Advice on raising tweeter level

[Manimal]

Hi all
I'd like to raise the tweeter level on my speakers and would like some guidance on which component to look at altering in the schematic.



The resistor ratings in the picture are:
1.8 ohm (top left)
5.6 ohm (top right)
2.2 ohm (runs from top to bottom)

I want to avoid upsetting the balance - I did swap the 5.6 ohm for a 3.3 ohm which was the closest one I had in my spares box but it didn't sound right.

What would you recommend?

Many thanks

Nick

[Frank Berry]

By reducing the value of the 5.6 ohm (R1051) resistor, you will cause a "hump" in the frequency response at the woofer-tweeter crossover frequency.
You will need to listen to your loudspeakers carefully after you make any changes but you may be able to increase the tweeter output by slightly reducing the value of R1051 from 5.6 ohms and also slightly reducing the value of C1041 (and possibly C1021). This will move the frequency of the crossover to a higher frequency.
It may be better to add a little (adjustable) high frequency boost to your system rather than to make changes to your loudspeaker crossover.

[jerome69]

Hi, play with R1011 , replace by a strap.

[Manimal]

Thanks for the replies.

Jerome - what is a strap? Sorry but I don't understand.

[Frank Berry]

I don't think that bypassing R1011 (1.8 ohms) will make a significant difference in tweeter output.
Depending on how much more energy Manimal wants from the tweeter, R1051 could be reduced in value or bypassed and C1021 and C1041 could be reduced in value from 6.8uF to, perhaps 4.7uF.
It will take some careful listening to determine the final R and C values.

[jerome69]

Sorry electronic term, replace R1011=1.8 by a wire (=strap).

[Manimal]

Frank / Jerome
Thanks to you both.

I'll try Jerome's strap replacement first (its easy) and then compare with Frank's suggestion. It'll be interesting to hear what the differences are.

The speakers are very good (a Troel's design) but I'd just like to lift that treble a bit.

Huge thanks.

[Manimal]

Well I've tried Jerome's suggestion of replacing R1011 with a wire and also compared it to Frank's suggestion of tweaking the values of the capacitors and the value of R1051.

My preference is simply replacing R1011 with a wire. The effect is subtle but I wasn't looking for major change. Altering the other components affected the way the treble seemed to project from the speakers - making things a little bit more forward. Not unpleasant but not as natural as Troel's crossover design had it before.

Thanks to you both for the suggestions.

I've two further questions that I'd like to ask;
The first is which components would you chose to alter if you wanted to lighten voices (slightly) and make the midrange slightly more forward in presentation.

The second question is related to asthetics. My wife has got used to having floorstanders in the lounge and is unimpressed at the return of speaker stands with these little standmounts. Would it mess up the sound if I built some cabinets with the same driver placement and width but built them as small floorstanders? I'd block of part of the cabinet so the drivers would use the same internal volume as now. Could be a way to restore domestic harmony...

[jerome69]

1. Raising the level of the tweeter, add a little more mid. Not sure, but play with R2031 18 to 15,12,10 ohms... But do it after doing 2

2. No problem to make a floorstander, keep the position of the drivers. You can make some improvements. Use the rest of the volume for a chamber with sand and a place to put the crossover.

[Inductor]

Originally Posted by Manimal

The second question is related to asthetics. My wife has got used to having floorstanders in the lounge and is unimpressed at the return of speaker stands with these little standmounts. Would it mess up the sound if I built some cabinets with the same driver placement and width but built them as small floorstanders? I'd block of part of the cabinet so the drivers would use the same internal volume as now. Could be a way to restore domestic harmony...

Very real...
It's the "psychological effect". They don't like things "hanging".

Originally Posted by Manimal

The first is which components would you chose to alter if you wanted to lighten voices (slightly) and make the midrange slightly more forward in presentation.

I don't understand, maybe it's my English... ((lighten voices vs. midrange slightly more forward))
Do you mean less of the low-mids (attenuation) and more of the high-mids?

more forward could also mean phase of the driver/crossover...