Sound of ribbon tweeters

[alspe]

Have you heard that ribbon tweeter had somekind of sound of their own, I mean in a good way? Do they have sweeter top and better transients that I have red in internet? Only ribbon is Elac's air motion transfer / ribbon in 310.2 JET I have heard and it was very nice.

Ribbons usually do not like crossed low because of distortion. That is strange because they have more area than small dome and still distort more. Would you use ribbon IF you'd cross around 5000 Hz?

Have you used ribbons as super tweeter together with dome tweeter, simply driven with 1st order capacitor XO above 10 kHz for example? Does it give nice glitter or what?

[Loren42]

I use the Beyma TPL-150 and cross it at 1.2 kHz. Seems to work okay, but I am probably pushing the limit at this frequency.

Yes, they do sound good and much better that the Morel MDT-37 dome tweeters I was using. They also have superior dispersion characteristics.

[gornir]

Originally Posted by alspe

Have you heard that ribbon tweeter had somekind of sound of their own, I mean in a good way? Do they have sweeter top and better transients that I have red in internet? Only ribbon is Elac's air motion transfer / ribbon in 310.2 JET I have heard and it was very nice.

I would say that when they are used properly they sound absolutely fantastic. However it’s up to personal taste and the dome vs. ribbons discussions tends to divide people into two camps. I like both, but of course in different types of designs.

I think sometimes you shouldn’t always analyze every technical detail aspect of dome vs. ribbons and their differences. Sit down and listen… Do you enjoy the sound when listening to music? Go for it……

Originally Posted by alspe

Ribbons usually do not like crossed low because of distortion. That is strange because they have more area than small dome and still distort more. Would you use ribbon IF you'd cross around 5000 Hz?

The higher quality ribbons play almost as low when used properly as the best domes without distortion concerns becomes an issue. However in my opinion the midrange driver choice becomes a bit more critical in order to integrate with a ribbon nicely. Domes are a bit more forgiving in that aspect.

Regards

/Goran

[mondogenerator]

Ive seen the Visaton MHT 12 magnetostat tweeter, and considered it a possible upgrade to the g20sc im using with the al130 woofer, but I have also seen the Mivoc KFT130m ribbon and it is considerably cheaper!The general aim would be to replace the current tweeter, and HP filter, but hopefully keep the LP to the woofer relatively unchanged.Ive also looked at some of the Fountek ribbons, but some of these are similar in price to the Visaton MHT12.Has anyone used this Mivoc ribbon before?Its almost surprisingly cheap.

[Helmuth]

I have a Swans RT1 ribbon it did not outperform the visaton dsm25ffl titanium dome I compared with.

I did have better performance from morel dome and horn-loaded drivers. I listen to a 2" now it seems the guitar sound sparkles in the air. Like all other horn lovers the dynamics are addictive.

So as for the ribbon I thought it would be ahead of other techniques but mine RT1 didn't show off as better.
Ribbons have a porer dispersion as a normal dome. Is often not in specs.

Mundorf specs them.
http://www.mundorf.com/english/speak...ransformer.pdf

[mondogenerator]

slightly less horizontal dispersion and more controlled vertical dispersion is the reason i am interested in those drivers. The aim to improve the power response in comparison with a dome. I have tangband 2" and 3" and alpair5 i COULD use...

[Helmuth]

Originally Posted by mondogenerator

slightly less horizontal dispersion and more controlled vertical dispersion is the reason i am interested in those drivers. The aim to improve the power response in comparison with a dome

It will result in a smaller sweet-spot.

[mondogenerator]

Originally Posted by Helmuth

It will result in a smaller sweet-spot.

yes i expect so

much like a cone tweeter may have a smaller sweet spot, though less so in the vertical dimension.

[Helmuth]

Originally Posted by mondogenerator

yes i expect so

much like a cone tweeter may have a smaller sweet spot, though less so in the vertical dimension.

You want a cheap ribbon.
RBT-95SQ Bändchen-Hochtöner MONACOR

[Michael Chua]

Originally Posted by Helmuth

...... and horn-loaded drivers. I listen to a 2" now it seems the guitar sound sparkles in the air. Like all other horn lovers the dynamics are addictive.

and fast attack, rendering instruments like guitar very realistic. I find good horns exhibit a much deeper sound stage too.