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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
jeffersondavis
31 posts
 
Probably true for a 3 way, but in a 2 way with a larger woofer if you cross a large woofer over too high, it will start beaming. If you want a more full sounding 2 way with a bigger woofer and not trade off imaging and soundstage (with a 2-way, this tradeoff basically exists with anything bigger than a 5"), you will want a highly capable tweeter that you can cross over lower.

If a designer can do so with the driver on hand, they will. Look at the Revel M106 and Revel M126BE, designed by the same team. When they got their hands on a beryllium tweeter, what did they do? Drop the crossover frequency by 600 Hz in order to achieve much, much better dispersion characteristics. Of course to do so you need a much better tweeter with bigger magnets, stronger voice coils, and exotic diaphragms.
erik_squires OP
16,412 posts
 
You know guys, I've heard the meme that Plasma tweeters are the best in the world, but that's marketing hype. 

Of course, we can grant that the tweeters have immeasurable moving mass, but the novelty of the technology is not the same as the implementation. 

The measurements for the Lansch Audio 5.1 are not bad, in fact in some ways they are pretty commendable:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/lansche-audio-51-loudspeaker-measurements

But I wouldn't call the FR best in the world, and, oddly, there's some stored energy ringing happening near 20kHz. Maybe this is from the horn? 

Again, buy what you like, but I think that calling these the best in the world tweeters is a bit much. I think there are a number of dome's, ribbons and AMTs which would sound as good if not better to some. 

Best,

E
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,986 posts
 
The hf ribbon in the bigger/better Maggies is mighty nice, as are the RAAL and BG NEO 8.
timlub
2,042 posts
 
@erik_squires
Hi Erik, I have never heard the Lansche plasma’s so this comment isn’t directly for that speaker, but why couldn’t it be the worlds best tweeter, May not be at all, but something is.
You speak of measurements specifically frequency response. As you know it is completely possible for a tubed amp and a solid state amp to have identical fr, yet, we all know that they will not sound the same.
I say all of this because I remember Mr. Hill dragging in his plasma tanks and Hill Plasmatronics to Marcof/SpeakerCraft. That tweeter was fast, airy, yet rich, detailed yet smooth. For me, it was the best tweeter that I have ever heard.... Although the rest of the speaker certainly was not.

I don’t know what technology Lansche speakers use, but I’d love to hear a pair.
erik_squires OP
16,412 posts
 
hi @timlub

My point, poorly made, was that the quality of the tweeter was pretty subjective, and I had not heard one that was so fantastic it would eliminate any other tweeter from consideration.

I consider the plasma tweeter revolutionary in terms of technology, not sound I'm afraid. 
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