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Is the Accuton driver that good?

It seems a lot of new speakers are using the Accuton or similar ceramic drivers (and I notice the diamond variant for tweeters). I've heard them (mainly in Kharmas), but not others. Evolution, Salk, Avalon, and like I said Kharma use them.
Do they have any particular coloration or quality that is making them gain popularity? In the Kharmas, it was pace and timing and a natural sound without overhang, but it was different than regular (non-metallic) cones & domes, which, fwiw, are less detailed but maybe more relaxing.
It's like for me with the Kharmas "this sounds great and real and not bright or hard either" but somehow it is not as relaxing as the Aerials or Von Schweikerts or Quad dynamics(or even Apogees) I have lived with). I can't put my finger on it.

I'm not sure if it was just the Kharmas or the ceramics in general, but I wanted to raise the question.
rgs92
allchemie
118 posts
 
I think that both the Coincident Technology Pure References and Pure Reference Extreme's sound great and they both have Accuton midranges and tweeters, but with Nomex 12" woofers, which are also great. Of course, the skill of Israel Blume in making the crossovers and the cabinets probably has a great deal to do with their extraordinary sound quality, particularly when paired with their own Frankenstein amps and Linestage.

Greg
rsimms
150 posts
 
I have Salk SoundScapes with Accuton midranges. Looking at the Accuton driver’s frequency response, I can see how the key to getting great sound from ceramics is a great crossover. Many speakers do not have crossovers that good. My SoundScapes have a great crossover. The frequency response is very flat. They sound very natural. I have the speakers playing all day long and get no fatigue.

My tubed Aesthetix Calypso preamp makes magic with these speakers with Telefunken tubes. They are very natural sounding. The transparency is as good as I have heard on any speaker. That being said, I can see that others might prefer colorations that other cone materials might bring. That has to be a personal decision. My previous speakers had Seas Excel Magnesium midrange/woofers. They added an excitement to the music that I loved. The speakers, that I had before them, had Audax TPX cones. They added a bloom to strings that was to die for. That bloom was not there in live music. You have to decide what you want.

Bob
montejay
285 posts
 
Hi Devilboy,
Anytime

Regards,
andromedaaudio
170 posts
 
In response to all the " ceramic sounds hard and thin " comments ,incl my own .

I think its actually a preamp problem not a membrane one .

Get a convergent ultimate mk 2 for example in the system and the hardness will be no longer an issue i reckon
devilboy
1,176 posts
 
I ran my ceramic drivers on a Bent Audio autoformer passive preamp and my friend runs his ceramic drivers with a music first transformer passive preamp and neither system sounds natural or "organic". I highly recommend a PHY driver if you want those characteristics. My advice: don't be "suckered in" to the ceramics. They fool you early, but prove themselves hard to listen to in the long run.
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