I just went from an speaker with all aluminum drivers (KEF) to one with all nonmetal drivers (Sonus Farber Amati G5) and the difference is huge and all in a good way.
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?
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This question is exactly why the recent controversy about measurements matters so much! The goal of the speaker designer is a flat anechoic response and then they shape to taste from there (with the crossover, not necessarily the drivers). Most modern tweeters are capable of producing the same frequency response regardless of the material used. The reason metal domes are used is because the tend to stay pistonic within a given frequency range allowing the designer to create steeper crossover slopes that match the midrange slope without any dips in the response or introducing distortion or beeming. Any tweeter can be ‘padded’ to reduce its output at a given frequency which to our ears will be interpreted as a ‘softer’ sound. A fabric dome can be boosted in these same regions to sound more sharp/edgy. All this happens in the crossover, not the tweeter driver material. With all that said, metal domes can offer greater detail retrieval because they don’t break up as quickly (staying pistonic longer) as fabric. IMO, most give too much credit for a speakers sound characteristic to the drivers and not enough to the crossover which btw is what the other posters mean when they say ‘implementation’. |
It’s all in the implementation. The crossover plays a most important role in determining how the tweeter will be utilized in the context of the design (in crossover frequency, rate of roll-off, and shape of slope). The speaker enclosure also plays a role (in diffraction, dispersion, frequency support, and back-wave control). Just when you think you have the sound of different types of tweeters figured out, a design comes along that changes your perception. A safe recommendation would be to judge the high frequency fidelity of speakers you are interested in by how they sound to you rather than based on the type of tweeter being used. |
Excursion is distortion. With that knowledge one wants a rigid driver that oscillates very little. Hence the proliferation of dome midranges, like on TAD and Yamaha speakers. That said they aren't particularly efficient or cheap. Beryllium's difficulties drove Yamaha to develop aramid drivers coated in Monel. There other "exotic" tweeter materials because of the aggravation of beryllium. Many have made peace with it. Study your options. Do not be ashamed of your budget. Price is a criterion of degree of difficulty. If you speak another language look the model up on foreign sites you understand or can translate. Biases are hidden in adjectives. Also think about your listening space for sizing.
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I have berylium tweeters in my Usher Be-718 bookshelf speakers. The folks who’ve said it’s all about the presentation are correct. I have two pairs of large floor standers that are both unique and outstanding speakers for different reasons. My other two pair are Martin Logan, Summit and Ohm Walsh LE-5. My electrostatics are outstanding as far as both higher and mid frequencies are concerned, they sort of excel in that area. Not kidding, or even exaggerating, the Be-718’s actually do violins better than my electrostatics. It has everything in the world to do with how that sexy berylium tweeter is married to the woofer, which is apparently the same model they put in their big daddy floorstander model. And a few other things about the speaker in general, but the point is that an exotic feature like that, of course, isn’t going to really shine if it’s not in the right company, including what’s driving them. Because all the reviews said the BE-718 is an exceptionally good speaker, but when you drive them with the right electronics that that’s when you will go Wow. I definitely concur. They’re able to create such a deep and also solid bass response with some pretty amazing dynamics for such a small speaker, that I've never even bought a sub for them, which is hard to believe but completely true. I never intended to run them full range only without a sub, but apparently they’re that good. The sexy berylium tweete kind of accentuates everything else that’s there, kind of like icing on the cake, imo. This review corroborates: https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/usheraudio_be718.htm |
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