Beyma CP21/F

[Sjef]

Does anyone have any (good or bad) experience with the Beyma CP21/F slot tweeter. I have searched the forum and the internet but found nothing special about the sound quality of these tweeters.

I am planning to try a pair with my Phy-HP wideband drivers. After many many experiments I like the Phy's to be crossed over no higher than 5kHz. (I still cannot believe that some people listen to them fullrange without a tweeter, also tried the Phy_HP tweeter at 10 kHz but didn't like it) At the moment I am still using a pair of Gamma VLD 12 ribbon horn wich gives me the best solution so far. There ar only a couple of minor drawbacks however. The Gamma's are much faster than the Phy's so sometimes the attention is a bit too much to the tweeter. I would also like some more dispersion

I still remember the outstanding dynamics when I used a pair of Elctro Voice T35 tweeters. The EV tweeters are not the last word in defenition however. They sound very rough. I also liked there wide dispersion, so would the Beyma tweeter give me the same dynamics with better resolution ?

[Tim Moorman]

The Beyma is supposed to be good sounding. I have not heard it, but others whom I trust have posted about it with favorable comments. Very similar, from Swedish Chef's viewpoint, to the JBL 2405 design, which he uses.

You would not have the tight control of directivity with the wider dispersion, nor, I would guess, would you have the dynamics of the T35 on a horn, but you would gain smoothness.

They are a bit costly over here.

Tim

[Swedish Chef]

Time for me to chime in!

Yes, I have heard the Beyma CP21/F once and it sounded really good. However, I often find it very difficult to compare different tweeters, comp drivers and such because one can rarely do a full "side by side" comparison of them with all else being equal. Different amps, different rooms, different source material, no eq vs full digital eq etc, home listening or pro sound setting etc etc...

However, I DO use the JBL2405 daily on my home system and I love it! While I have taken the JBL apart for curiosity I have not done so with the Beyma But they look really similar in design with the Beyma more or less being a copy of the JBL.

The things I love with these drivers are their wide dispersion and awesome "attack". Brings new life to percussion! But they are UHF drivers and should not be used below 6 kHz (maybe you can get away with it at lower power levels but a few people have reported that they sound quite nasty if crossed too low). I let mine chime in @ 8 kHz crossed first-order with a single cap to take over from a 1'' compression driver crossed (active) @ 2 kHz, 4th order.

BTW, you can do a search over at Audio Asylum in the High Efficiency forum. I think there are a couple of guys there with more intimate experience with the Beyma.

Cheers
/Magnus

[Hoffmeyer]

Hi Sjef.

I used to sell Beyma once, and also used them in speakers for rental and sale, so I've had the chance to compare it to CP22 and CP25, and my recomandation is CP25.
I find it less PA-like, not that the CP21-F is bad, cause it's not, but it might have something to do with the dispersion, at least thats my idea.
The CP25 is a bit more pleassant to the ear.
Just my oppinion.

[Sjef]

Thanks for your comment guys,

The Beyma's are pretty cheap over here at about 82 euro's each so it's worthwile to try.

I also noticed that the Beyma's are more or less a copy of the JBL's but when I look at the frequency responce the Beyma's come in earlier. Maybe the JBL have a stronger magnet field. And yes I am using a DEQX digital crossover and correction normally with either 48 or 60 db/oct crossovers so I can go pretty low with tweeters.

I know it is hard to compare drivers, I usually take them for at least a week in my system even when I know from the first few seconds that it is not going to work they might excel in some other areas. At the moment I'm trying some Eton dome tweeters and I like the sound staing of them but I really miss the attack and detail as with every other dome tweeter I have ever tried but it was only an experiment to see what a wider dispersion would bring me.

Like always, I think I just hae to try myself. If there is anyone with another good advice on tweeters I would like to know. Can't try them all but I'm looking for very good dynamics and good soundstaging not for the artificial ScanSpeak, Seas, Dynaudio etc "High End" sound.

[Swedish Chef]

Sjef,

Can't try them all but I'm looking for very good dynamics and good soundstaging not for the artificial ScanSpeak, Seas, Dynaudio etc "High End" sound.

Well, we seem to be a minority 'round here...
That's indeed a very good price for the Beyma! Maybe they use a thinner diaphragm than JBL that allow them to go lower, I don't know.

Whatever you choose, post your findings!

/Magnus

[mbon]

Originally posted by Swedish Chef
I let mine chime in @ 8 kHz crossed first-order with a single cap to take over from a 1'' compression driver crossed (active) @ 2 kHz, 4th order.

Great ! that's exactly what I'm planing to do !

I've a B&C DE25 1'' compression and there's nothing great above 8KHz so I want to add a super tweeter. You use a cap for the CP21 but you don't crossover the 1'' driver ????????????

[icebear]

Robert Bastani is using it in his Prometheus. (www.bastanis.com) Avery nice speaker by the way.

Bjørn