SS 95/vs/97/vs/ribbon

[5th element]

I have the SSd2905/95000's in my speakers atm paired with W15cy001s and soon to be replaced with XLS10", 850146's on the bass.

Would I get a noticable improvement swapping to 97's? or would I be better off spending a little bit more and get a pair of ribbons.

Bare in mind that I "fiddle" with the system a lot and sometimes do stupid things, thus if a ribbon is frail its NOT a good idea for me as I would probably have destroyed it by now. I have run full range into the SS up till now by mistake all be it with a 70uf cap in the way but still this would probably have killed a not so robust design.

A 97 being almost identical will be a drop in replacement for the 95 as in the cabinet. The active xover will require a tweak but thats it. A ribbon will require more work I would imagine, a new cabinet is not a worry as all the speakers are in their own anyway.

Plus I can get a pair of 97's for £188, this is probably the same as one ribbon. What ribbons would you recommend? the Eton one looks interesting, I have heard it and like it.

Either way what do you ppl think.

Cheers Matt

[5th element]

Monster Ball yikes scream!

Hasnt anyone got any idea, I suppose I should w8 till USA wakes up afterall it is 5:30am in LA 7:30 in chicago and 8:29 in NY, plus ppl have to go to work Im still off bfore uni restarts.

Keeping thread alive!

Now back to cuttin out those driver rebates for flush mounting and to put my clock back to london time

[5th element]

70+ views and no comments

I guess noone has used both together then for a comparison

Looks like Im gonna have to be the one who can answer this question.

[navin]

what is your goal? the 9700 il be little different from your 9500 which i feel is the best value in the SS line.

if u wanna try something more different why not the 9800 or a ring radiator or a Neo?

[navin]

if you are looking fora fine tune (evolution) then the 9700 is your best bet. the 9900 requires significant XO change.

[5th element]

My goal is basically to improve the sound, I have read on numerous occasions thats the 97 is better then the 95.

Navin - You say the 95 is the best value in the SS line is this with respect to price? Here i get the 97's for £12 extra per tweet over the 95's. We get a very good deal here on them. The 99's are out of the question at £50 more, Ive never liked the negative comments I have heard about the 99 anyway and have always been more attracted to the 97.

Cross over change isnt difficult, the active xover is full adjustable.

Will the 97 just sound different to the 95, or will it sound better, ie more revealing etc a bit more sparkle to the sound, the 95's are the personification of smooth, but then again I think I have top notch amplification which cant do anything but help.

Again - I dont expect the difference to be nite and day between the two, just better in this world of diminishing returns. My system is good enough to enable a better tweeter to be heard, but will I hear better, thats the basic question.

I have also been told that the 95 is not good enough for the W15.

Cheers Matt

[5th element]

I am also attracted to the XT25 and would like to try it but not with the W15. I will prolly use it with one of seas new paper or alu cones.

[5th element]

Well ive just ordered a pair of 97's along with other stuff to make another set of speakers. So I guess ill be posting my preliminary thoughts in a few days time. Ill keep you all posted.

[navin]

better? i cant be a judge of that. however i think the 97 is a bit more forward than the 95.

i have heard them mated to a 8546 and 8545 respectively. so cant tell if the same would be true for a SEAS W15.

XT25 require a slightly higher XO. dont know if the W15 can be pushed beyond 3k.

[5th element]

I have used the W15 as far as 4k and it still sounds good, not as good as at 2k which is where it is now, I guess it shows xing lower to avoid the increase in distortion. So a tweet which can go low is prolly a good idea for the W15. Thats why im not going for the XT25, plus isnt it meant to be out of the W15's league? Well I do intend to purchase a pair in the future anyway so I will test em with they W15 to see what happens.

Thats one of the reasons why I went for the 97 because I want to cross low, ribbons and XT cant do that. You mentioned ring radiator, if not the XT what did you have in mind? The scan driver is currently in the price range of madness. I little bit more forwardness wont hurt a bit. I guess I have to wait and see.