gives you what you were looking for with the least amount of side effects and minimal potential for damage to the unit on a long term basis. If a speaker ( for example ) had a tweeter or mid that was running very close to its' resonance, altering its' crossover point by just a bit could alter performance and reliability by a drastic margin. Depending on how / what was done would determine whether or not it was a "good" or "bad" modification. People doing internal mods should NOT take advice for granted because "it worked on brand XYZ" unless they know the specifics of what they are dealing with. While i am no Bud Fried, Israel Blume or Joe D'Appolitto when it comes to audio, i am well respected in my specific field of electronics. I think that Bud, Israel and Joe would agree with the cautions that i made mention of and that altering the impedance that the crossover sees WILL affect it's hinge frequency. Whether or not it is detrimental would be up to the specific situation and speakers in question. Sean > PS.... This was not meant as a personal attack on Trelja and i hope it was not construed as such. It was simply meant to defend and explain my original statements and point of view.

Let's not overcomplicate this, guys....SPECIFICALLY: adding a small resistance in series with the tweeter will possibly slightly RAISE the system's crossover frequency, which would allow the tweeter to run even further away from its primary resonance. That fact, plus its lowered sensitivity via the added 1-2 ohms, should protect it rather than endanger it or the system, no? The effect upon system total impedence would likewise be sufficiently small enough to ignore. "Padding" the tweeter in this way is a whole lot more predictable than round after round of cable experiments, and a lot quicker. I don't mean to step on any toes, either, but padding a tweeter lightly IS a relatively easy, simple thing to try. Isn't this why some manufacturers provide switched tweeter levels via in-line resistors as part of their designs?...Let's let the thread-head have his fun, and get the benefits of a more pleasing spectral balance, eh? He's probably not gonna blow up his speaker, nor destroy its response. Cheers.