Wich is best : ribbon or dome tweeters ?

lduarte1973 · 2nd April 2009, 05:18 PM

Lindell · 2nd April 2009, 06:01 PM

A coax dome ribbon would rule ?

roger_lew · 2nd April 2009, 06:16 PM

Hey Luis,

"Best" is sort of a trick question when it comes to speakers. It really boils down to your design objectives and constraints.

Domes generally have better polar response in the vertical plane, lower distortion at higher volumes, and can generally be crossed over lower than ribbons with more gradual slopes.

True ribbon tweeters generally have higher efficiency, flatter impedance, and better impulse response.

You might take a look at Lynn Olsen's "The Art of Speaker Design." I think you'll find it interesting and it provides some historical perspective in regard to your questions. I go through it about once a year.

http://www.nutshellhifi.com/library/...r-design1.html

Regards,
Roger

dukeoyork · 2nd April 2009, 07:49 PM

one of each?

Cal Weldon · 2nd April 2009, 08:04 PM

No.

Roger's advise is good.

dukeoyork · 2nd April 2009, 08:23 PM

i had the pleasure of having some apogee duetta II's for a while. i expected the dispersion to be really wide, because the ribbon is flat. i was very surprised at how directional the tweeters were. you had to be pretty much right in line with them, an it became obvious that these speakers need a pretty big room to do them justice, 'cause the sweet spot was really a spot, lol. i don't know that a good dome tweeter on top wouldn't have solved this.
i didn't find the larger panel suffered from the same problem.

BlueWizard · 2nd April 2009, 08:39 PM

Let's not forget there is a 'for the money' element here.

Is the real question, is a Dome better than a Ribbon for equal money?

Or, is it for any amount of money?

If any amount, likely a ribbon wins, but if you factor in a budget, then a dome wins.

Also, you can find domes for $10 to $20, but I don't think you can find ribbons that cheap. So, in that price range Dome wins because there are no ribbons.

Then of course, it depends on which ribbon and which dome. At a given price point, one many be better than the other independent of it being a dome or ribbon. It may hinge on other design factors.

I think budget, application, and desired design result play more of a factor than any blanket statement of one being better than the other. Likely both have plus and minus, and it is up to you as the design to determine if you can accentuate the pluses and minimize the minuses to your advantage.

Steve/bluewizard

tinitus · 2nd April 2009, 09:14 PM

If someone would set their mind to designing a high quality CONE tweeter, it might be the winner
Unfortunately they are all cheap

planet10 · 2nd April 2009, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dukeoyork
one of each?

Like Dali?

dave

planet10 · 2nd April 2009, 09:34 PM

What about cone tweeters? Horns?

Each has its place depending on the context.

Personally i'm not a big fan of domes (some concave domes are OK -- really sort of a cone tweeter)

dave

2nd April 2009, 05:18 PM	#1
lduarte1973 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Lisbon	Wich is best : ribbon or dome tweeters ? Wich is best : ribbon or dome tweeters ? __________________ Hey ! just because i´m going bald doesnt mean i cant like hair metal

2nd April 2009, 08:04 PM	#5
Cal Weldon Speakerholic diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: British Columbia	No. Roger's advise is good. __________________ Next stop: Margaritaville Some of Cal's stuff \| Cal Weldon Consulting

2nd April 2009, 09:34 PM	#10
planet10 frugal-phile(tm) diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Victoria, BC, NA, Sol III Blog Entries: 4	What about cone tweeters? Horns? Each has its place depending on the context. Personally i'm not a big fan of domes (some concave domes are OK -- really sort of a cone tweeter) dave __________________ community sites t-linespeakers.org, frugal-horn.com ........ commercial site planet10-HiFi p10-hifi forum here at diyA

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2nd April 2009, 06:01 PM	#2
Lindell diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Planet Earth	A coax dome ribbon would rule ?

2nd April 2009, 06:16 PM	#3
roger_lew diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Moscow, ID	Hey Luis, "Best" is sort of a trick question when it comes to speakers. It really boils down to your design objectives and constraints. Domes generally have better polar response in the vertical plane, lower distortion at higher volumes, and can generally be crossed over lower than ribbons with more gradual slopes. True ribbon tweeters generally have higher efficiency, flatter impedance, and better impulse response. You might take a look at Lynn Olsen's "The Art of Speaker Design." I think you'll find it interesting and it provides some historical perspective in regard to your questions. I go through it about once a year. http://www.nutshellhifi.com/library/...r-design1.html Regards, Roger

2nd April 2009, 07:49 PM	#4
dukeoyork diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2009	one of each?

2nd April 2009, 08:23 PM	#6
dukeoyork diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2009	i had the pleasure of having some apogee duetta II's for a while. i expected the dispersion to be really wide, because the ribbon is flat. i was very surprised at how directional the tweeters were. you had to be pretty much right in line with them, an it became obvious that these speakers need a pretty big room to do them justice, 'cause the sweet spot was really a spot, lol. i don't know that a good dome tweeter on top wouldn't have solved this. i didn't find the larger panel suffered from the same problem.

2nd April 2009, 08:39 PM	#7
BlueWizard diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2007	Let's not forget there is a 'for the money' element here. Is the real question, is a Dome better than a Ribbon for equal money? Or, is it for any amount of money? If any amount, likely a ribbon wins, but if you factor in a budget, then a dome wins. Also, you can find domes for $10 to $20, but I don't think you can find ribbons that cheap. So, in that price range Dome wins because there are no ribbons. Then of course, it depends on which ribbon and which dome. At a given price point, one many be better than the other independent of it being a dome or ribbon. It may hinge on other design factors. I think budget, application, and desired design result play more of a factor than any blanket statement of one being better than the other. Likely both have plus and minus, and it is up to you as the design to determine if you can accentuate the pluses and minimize the minuses to your advantage. Steve/bluewizard

2nd April 2009, 09:14 PM	#8
tinitus diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Nov 2005	If someone would set their mind to designing a high quality CONE tweeter, it might be the winner Unfortunately they are all cheap

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