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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
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.
devilboy
1,176 posts
 
Andro: I don't think the solution to ceramics is a preamp, (as stated in my above post). They, IMO, are cold and uninvolving.
fiddler
581 posts
 
My ceramic drivers are anything but hard sounding. They simply reveal what's in front of them and they do it exceedingly well.

And BTW, my PHY drivers are sitting in their boxes. My PHYs haven't seen the inside of my listening room since my Indras arrived almost two years ago. If they "fooled" me early, their still doing a good job of it!
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Fiddler, not doubting your happiness with your current speakers, but if you have`nt tried the PHY-HP drivers yet how can you reach a conclusion? Do you have the 8' or 12' PHY drivers?

If your ceramics are indeed more natural than a well implemented PHY setup, that`s quite impressive.
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