Norm sorry, have no idea, where to find Coronas, in fact I must admit, I didn't even know they existed. You are right, it is quite difficult to mate the plasmas with the rest of the system and I found, I could only pull it off together with my stators, when I gave them a dedicated amp and preamp chain, so I could tune them in the way I wanted it.(Spectral) The effect on the soundstage, apart from the highs of course, was phenomenal. |
I just found the real page that I wanted to post. It is http://members.aol.com/uhaumann/index.htm |
I just found the real page that I wanted to post. It is http://members.aol.com/uhaumann/index.htm |
Hey, guys check out http://www.ee.vill.edu/~cdanjo/plasma2.html I once had Ionovacs. They were truly exceptional, making you think all other drivers were crap, which of course is true. I tried them with double Quads, Linn Isobariks, Fulton Premiers, and even Klipsh corner horns. They always stood out as better than what they were mated with. Ultimately I gave up and sold them.
Since the Acapella tweeters are the outgrowth of the Ionovacs, I am truly amazed that they can pull off mating the tweeter with horns and an enclosed woofer.
I have Beauhorns and have been tempted to try plasma tweeters, except that I well remember my experience with the Ionovacs. I am, however, looking for a pair of Coronas if anyone, Detlof, knows where I can find them.
Norm |
Vahe, hearing is believing. You cannot even imagine how good they are. I couldn't either until I heard them for the first time and I'm not even exaggerating. They are probably the most important piece of equipment I've ever obtained in my long career as an audionut and they are worth every buck spent. Besides, don't forget, they are powered, have their own dedicated tube amp, are built like a tank, completely ozone free and beautiful to look at. |
$6,000.00 for a pair of tweeters??? I have a hard time believing these can really be 4 times better than a pair of Raven R3.1's |
Thanks to all for your advice. The story: when I went back to purchase the tweeters the day after my post, they had already been snapped up by someone else. Aargh! My interest has been piqued, however, so I will continue to look.
Thanks all, Travis |
At an audio show years ago John Dahlquist demo-ed a system with Ionovac tweeters. Sounded very cool and open .The hotel room was also cool with the windows open to exhaust the ozone buildup.. |
The ion tweeter has been around for many years. The plasmatronics was the first I became familiar with from the late 60's or early seventies. There were environmential questions and also the problems of heat and maintainence. Can't comment on todays models other than hearing them for the last 4 years in europe before the importer brought them to Canada. Is there service in the U.S or does it go back to Canada? |
Sean, only read about the Ionovac, never heard one alas.
Travis, they have a built in amp and Acapella uses them without external amplification. The user has to fine tune the tweeters to the rest of the system which is a cinch. 2.5k would indeed be a steal, but audition them first. They need an overhaul every 4-5 years or so with normal use.
Justacoder, Switzerland is tiny, less population than greater NYC. There is only one importer and a very small market and I had to twist his arm very hard to get my pair. He of course wants to sell complete Acapella systems.
Dysmalonyx, I have a separate amplification chain for them in my system, consisting of a Spectral DMC 20 Mark I preamp and a pair of ancient Spectral DMA 50s switched for mono, all wired with the apropriate MIT cabling. This makes for an excellent match. I decided for this setup, because it gave me the advantage to really fine tune for every bit of software that I play. This is especially important with SACD. The tweeters are very wideband, go far into bat territory, like the Tannoy you mention and through them you can easily discern that something is strangely amiss with SACD in the highest spectrum of the soundfield, (apart from the hiss, which with some discs is really a bitch) some strange sort of constriction, difficult for me to describe, which redbook CD's do not have....and yes, they will go with any kind of speaker. I placed them at ear level, with their opening aimed at the point of my nose, so to speak, to get the best results. That's at least what sounded and blended best with my wall of stators, putting them at the outside, at each end, right next to the walls and aimed at ye old red nose. The effect is amazing, not only the pristine and complete effortless rendering of the high end, but the improvement in the soundstage, both in width and depth, as well as instrument placements therein. These tweeters pick up so many subtle cues, which simply were not there before, that you simply have a tremdous increase in threedimensionality. But be warned, once you have heard them, it is difficult to listen to music without them. Things become unbearably veiled....and they are so fast, they merge effortlessly with the stators. Cheers, |
Detlof: What kind of equipment are you using with those tweeter ( Preamp, speaker and amp.) Do you know if these tweeter are wideband ( like the 54 Khz Tannoy) Do you think that those tweeter would be great with JMlab mini-utopia and a REL strata sub ?
Thanks for the reply |
Detlof: Have you ever heard any of the old Ionovac tweeters ? While i know that these were around many moons ago, i wonder how they would stack up with some of the "better" gear that we have today.
Obviously, this question is open to anyone else that would like to respond also : ) Sean
> |
Thanks to all for quick feedback/answers, especially to the "mysterious" :~) Detlof. I have never heard anything but superlatives used to describe the tweeters (and for that matter the speakers they are usually housed in).
Greg: I am with you Greg, extremely knowledgeable - I am sure I am not alone in appreciating his wealth of knowledge and experience, and more importantly, his willingness to offer it. [:-)] The "mysterious" was an allusion to a previous poster's "mystical Detlof" - unfortunately I was asked to burp a baby before put in in a 'smiley' and found to my chagrin it had already been sent sans smilies. Got one from the baby though...
Detlof: Thanks for being so helpful, yet again. Your offer of assistance is very kind. I asked #3 in part because I am looking for a fair "valuation" as I have found a pair of "essentially unused" used TW1S for ~$2500 and am wondering if they are worth snapping up.
Another question: It is my understanding that they have their own amplifiers built in. Am I mistaken? If built in, how are they? and if not, what would one use to power them?
Thanks, Travis |
We are a dealer for the Acapella line here in Colorado U.S.A. The tweeters are indeed available separately (at least in this country. I am surprised it is different in your country Detlof). They are $6,900 USD a pair (though the Euro/dollar conversion fluctuates a lot these days). They can be connected to your system using standard RCA connectors. They come intheir own separate, attractive and mountable enclosure. They do not have any ozone problems.
They are very, very good and they will improve any speaker out there (except other Acapella speakers, of course, which already have the tweeter :-).
We are at: www.audiofederation.com. There is another dealer in Texas and another in California (both U.S.) and one in Toronto (Canada). I do not know if there are any in Asia.
The California dealer has some really cool pictures of the tweeter here on Audiogon at: http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?spkrfull&1036312491
Enjoy! |
T bone
Question 1: A clear yes. There is nothing better, more transparent, more dissolving, less coloured.
Question 2: Have them for over two years and am still alive and well. They never had ozone problems right from the beginning, it being broken down and converted inside the system.
Question 3: Yes, IF you have the right connections. They are not marketed separately.
If you are seriously interested, drop me a line and I will see what I can do.
GREG: I wouldn't know about knowledgeable, but I LOVE being mysterious.(-; |
I remember reading somewhere that they were, at least at one time, avalailable separately. I think that the price was about $10k for the pair of tweeters. |
i've heard the campaniles at fcrowder's place. of all the speakers i've heard, i've never been as impressed with anything as i was with that tweeter. its remarkable. |
Travis: Detlof uses these, separately. From my experience: Ozone problems have been licked. The tweets are VERY fast. Don't know how easy they are to purchase separately as I heard them as part of the speaker (but Detlof does, obviously).
BTW, Detlof is far more knowledgeable than he is mysterious ;) -- if he doesn't catch on to yr thread, why not mail him directly? |
