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soft dome versus hard dome tweeters

As my internet window shopping continues, I was reading on some speakers that listed for the tweeter textile dome and also silk dome.

So then I used the 'search discussion' function on this site on the subject of soft versus hard dome tweeters and it seemed as if most of the members who offered opinions used that "harsh" and "fatiguing" and "ringing" to describe how they felt about hard dome speakers. In the admittedly short time that I spent reading, I was not picking up a lot of love for hard dome tweeters.

But there are reputable speaker manufacturers that seem to have gone the extra mile to make their hard dome tweeters as hard as possible using, for example, beryllium or artificial(?) diamond dust.

I wouldn't expect a consensus on much of anything audio, but did I just by luck to find responses by mostly people who prefer soft dome tweeters?  Because if they really sound that bad (harsh/fatiguing/ringing) in comparison, why would reputable manufacturers choose this route?  And I do realize that appreciation of a sonic effect is subjective, so did I just happen on responses by members who had mostly the same subjective perception?

immatthewj
richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand
287 posts
 

For what it is worth, the KEF Reference series uses aluminium drivers and aluminium coils.

According to KEF's white paper, the ideal tweeter dome shape for best dispersion is spherical, but the best shape to resist distortion in pistonic motion is egg-shaped.  So their tweeter has both, with the ovoid dome inside the spherical, touching at the top.  They join again at the outer wall forming a triangular shape, much stronger than the single sheet normally found.

The KEF tweeter is concentrically located in the throat of the midrange which forms part of a waveguide.

The base driver(s) use almost flat surfaces, in part to avoid diffracting the tweeter / midrange output.

I agree they sound very different from Sonus faber - but I prefer to hear the sound of an orchestra accurately re-created

erik_squires
16,398 posts
 

@asctim There is a design called "woofer-assisted wide-band" or WAWB for short.  It's exactly what you describe.  A wide band, such as a 4" driver that has credible output in the top octave along with a woofer that crosses in well below 500 Hz. Check out DIYaudio for more information. 

knotscott's avatar
knotscott
1,006 posts
 

There is a design called "woofer-assisted wide-band" or WAWB for short.  It's exactly what you describe.  A wide band, such as a 4" driver that has credible output in the top octave along with a woofer that crosses in well below 500 Hz. Check out DIYaudio for more information. 

@erik_squires (or anyone).  How do they keep those full range drivers from beaming above 3000 hz or so?    I love the concept of no to minimal crossovers, but, don't they tend have pretty narrow off-axis response?

 

knotscott's avatar
knotscott
1,006 posts
 

@asctim I’m all about that midrange too. But a lot of tweeters go a significant way down in to it. And, how that midrange marries to the other frequencies matters.

That’s it right there in a nutshell! Well said.

 

@tunefuldude You should add a virtual system to your profile. I’d love to know what you’re feeding those Ushers. yes

wturkey's avatar
wturkey
818 posts
 

The PSB Stratus Goldi speakers had metal dome tweeters originally. Swapped them out to silk dome tweeters that were discussed on some message board somewhere. Have never looked back as the silk domes were a big improvement. 

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