Resistor to tone down tweeter?

A variable wirewound potentiometer could be used for this, but, they can add noise. A lot of speakers had variable line level potentiometers, and they seemed to have faded away in the majority of hi-end speakers.
Hifitime

Oops. I shouldn't have said a lot of speakers had variable line level potentiometers. I should have just said that a lot of speakers had variable level potentiometers for their tweeters, and sometimes midranges too.

03-17-12: Paulsax
Stupid question for you electronics boffins. on a guitar if you want to roll off the highs you use your tone knob which uses a capacitor fromt he tone pot to ground (I think). Why would this not work in this case. Suspect I'm missing something but its not my field.
Paulsax (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

Doing what your mentioning would be at the line level. That is similar to what is done in a preamp's tone control. It may also change the midrange some.

Doing it this way is at the speaker level.

Also, the speaker builder already picked the right value capacitor for the correct crossover frequency, for the tweeter. If you used a different value capacitor, it would have a different crossover frequency. That crossover frequency is fine now.

Doing it speaker level like this will just lower the volume level of the tweeter alone. It won't change its (tweeters) crossover frequency. Plus, it won't change anything in the midrange.

A variable wirewound potentiometer could be used for this, but, they can add noise. A lot of speakers had variable line level potentiometers, and they seemed to have faded away in the majority of hi-end speakers.

Stupid question for you electronics boffins. on a guitar if you want to roll off the highs you use your tone knob which uses a capacitor fromt he tone pot to ground (I think). Why would this not work in this case. Suspect I'm missing something but its not my field.

Hifitime
Thanks for the input. I will probably go ahead and replace the other tweeter. At least then I have two new tweeters to make a better decision. A little room treatment may help my cause also.
I will take a look at the link you provided.

First of all, make sure the tweeter is OK. Both channels should sound the same. A damaged voice coil, or something else in the tweeter can cause this.

If you find both tweeters to sound the same, maybe your sensitive to their resonance (usually right over 20 kHz) like a lot of people are, or just the speakers design.

You can try adding a non-inductive 1-4 ohm wire wound resistor in series between the plus wire and the tweeters input plus (+) terminal. The larger the ohm number you use, will result in less output from the tweeter. Maybe try a 2 ohm to start. This will tame the tweeter down. You may, or may not like the results. I have done this myself with good results. Here is a link to give you an idea about the resistor. Link.[http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=345]

I would think before you go invest in Soft material like curtains and or Carpets etc...you need to get both tweeters running the same..My first action would be to make sure both tweeters exactly the same then deal with room next.....

Magfan
Yes it was. The whole tweeter housing has to be changed on the Focal 918 because they are so custom mounted. Wish they would have spent more on the tweeter than the custom mount.:)
They are the same model # also.
Im quite happy with the difference the new tweeter made. I dont notice a huge difference but I think because the old one was in such bad shape I was used to hearing that sharp metallic sound from my right speaker...now the brightness has shifted more to the left. (much less than before though).
BUT my room has two windows with wood blinds on the left side and not much as far as covering the walls. The right side has wrap around sectional-couch and is open to another area. (no corner/wall)
With that being said I would think the left side would produce more echo/brightness right?
Im thinking I should focus on the back wall/reflection point and the left corner/windows.??

If the tweeters are different, make 'em match.
I'd personally only replace tweeters in pairs.

Was the new tweeter supposed to be 'just like' the one removed?

Certainly treat the first reflection points in your room. Also if there is a wall close to your back. You can get some panels from GIK http://www.gikacoustics.com. I prefer them because they work well, are very reasonably priced, and for WAF you can get them covered with acoustically appropriate material of any picture/photo you wish.

Also recommend less toe-in so tweeters are not hitting your ears so directly.

And if your baffles have relatively sharp edges or are wider than your drivers, try a pair of natural wool felt pads from Jim at http://www.diffractionbegone.com. These reduce HF baffle reflections and corner diffractions.

And for a quick and cheap bandaid treatment, tape a small piece of paper towel so it hangs over them. For WAF use the kind printed with pretty stencil :^).

I replaced the tweeter in one of the speakers b/c the inverted dome was torn-cracked all the way through. This helped quite a bit. The new tweeter sounds much more refined...to the point that the other one stands out a bit. Not to a frustrating point but noticable.

I took some blankets and experimented temporarily. I hung them on the first reflection point. I noticed a huge difference when I took the hanging end and held it right behind my head. (How silly I must look!)
The problem is trying to coordinate function/decor and meet my wife in the middle. My living room is my listening room.

Has anyone tried curtains? I thought of hanging curtains so that we could have pictures in view and then I could just pull the curtains when I wanted to listen for extended length of time. I have seen the acoustic wall art but Im afraid we may not like the look and be stuck with the custom order.??

I will try adjusting the tilt and see what happens.

Any more ideas are welcome.

Mcpherson,

Agree with the other posts.

Just to add.....
Make sure you have the speakers set up properly.

You might try tilting the front of the speakers back slightly. That will raise the tweeters dispersion angle slightly above your ear level when sitting in your listening chair.
.

Add or subtract tilt with with supplied cone spikes
User manual
.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-Lpad.htm

I agree. You should try treating first reflection points or perhaps addressing what is in between the speakers before messing with the crossover.

That being said, there is usually a resistor on the + leg of the tweeter. To tone it down more you could add another .5 Mills resistor in series with the existing one. If that isn't enough add another until you are happy with the balance.

Brightness is usually caused by the room more than by equipment. I think you should consider room treatment first. It will be more effective.