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
"Need to be careful mixing different materials because of this sonic signature. Best to use the same material 150Hz and above."

Audioconnection, I don't agree on your last point. My Salks have a RAAL ribbon tweeter and it matches up very well. The sound just gets even clearer and smoother when it transitions to the ribbon at 2k.

Bob
Shadorne,
I don`t think you read Allchemie`s post carefully. He stipulated a"good" driver(not any driver) and he`s right, a good speaker is the result of the total package, cabinet,crossover design, wire etc. A talented designer given the same parts will produce a better speaker than the less talented designer. Driver choice is important but surely is`nt the whole story by any means.

there are quite varied results with Accuton drivers depending on which designer is doing the speaker building.

Best Regards,
Rsimms,

That makes perfect sense, ribbon's ring so its a good match. Its like having a mini reverb on every note. Verrry ooopen and aireeee!
Cheers Johnnyr
Audioconnection,

For a very short while you had me thinking that you might be right. As a trained physicist, any such ringing would be resonances that would show up in the frequency response curve. The RAAL’s frequency response curve is as flat as a ruler. I am sure that there is some ringing but it must be in the ultrasonic region. Even my dog doesn't seem to hear that high.

Bob
I just love all the wrong uninformed posts by those who feel they have a grasp on loudspeaker design. Keep it coming I need some humor.