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Townshend Maximum Supertweeters

Yes, Maximum. I don’t come up with the names, I just review the stuff, okay? ;) And I got em because everyone keeps telling me I should, and once again they are right. Whew! That was easy!

Kidding! We will now laboriously delve into why you cannot live without these tweeters, that you can’t even hear.

For sure I can’t. My hearing rolls off somewhere north of 15k. If that. These things extend to 90k. Why? What difference can it possibly make?

Who knows? And since when has that stopped me?

So out they come and what have we here? Two heavy black bricks, with a screen on the front and a couple binding posts on the back. In between the posts is a little knob you use to turn them off and set the levels. On the bottom are rudimentary rubber dimple feet. Guess I was expecting Pods or something, this being Townshend. No such luck.

They go on top of the Moabs. Well there is already a BDR Shelf on top, and a HFT dead center right where this thing is supposed to go. Moving HFT even an inch changes the sound so executive decision, the Maximum Supertweeters go just outboard of the HFT. They are first just placed there not even connected, just in case this somehow messes with the sound. It doesn’t.

Okay so now you need to know my system is all messed up. No, not the usual mess I mean really seriously messed up. No turntable. Chris Brady has the bearing for some resurfacing and stuff. So we are slumming with the heavily modded Oppo. Not to fear, Ted Denney sent me some of his latest Atmosphere X (review to come) which with the right tuning bullet the Oppo now sounds....digital. Oh well. KBO.

The usual: Demag. Warmup. Listen a while. Hook em up. What level? Who knows? Moabs are 98dB. How ya gonna know anyway? How can it even matter? How do you even set the level of something you can’t hear? Level 3, good as any. Plug em in. No change. Not the slightest peep out of these things. Total dud. Knew it. Sit back down.

What the...? No way. There is not the slightest hint of top end coming from these things. They may as well not be there at all. Except the whole presentation is somehow different. Top to bottom. No way!

I get up and turn the black magic off. Sit back down. Crap. Flat, grainy, digital. Turn em back on. Deep, liquid, analog.

No, not analog like my turntable. They are just supertweeters after all not magic. But way more analog than it was. More dimensional, more solid, more liquid detailed. More black between the notes, and in the black it is now easier to hear the natural acoustic decay. I do NOT want to go back to listening to CD without this! I cannot wait to hear it with my table.

And I haven’t even had time to get them dialed in yet!



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Showing 7 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,887 posts
 
Supertweeters obviously produce no bass but if there are instrument overtones in their range they can boost those  and deliver the full range of certain instruments better.  
Of course you don’t need supertweeters for that unless your system is otherwise just not producing enough to satisfy at those higher frequencies.   Most good speakers will go up to 20khz by design.   Some more than others by design.  Supertweeter can help there if needed but most importantly our hearing deteriorates with the age and most older audiophiles do not hear above 10khz or so like they used to so an  adjustable high frequency driver can help.    That or DSP or an equalizer god forbid.   Many ways to tune the sound to ones ears as needed. 
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,887 posts
 
@antigrunge yes and those high-frequency overtones are referred to collectively by the term “air”. Look it up. I’m not making up the definition. Some instruments have them and some do not. Some that do might also produce some upper bass frequencies.  This stuff is well documented and anyone can look it up. 
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,887 posts
 
High frequencies add air.  That’s it.  Not body or weight. 
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,887 posts
 
If it is the MElody amp reviewed here:

6moons audio reviews: Melody Hifi M880

its a few years old but probably quite good having been given a blessing by the late John Potis. I sought his advice and he graciously provided that back when I was doing my last big system upgrade and considering going back to Ohm Walsh speakers at the time. Good guy, straight shooter, very knowledgeable, good ears!
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,887 posts
 
Not only digital, but based on the chart none of the instruments listed produce sound in the range above 20khz either which is one of the reasons why redbook CD was designed the way it was and most systems only shoot for out to 20khz.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/4a/6f/8b4a6fd7b8d65711eed41850a194284e.jpg

So there is not even any music there above 20khz for the transducer to reproduce regardless of format.   Just noise.  Maybe with a synthesizer or a dog whistle. 

Looks like the fishing hole is empty over 20khz so if you catch something up there it isn’t a fish.


mapman's avatar
mapman
21,887 posts
 
Yes most hifi over the years including digital is designed to work well from 20 hz to 20khz the standard range usually considered appropriate for human ears. Anything above that is even more of a potshot than that extreme already may be.

A lot of potentially fatiguing noise can occur naturally in that range so that is something worth considering case by case....how much better sound versus noise as a result.

Also if the device has response down to 10khz then it would seem best applied in systems that can use a boost in that upper range which with music is where "air" occurs. The result would likely be a sense of more "air" and perhaps a tad more "pierce" in that case which many might find desirable in some cases.


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/4a/6f/8b4a6fd7b8d65711eed41850a194284e.jpg


A sound meter and some white noise played into the device should be all needed to determine the effects at least in the typical human audio range up to 20khz.

I would think some using it might want to consider an active crossover for it to blend it in properly for best/flat response similar to adding a subwoofer.

As mentioned above, another consideration is more high frequencies will always result in a smaller soundstage (higher frequencies are more directional) unless the device artificially disperses the high frequencies in some way. Whether that is a good or bad thing also will vary case by case.

Focal speakers tend to deliver more "air" than many in my experience, so would tend to think a supertweet with Focals in general is not the best pairing. Maybe  still perhaps for some of us with older ears who are most likely to benefit from a 10Khz+ frequency boost?
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,887 posts
 
High frequencies in general are directional and more of them will tend to shrink soundstage FBOFW all else remaining the same.  That’s a fact. 
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