Ribbon tweeters...out of favor these days?


Hi,

Just a quick question about ribbon tweeters on tower speakers. Has the technology with metal dome and fabric dome tweeters produced results that obviate the need for or advantage of ribbon tweeters. I know that some manufactures such as VMPS and Legacy still seem to favor ribbons, at least as a super tweeter.

But I have been researching speakers, and it seems most of the mid to upper line brands such as B&W, Thiel, Vandersteen, Eggleston, and others employ some type of dome tweeter.

What are the relative advantages/disavantages of each type for a 50/50 mix of music and home theater?
mtrot
it is all about taste my new speaker has a special hi spec version of Raals best Amprphous Ribbon tweeter which is the Best bar none Ribbon on the Market .The amt tweeter I found has a little more snap on dynamic swings ,but the Ribbon is more open with more ambiance around the instruments it is also better at micro details it is a faster transducer you can't change the laws of physics.
Also the Raal has a huge magnetic structure which is rock stable and if is very well thought out in it's design.
If you ever did manage to break the ribbon a Pencel or a Vaccum cleaner where it don't belong less than a minute to replace,
a frame with the ribbon suspended between it snaps right in and your are back to the music .
Anybody can explain the difference between the original transformer raal and the one with an amorphous core.

I curently in the buying process but I really wonder all the differences between the 3 version...

Normal, AM, DAM

for of all normal versus amorphous core
afterwards AM versus DAM??

Some say the DAM is for direct tube drive.. does this mean you need a special amp? How will it fare with a t-amp or solid state AB amp.. (those amp would need to be transformer coupled?

What type of amp would you recommend for the amorphous core?

I need the best low level listening experience.. so micro/macro details/dynamics is very important.
Sinae, I am about to find out more information on the amorphous core Raal as well. I will pass on any information I think you may want. From what I understand you will get more micro and macro details and dynamics from the amorphous core tweeter. I think it also makes the tweeter more sensitive, so better equipped for low watt tube amps.
What speakers are you getting?
Todd
The best way to understand what the Amorphous Core is, and also why it's better, is to know what amorphous metal is.

The ribbon tweeter has a transformer with a steel core. Steel is like saying plastic, there are many kinds of steel. A normal transformer has ferrous steel, the amorphous core transformer has a core made from amorphous steel.

Amorphous steel is the same alloy, but cooled at 1 million degrees per second (seriously) so that it hardens with no crystaline structure. By not having a crystaline structure, it becomes much more efficient with much less energy wasted as heat.

The end result of how it sounds in a RAAL makes perfect sense when thought of in those terms. The AM Core RAAL sounds more efficient, like more of the amplifier current is reaching the ribbon element. It's faster and more dynamic, with more low level detail retreival and an overall more engaging and energetic sound.

Personally I think the AM core is a HUGE upgrade from the standard core. When performance gets to the level of the standard core RAAL, any improvement becomes hard to come by ... the AM core gives you that same RAAL sound, just more of it.
What low power amp would you recommend to power the raal amorphous core directly.. ?? the best in your opinion? tube amp?