Do I even need a tweeter?

[Good E Nuff]

I ordered a pair of these 4" drivers.
Dayton Audio PC105-8 4" Full-Range Poly Cone Driver

The original plan was to pair them with inexpensive 1" dome tweeters for DIY "Minimus 7s" in some fancy cigar boxes to be used as satellites in a 2.1 system.

https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/295-160--dayton-audio-pc105-8-specifications.pdf

When I started looking at the frequency response graph to help choose a tweeter, I noticed that these speakers are pretty flat out past 10 or 11 kHz. All the ears in my house are at least 50 years old. Any sound much above that frequency will be lost on us.

So I was thinking to use the PC-105 as a full range and ditch the tweeter.

What am I missing?

 

[Cal Weldon]

Every speaker is a compromise. You may find the advantages of a single driver outweighs the somewhat limited frequency response. Personally I would start without the tweeters and add only after you have had a good long listen.

 

[planet10]

Start by listening to them fullrange and then decide.

dave

 

[GM]

What am I missing?

The leading edge of low bass fundamentals [really only applies for pipe organ symphonies IME], top end 'air' around the instruments, which at 71+ I can still perceive if not wearing glasses since we feel sound as well as hear it, though maybe the fact that I wear gas permeable hard lens contacts may make me more sensitive, so YMMV.

The caveat IME is that unless you listen at ~live SPLs [> 85 dB @ the listening distance] then 'x' amount of boost to 'taste' is required.

There's Life Above 20 Kilohertz!: There's life above 20 kilohertz! A survey of musical instrument spectra to 102.4 kHz

GM

 

[Milkduds]

IME, the question should be will a tweeter add to my listening pleasure? I have wrestled with this issue for a couple years now finding that my vintage JBL 2441 horns, which supposedly roll of around 10k, sound better to me without tweeters. I have a pair of the finest Fostex tweeters money can buy and I've played around with a few crossover designs. While I can certainly hear what they do in adding a small amount of high frequency energy, I can't explain technically why my brain prefers no tweeters with my horns and setup. My continued testing is on hold as I really want them to "work" - but they sit atop my 3 way horns disconnected right now. The other end of the range is a completely different story as augmenting the bottom end with stereo tapped horns was a game changer. Such a fun hobby!

 

[hudelson2]

At 10 000 Hz the sound wavelength is only 3.4 centimeters (1 inch = 2.54 cm). It's difficult to integrate two drivers with such a short wavelength. Also human ears at 10 000 Hz, even for young people, is not as sensitive as they are at lower frequencies.
It may be better to have a coherent sound without the tweeter than to have the discontinuity at that frequency with two drivers.

 

[scottjoplin]

That's true but our hearing isn't so sensitive to phase and combing issues that high in frequency compared with lower down the spectrum

 

[Good E Nuff]

Thanks for all the input.

I tried the drivers in cardboard boxes about the size of my cigar boxes. They sound pretty good with the subwoofer. I'll go tweeterless.