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Proac problem: tweeters or crossover?

Recently, something moved me to listen closely to the tweeters, and when I couldn't hear anything I hooked up the speaker cable just to the tweeter binding posts. I can't say there was no sound at all, because there was the faintest of recessed, tinkly sound that didn't seem to vary much with the level of the volume control.

I called up Modern Audio and they told me just to get the Scanspeak D2010s from Madisound. I soldered them in this morning. Now the new tweeters are a bit louder than before, but not nearly as loud and not as strong on the higher frequencies as I would have expected. They still sound subdued, recessed and tinkly/jangly, but not as much as before, and there's a bit more change in level when varying the volume control. This is as always with the cable hooked up only to the tweeter binding posts.

So...is this how they're meant to sound, or is there a problem with some component in the crossovers? If there is, it must be the same in both speakers' crossovers. I wish the result of the change-over had been less ambiguous: either virtually no sound, or a great improvement. Instead, it falls somewhere in between, but the result makes me think that I haven't solved the problem.

BTW, the Response 2.5s must be ~17 years old. Custom yew finish bought new from Accutronics in Ann Arbor in 1998/99. The mid-woofers still sound great.

Does anyone know what a Proac tweeter driven in the way I've described should sound like when it's functioning correctly?
twoleftears

Showing 3 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
There's a couple of things to consider here. The first is that the new tweeters are going to break in, and will sound different when that happens.

"I'm using Synergistic Research Signature 2/3, and I've hooked both the thick and thin runs of cable up to both the tweeter and the mid-woofer binding posts, individually, to confirm that everything's running as it should."

Those are 2 runs of completely different cables, they're not just thicker. Different materials are used. You need to try the speakers with either 2 runs of the exact same speaker cables, or 1 run and use the binding post jumpers.
Those cables that you have are a band aid type fix for a speaker with a very harsh tweeter like B&W. You don't need that with the 2.5's.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to list your entire system.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"03-06-15: Bojack
Zd542,
"Break in" for tweetersÂ…Really? I am sorry, but please don't provide such advice when clearly you know nothing about how electronics or transducers work."

Sorry about that. Can you tell me what line of speakers you design? You didn't say.

Twoleftears,

I forgot to ask in my other post if the new tweeters are exactly the same as the ones you took out?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"The SR Signature 2/3s are like this: at the amplifier end, there is a spade, immediately after which the cable splits into two, so there are two separate runs, physically, all the way to the speaker. I don't know what's going on inside, but the run for the woofer is thicker, which is the only way you can tell the two of them apart."

What they did was take 2 separate pairs of speaker cables and terminate them at the amp end with the same spades for easier connection. Otherwise you would have to double up and put 2 sets of spades in 1 binding post because most amps only give you 1 pair to work with. Since Synergistic always recommended using the 2's and the 3's together, they ended up taking the exact setup you have with the 2 pairs terminated together at the amp end, and wrap both pairs in 1 sleeve, making it look like one pair of cables. They renamed it the Signature 10.

What I said about them in my first post still applies. Given your problem, and how different those speaker cables sound from each other, I wouldn't want them in the system until you solve your problem. So you can either use different cables, or just connect 1 of the 2 pairs of the Synergistic to the speakers and use the binding post jumpers. Just be sure to cover the spades on the cables you don't use. And it doesn't matter which pair you use. Try it both ways and pick ones that sound best.

"The real question is, how do the speakers sound when being played normally? I think you purchased an extra set of tweeters.
Timrhu (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

That's a good question. After reading your post again, I can't tell if the problem exists during normal operation. A assume there's a problem otherwise you wouldn't post.
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