Rega Kytes with Vifa XT19 :)

[askbojesen]

Starting piont: A pair af Rega Kyte with blown tweeters

The tweeter in a Rega Kyte is a modified Vifa D20TD-05-06

The modification is an resonant chamber which loweres the resonanse frequency.

Actually this is the second time I experience blown tweeters in a Rega Kytes - so I was looking for something better...

The Vifa XT19TD00-04 has the same sensitivity as the D20TD-05-06 and by the way the same diemnsions

So I though that I could try just to replace the tweeters with the XT19 and thereafter modify the X-over if needed.

Listening/Conclusion:

• I did not have to modify the X-over
• Very detailed and homogenous sound - Of course not highend
• Do you have a pair of Rega Kytes and can you afford a pair of Vifa XT19 - then replace the original tweeters.
• I used about 30 min. for this opperation

By the way I use these speakers in the corners of my kitchen, where cooking has been made much more enjoable

Regards, Ask

 

[Willitwork]

I have a pair of Rega Alyas which use the exact same drivers as the Kyte. I like their sound but on the other hand I always wanted to try the "nippled" XT19, just couldn't find any designs that used it. I gotta try this...

 

[Jay_WJ]

Very detailed and homogenous sound - Of course not highend

The Vifa XT19 can be used in a high-end design when crossed at 2.5 kHz or higher LR4 or at 3 kHz or higher LR2 if midrange driver can match up with equally low distortion. It's an excellent tweeter.

 

[Willitwork]

Starting piont: A pair af Rega Kyte with blown tweeters

The tweeter in a Rega Kyte is a modified Vifa D20TD-05-06

The modification is an resonant chamber which loweres the resonanse frequency.

It's even more heavily modified than that, Rega has removed the ferrofluid in favor of air cooling and chambered the whole magnet system to prevent air movement inside the cabinet from interfering with diaphragm movement. The result is a tweeter similar to the ScanSpeak D2008/D2010 in design. Essentially the only components left from the original Vifa D20 are the faceplate and diaphragm. A replacement tweeter from Rega costs over $100 while the original Vifa sold for little more than $25.

When powered with qualified electronics the result is definitively high-end, the tweeter has been made to perfectly match the highly praised Rega designed midbass driver for the exceptional midrange performance Rega speakers are famous for.

My idea is to try the X19's diaphragm on the Rega modified D20 rather than simply replacing the tweeters as I feel a simple swap could affect time alignment built into the Rega crossover since a ferrofluid cooled system would likely experience further delay in response.

I was pleased to see that the X19 is still available even though it is now sold under the Peerless Vline brand rather than Vifa. No idea why Tymphany enjoys confusing us to such an extent.

 

[Willitwork]

Re: Re: Rega Kytes with Vifa XT19

It's an excellent tweeter.

It certainly appears to be Vifa's best tweeter along with the XT25 and that's no small feat considering Vifa has several highly praised tweeters in its line-up.

 

[Jay_WJ]

Re: Re: Rega Kytes with Vifa XT19

My idea is to try the X19's diaphragm on the Rega modified D20 rather than simply replacing the tweeters as I feel a simple swap could affect time alignment built into the Rega crossover since a ferrofluid cooled system would likely experience further delay in response.

The XT19 does not have ferrofluid in the motor gap. Even if it did, I wouldn't worry about its effect on drivers' time alignment---no significant effect on a frequency range where a usual mid-tweeter crossover occurs (e.g., 2 kHz to 5 kHz). I'd use the XT19 as it is unless I could compare necessary performance measurements including linear/nonlinear distortion tests.

 

[dlr]

Re: Re: Rega Kytes with Vifa XT19

Originally posted by Willitwork My idea is to try the X19's diaphragm on the Rega modified D20 rather than simply replacing the tweeters as I feel a simple swap could affect time alignment built into the Rega crossover since a ferrofluid cooled system would likely experience further delay in response.

Jay is correct, there's no issue with the AC, any difference will be very, very small. There also won't be any excess-delay related to the ferrofluid other than any minute change in frequency response changes that are inconsequential.

I'll add that you cannot use the XT19 dome on any other motor. The mounting mechanism is intended for and glued to the pole-piece vent that is significantly different in dimensions. There may also be a difference in voice coil gap in the motor. Removing the diaphragm will likely damage it irreversibly.

Use the XT19 and change the crossover.

Dave

 

[Willitwork]

Re: Re: Re: Rega Kytes with Vifa XT19

Jay is correct, there's no issue with the AC, any difference will be very, very small. There also won't be any excess-delay related to the ferrofluid other than any minute change in frequency response changes that are inconsequential.

I'll add that you cannot use the XT19 dome on any other motor. The mounting mechanism is intended for and glued to the pole-piece vent that is significantly different in dimensions. There may also be a difference in voice coil gap in the motor. Removing the diaphragm will likely damage it irreversibly.

Use the XT19 and change the crossover.

Dave

I see what's you mean, I have a pair of XT25's lying around which I assume are built the same way the XT19 is, and I just removed the faceplate off of one. The diaphragm is attached to a rubber ring that buffers it from the faceplate and definitely not made like any Vifa I have seen before. Shucks

 

[Willitwork]

Re: Re: Rega Kytes with Vifa XT19

The Vifa XT19 can be used in a high-end design when crossed at 2.5 kHz or higher LR4 or at 3 kHz or higher LR2 if midrange driver can match up with equally low distortion. It's an excellent tweeter.

Most Rega speakers would be considered "minimalist" high-end even with their original drivers. I own many commercial speakers and the Rega Alya is far from being the most expensive of the bunch -nor is it the cheapest- but it's one of the rare speakers I never really felt the need to tinker with or the urge to use tone controls because they sounded right from the get go provided a reasonably good amplifier is used to drive them. I hooked them to a 20-year-old Sugden A28 II which helps with heating the listening room in winter. This turned out to be a perfect match.

It's also one of the rare speakers that are practically WAF-proof because of their small footprint and conservative-yet-elegant genuine cherry veneer finish on all sides and slightly rounded edges. I was even allowed to leave them without their grills

 

[smallangryboy]

Did this work in the end? I loved the Rega Kytes when I owned a pair, and agree that their sound require no "fettling" it just worked, and sounded really natural.

I'm trying to augment my Jordan driver with a tweeter and have moved away from the ribbon to try a dome tweeter. I would love to recreate that same naturalness as I remember from the Kyte. Be interested to hear your final thoughts on finding a modern tweeter replacement from Vifa or Scan Speak that may lend itself to working with my JX92.

 

[T11]

Doing the same thing

Hi there.

I am doing the same thing. I have RR125 from Rega in JR149 speaker with KEF T27 tweeter. Still working on crossover and will try T27 with waveguide as I think we have here lower effiecency than midbass. But... I think T27 is nothing special without its dedicated JR 149 crossover or maybe I am wrong? I find it a litlle spitting for now (listening on Gainclone Lm4780 and TPA3316 chip). Will try them on vintage Sony receiver (modified a bit and in a league with olde MF A1 on transparency, tonality and soundstage but with SPEED) I know pretty well. For now too many variabilities. If someone had tried Rega driver with some tweeters (even ribbons) let us know!

!!
T

 

[likavifa]

@askbojesen Last year I bought a pair of Rega tweeters for $10 on CL. I recognised them as Vifa and thought that even if they were blown, which they were even though the guy said otherwise, I could get new voice coils from Madisound as I had before for my other Vifas. Well. it turned out that Fred Flintstone had owned these and new VCs are not available. But I kept them and tried a few things to see if I could get them to work. Then I stumbled on an ad on eBay for 19mm voice coils and silk domes from China for $10. I said what the heck, if they don't work I can't say I didn't try. It took two weeks for them to get here and after some VERY careful positioning, glueing and soldering I have a nice working pair of tweeters for a total cost of $20. I built some cabinets out of scrap 1" MDF, bought some Infinity 2-way L-pad crossovers, and mounted them with a pair of PSB 5t woofers I had laying around. Everything sounds great except that even with the tweeter knob turned all the way up they not very bright. My question is since you say the resonant chamber lowers the resonanse frequency, if I remove the chamber will that brighten up the tweeters? They are crossed over at 3000 Hz. Thanks!