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

Showing 2 responses by oddiofyl

My Dad has Electa Amator III and they sound great with that special tweeter.   

I just picked up a pair of speakers for my second system.   I bought a pair of Studio Electric M4.   They use a silk dome.   I am really loving these speakers.   

My last few speakers , Heresy III , Forte IV , Revel M106 , PSB M2, and a few others had metal domes. They all sounded pretty good.

I had a pair of Sonus Faber Concerto that had a silk dome, Igave them to my brother. I replaced them with a single driver "full range" speaker and I missed the sparkle of a conventional 2 or 3 way..

I recently bought a pair of Studio Electric M4, an acoustic suspension compact monitor. They use a 6.5" High excursion mid/woofer and a 1" silk dome tweeter. They sound phenomenal. In terms of sound quality I think they may the best sounding speaker I have ever owned. I can listen for long periods without fatigue, i credit the tweeter for that. . Awesome speaker.