fabric dome tweeters (Seas vs. Vifa)

[kamppi]

I have considered Seas 27TFF, Seas 27TFFC and Vifa DX25TG05-04 tweeters.

All these are in same price class, but which one is the best?

I think that Vifa could give best performance for the price... , but I have also heard good things about Seas 27TFFC. But I have not had possibility to compare these tweeters by listening.

Have someone done experiments with these tweeters? I would like to hear your opinions.

Regards,
/jarno

[sreten]

Very likely the tweeters are close enough in performance for any
comparisons made the results would vary with the actual speaker
design.

I'd say the Vifa is harder to design for and needs a more complicated c/o.

For simple designs and lower c/o frequencies I'd go for the 27TFFC.

Certainly the Vifa has a dispersion advantage.

sreten.

[BrianGT]

I have used the 27TFFC, and like it a lot. I would also consider the newer 27TDFC. It is almost identical to the 27TDFC, but has better power handling.

--
Brian

[kamppi]

I checked data sheets of Seas tweeters and I found 27TDC very interesting. There is a little bump in the frequency response just before 2kHz...

No-ferrofluid and very nice cumulative spectral decay figure. Also free air resonance is low, 550Hz.

Parameters seemed to be to almost indentical for these Seas tweeters.

Is it more difficult to design cross over for non-ferrofluid tweeters?

/jarno

[Zaph]

Originally posted by kamppi
I checked data sheets of Seas tweeters and I found 27TDC very interesting. There is a little bump in the frequency response just before 2kHz...

No-ferrofluid and very nice cumulative spectral decay figure. Also free air resonance is low, 550Hz.

Parameters seemed to be to almost indentical for these Seas tweeters.

Is it more difficult to design cross over for non-ferrofluid tweeters?

/jarno

I would forget about the Vifa D25. I tested a pair and the response curve was terrible. It has a drooping top end that is almost 6db down in the top octave. It makes for a dull sounding speaker. I can post a response curve later when I get home if anyone wants it.

The Seas 27TFFC and 27TDFC are great tweeters. I have some of both on hand right now. I also have a 25TFFC. Measurements are at my web site near the bottom of the front page. The 27TDC is also a great tweeter but it has some limitations and tradeoffs. You are correct about the difficulty of designing for tweeters without ferrofluid. They can't be crossed over nearly as low and they don't handle as much power. Occasionally they will need a conjugate notch to flatten the impedence curve. On the plus side, they will have more detail in the range that they operate as a direct result of the lower energy storage.

However, don't discount tweeters with ferrofluid as being low on detail and clarity, particularly Seas tweeters. The designer's selected viscosity is often a choice made to be the best tradeoff between damping and detail. Seas tweeters have a lower viscosity ferrofluid and sound quite a bit more detailed than some Asian made tweeters that use thick viscosity ferrofluid to hide serious design flaws.

[ScottRHinson]

Originally posted by kamppi
I checked data sheets of Seas tweeters and I found 27TDC very interesting. There is a little bump in the frequency response just before 2kHz...

No-ferrofluid and very nice cumulative spectral decay figure. Also free air resonance is low, 550Hz.

Parameters seemed to be to almost indentical for these Seas tweeters.

Is it more difficult to design cross over for non-ferrofluid tweeters?

/jarno

I much prefer the 27TDC over the other tweeters you have mentioned, and I've used almost all of them. I haven't used the 27TDFC though, and it's on my list of tweeters to try.

The 27TDC does require a bit of work, I highly suggest a resonant trap for the impedance peak.



Scott

[Zaph]

Originally posted by Zaph


I would forget about the Vifa D25

Er, I mean the DX25. The D25AG Aluminum dome, which I also happen to have a response curve posted, is almost ruler flat. Nice tweeter though I still prefer fabric domes.

Originally posted by sreten

Certainly the Vifa has a dispersion advantage.

Actually, the DX25 has terrible off axis response too. This is mainly because it is essentially a 1-1/2" tweeter due to the large surround, a problem shared by it's slightly better big brother, the XT27.

[Zaph]

Originally posted by Zaph
XT27

Er, I meant XT25. Man, time to lay off the caffeine.

[coolkhoa]

If I were to design a 2-way based on the Seas L12 4.5" aluminum woofer, would you guys recommend the 25TFFC over the 27TFFC, 27TDC, and 27TDFC? Seeing that it's a 4.5", I don't need a low-Fs tweeter but rather want good dispersion, so I think the 25mm is better. Is this good logic?

Oh...I know this is a "fabric dome tweeter" thread but is an all-aluminum Seas system wise?

[kan3]

there IS an edit button