Dynaudio 330 soft dome/worth it??

[mclsound]

I was offered a pair of brand new(??) big 330 softdomes for $1200USD and was told this is the ultamate softdome to put in my dual ATC(MTM) tops for superior SPL??
Is this a good price(seems rather expensive)for these tweeters or am I being played with and if they are new what would be a fair offer.

[Inductor]

Hey mclsound, seems the price is not that low,
Dynaudio Esotar T-330D tweeters... Brand NEW
You can get more similar tweeters for a small part of that (crazy?) price, Fostex FT48D
http://www.toutlehautparleur.com/twe...8d-p-3339.html
Also this one is good, Seas T29CF001/Seas T29CF002
http://www.speakerworld.nl/index.php...art&Itemid=109
http://www.speakerworld.nl/index.php...art&Itemid=109

[mclsound]

Thanks
I may revamp my MTM so the SS9700 is my weakest link.and building a dual ATC crossover wont be easy and would rather have a better driver for big SPL.So $1200 seems crazy for this 330 tweeter?

[Inductor]

ATC - PROAC D100
ProAc - perfectly natural

[Jay]

If I had to build a price-no-object 2-way loudspeaker, the Esotar will be the tweeter. Dynaudio tweeters are magnificent. The best imo. Unfortunately they are afaik out of production. But many are after the new-old-stock tweeter (they are if I'm not mistaken used in $15,000 Sonus Faber Extrema).

The tweeter can be driven hard in SPL. The problem is whether they are suitable swap in your ATC for such a high price. If you're not after the tweeter itself, I believe they are too expensive.

[mclsound]

I have been givin a new price of $700 for a new pair but cannot get them rebuilt if they ever blow.Or go with the big SS 7000.I am looking for big SPL as a main concern.

[Jay]

You are right. It is a matter of trust. It is not easy to test the originality by ears, but for me I believe I can do it, as long as only one driver is not original, so I can compare the two. I have been many times being offered of such pairs. Most of them didn't argue but lower the price (one even said that the refurbished one is free). But one offended by my "accusation" :P

It seems you know exactly that your speaker's tweeter is crossed very low (tho you didn't specify the exact frequency or the tweeter brand). Then not many tweeters are on par with the Esotar. Scan-Speak ring radiator can go low but I believe cannot be used because such membrane has different phase track. The Revelator is a good candidate but has a big flange.

But I still wonder if the original MTM requires such a low-Fs tweeter. What happened with the original tweeter? If you just plan to do a dirty swap (no redesign), why not fix the original? If it is back horn you can mod the chamber for example.

[mclsound]

Hi Jay
the SS9700's are crossed at 3800 and although sound fine,seem to be having trouble keeping up with the ATC's in the high SPL factor and yes i would revamp the crossover from the start.The rear fire is on a Fostex attenuator and is fine but the front one lacks,I believe,and has big shoes to fill against 25lbs of mid.

[Conrad Hoffman]

From a common sense standpoint, it's an expensive NOS part that's subject to damage (though not easily) and can't easily be rebuilt. I know nothing about the later high end Dynaudio stuff, but messed about with speaker design back when the parts were in production, available and reasonably affordable. If they fit the exact purpose/design you're going to put them in, they're the best. IMO, that's not every case. I've done as well with Morel and I'm sure there are other equally good solutions.

CH

[Jay]

Originally Posted by mclsound

Hi Jay
the SS9700's are crossed at 3800 and although sound fine,seem to be having trouble keeping up with the ATC's in the high SPL factor and yes i would revamp the crossover from the start.The rear fire is on a Fostex attenuator and is fine but the front one lacks,I believe,and has big shoes to fill against 25lbs of mid.

I knew it! 3800 is not at all low. You're not looking for tweeter with low Fs or with high power handling capability but you're looking for sensitive tweeter!

Find out your midrange (ATC?) sensitivity then find a new tweeter that can match that. But I think it should not be too difficult to "tune" up the crossover (not to redesign). If you have a resistor in series with the tweeter, you can start to reduce its value (but yes, the phase will be affected and you have to change other components). If there's no resistor in series with the tweeter you will want to damp the midrange with resistors. Sounds easy?