New cart for under 1K

In Tone Audio's Issue 15, publisher Jeff Dorgay reviews the Zu/DL-103 and concludes that it hits a sonic and musical sweet spot with Dynavector P-75. At the time of writing it was his absolute favorite cart and phono stage at that price. Back then (2008) Zu offered only one version of the Zu-103. Now they have various select models at higher price points. The basic Zu-103 is still only $439.

Dome tweeters aren't inherently bright and harsh, but many have a resonant peak that's tied to the material used for the dome. Silk and other fabric domes are pretty gentle up there; aluminum ones have a spike at around 30 Khz, which is usually not too noticeable. Some metal domes have damping, such as the cloth-damped Mirage titanium domes.

However, the JM Focal 936 that you have is evidently pretty bright and detailed, for whatever reasons, as dealt with in this Positive Feedback Online review. It's so bright and cutting, the reviewer warns not to toe the speakers in "unless you want a haircut."

Although I mentioned pairing the Zu-103 cart with your Dynavector P-75, the real problem with your tonal balance is your speakers. I've auditioned the mid-line Focals a few times at a local dealer and I always find them too bright and analytical. Maybe you should check around some more forums or talk to a speaker technician to see if there's a good replacement tweeter to calm things down. It might also be helped with a well-placed capacitor or resistor in the crossover to roll off the highs a bit. From your and Positive Feedback's descriptions this sounds more like a wider rising response in the high treble than an out-of-band resonance spike.

Spitty sibilants are the first sign the treble isn't right. In addition to an emphasis at that frequency range, it could also be tweeter overshoot or ringing.

05-20-13: Jjrenman
Johnnyb53, You state that "Spitty sibilants are the first sign the treble isn't right. In addition to an emphasis at that frequency range, it could also be tweeter overshoot or ringing." Agreed but ringing and resonant peak are the same thing.

After I wrote that it occurred to me that we're talking about the same thing. *Just about* all dome tweeters have the "oil can resonance." However, they don't all sound the same owing to different materials (with different resonant peak frequencies), amounts of damping, magnet strength, etc. Dynaudios don't seems to exhibit this problem.

A few months ago I auditioned some speakers with a Heil-type folded ribbon tweeter. As I listened to how natural the sound was, I realized that I was for once hearing treble reproduced without overshoot or ringing.

There are a growing number of speakers that use this tweeter type, including GoldenEar, ADAM Audio, the Martin-Logan Motion Series, and Legacy Audio.

Just about every review I've read of speakers that use this tweeter type mention the detailed yet natural treble reproduction devoid of resonant peaks and overshoot.

Also, I wonder if the oil-canning is mostly a metal dome problem. I've checked the response curves of several Dynaudio speakers and their tweeters seem to be free of any resonant peaks. But then, maybe that's why they get the big bucks. :)

Jjremnman:

The speakers I heard recently were the GoldenEar Aon 3 standmount speakers at $999/pair. They are a stone cold bargain. Their midrange and bass is as good as their treble, which is saying something. In fact, the Aon 3's bass quality, balance, and extension into the 30's is in the same league as a 41" floorstander with--say--a 10"x12" footprint like my Mirage OMD-15s or Monitor Audio Silver RX-6s.

GoldenEars are well distributed. I strongly recommend you audition their lineup. They hit way above their price points.

I've also heard their flagship Triton Two, but there are things about the Aon 3 that I like better. Sure, the Aon doesn't go as deep or play as loud as the Triton Two, but the smaller cabinet with no parallel surfaces is remarkably quiet and devoid of obvious cabinet colorations. I'm also keeping an eye out for the new Triton Seven, scheduled for June release. It's a passive floorstander with a D'Appolito array augmented by side-firing passive radiators; $1399/pair, no stands required.

Davidlillis: Those Infinity tweeters were from their EMIT series of drivers, correct? I sold stereos in SoCal in the mid-'70s including ESS. Their Heil AMT tweeter (the basis of this current crop of folded tweeters) were incredibly fast and clear. They could also handle a fair amount of power. The current ones take up much less space; the old ESS AMTs had a huge magnet structure.

I'm really glad to see air motion transformer tweeters come back. I'm really thinking about getting some GoldenEar Aon 3s or Triton Sevens for the living room.

Also, for a computer desktop or small home studio, the Emotiva Airmotiv line of powered monitors with folded ribbon tweeters should provide some great bang for the buck. The entry-level Airmotiv 4 is only $349/pair.