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Let's talk Tweeters!

Another thread which talked about specific speaker brands was taken over, so I’d like to start a new one.

Mind you, I do not believe in a "best" type of tweeter, nor do I believe in a best brand of speaker, so lets keep that type of conversation out, and use this instead to focus on learning about choices speaker designers make and what that may mean to the end user.

There is no such thing as a speaker driver without trade offs. Some choices must be forsworn in exchange for another.

In the end, the materials used, magnet and motor structure, and crossover choices as well as the listening room come together to make a great speaker, of which there are many. In addition, we all listen for different things. Imaging, sweetness, warmth, detail, dance-ability and even efficiency so there is no single way to measure a driver and rate it against all others.

Also, please keep ads for your 4th dimensional sound or whatever off this thread. Thanks.
erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,042 posts
 
Please replace Roger Sander's "new" company, Sander's Sound where I typed InnerSound. Sorry Roger, I'm stuck in the past.

http://sanderssoundsystems.com/
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
Pistonic motion critical
starts and stops both measured
impulse prrformance
breakup where does it occur and relative to crossover or in case of tweeters... how far above 20 k

i own and listen to two legendary tweeters every day - carbon fiber dome and a 24" true ribbon.....

ah.... 

asvjerry's avatar
asvjerry
4,592 posts
 
I use and enjoy a pair of ESS AMT's (the 'big black blocks) as a reference for high end hilarity.  Fast and clean, and hard to find woofers to keep up with them.  Other ribbons can be in that range but the only way to improve is to 'line source' them, which can pretty pricey pretty quickly...

All of that, of course, IMHO....

I use them as a benchmark for the Walsh tweeters I'm fabricating.  Dipoles are nice, but if I can make an omni that follows That act...sweet. *S*

If I 'get there', y'all will hear of it second.  I'll obviously be the first. *L*
erik_squires OP
16,042 posts
 
Hey @asvjerry

Usually when I hear about issues integrating woofers with very light tweeters it's a frequency response issue, and integration with the room issue.

Below 400 Hz especially, woofers are going to have issues the tweets will never have, so it's kind of an unfair comparison in my mind.

I can make a lot of reasonably good 15" sub's sound as "fast" as any ESL/planar/magnetic. But it's a giant PITA. :)

Best,


E
asvjerry's avatar
asvjerry
4,592 posts
 
Hi, Eric, and back atcha'...*S*

No real argument from this mortal about that....room integration is everyone's devil, and freq. response I beat over the head with active eq.  And yes, it's unfair to try to get high mass to respond as quickly.  So I'll just be unfair about it and be the devil's advocate. *L*  Not likely to be my first foray into That territory. ;)

Smaller woofers with less mass seem to do better in that regard, 8" being the 'break point' to my ears.  I deal with the issue by 'high bass' going to a 6" with a passive, then to 12" for the lower end.  For the deep stuff, a small ported sub...

I'll bet getting a 15" to behave is a major pain.  Kudos for the ability to attain that niche.  I've got an old 18" driver in great shape that I'm looking to torture into being a sub, but I'll match it with things of it's era just in an attempt to 'be fair about it'.  Damn things' nearly as old as I am, and I wouldn't ask self to try to move quickly, either. *L*

I'm a sucker for 'antique audio'....maybe due for therapy over that...;)
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