Tested: Accuton C23 and others

[Zaph]

For comments and comparison with other drivers, see the Tweeter Mishmash. This is the most expensive tweeter I've ever tested.

I also added the Hi-Vi K1. (a $9 tweeter to keep things in perspective)

John

[sdclc126]

How does the C23 sound subjectively? And when are you going to test the diamond tweeter?

[Zaph]

Originally posted by sdclc126
How does the C23 sound subjectively? And when are you going to test the diamond tweeter?

I didn't listen to these, I measured only. I'm not a subjective type of person. To me, the measurements are everything. There is not much more to a driver's sound than measurements show, and there's no hidden, unquantifiable magic. If I spent 400 or 500 bucks on a pair of tweeters, I'd hear some magic... The magic of my money disappearing for no reason.

Of course, I only show the three types of measurements, which doesn't paint a complete picture, but it is enough to get an idea of the character of a driver. After a lot of testing, I find these three measurements to corelate well with the type of sound a driver makes.

As far as the diamond domes, I'll grab a few of those as soon as I win the lottery.

[Eton]

I know your favorite Metal dome tweeter is Seas 27TBFCG. but have you had a chance to listen or test the LPG26T?
Flattest frequency response, high power handling very detailed and reasonable price.
Drawback is no alignment pegs when replacing the VC but easy enough.

[tktran]

How does the C23 sound subjectively?

IMHO there are simply too many variables for any subjective interpretation to hold much water.
How it sounds will depend on the baffle size/shape, crossover, and resultant final acoustic response. Then room size/type etc.

After a lot of testing, I find these three measurements to corelate well with the type of sound a driver makes.

Hi John,

It's always nice to see measurements, but it's not always clear what they mean.

After digesting dozens of graphs, and coming to my own conclusion, it's always nice to compare notes. Are there any generalizations that we can make?

I'm am actually surprised by those measurements. If we forget about the price for a moment, it measures pretty well. Compared to other tweeters, very low 2nd and 3rd order harmonic distortion, low 4th and 5th harmonics. The most notable feature is the smoothness or "broadbandness" of the distortion spectrum, for lack of a better term.

Crossed above 2.5KHz LR2, and if we could smoothen out the FR witih extra filter parts, it's probably up with the best of them? Value for money is relatively low, but I'd hazard to say that for people who can afford to buy Accuton, value for money isn't the first priority, and would feel more safe/comfortable spending a bit more rather than less.

I'll be keeping my 27TBFCG (2Khz, LR4) and 9500 (3KHz LR4) based speakers.

[Zaph]

Originally posted by Eton
I know your favorite Metal dome tweeter is Seas 27TBFCG. but have you had a chance to listen or test the LPG26T?

My experience with LPG products is limited to the 26NA, one of my favorites for car audio use. I'll chalk up the 26T as a nice one to try. I'm not sure why, but LPG has never been as popular or wide spread as the other big names.

Originally posted by tktran
After digesting dozens of graphs, and coming to my own conclusion, it's always nice to compare notes. Are there any generalizations that we can make?

I'm am actually surprised by those measurements. If we forget about the price for a moment, it measures pretty well. Compared to other tweeters, very low 2nd and 3rd order harmonic distortion, low 4th and 5th harmonics. The most notable feature is the smoothness or "broadbandness" of the distortion spectrum, for lack of a better term.

Crossed above 2.5KHz LR2, and if we could smoothen out the FR witih extra filter parts, it's probably up with the best of them?

I agree, the harmonic distortion of this tweeter is pretty good. While running the test, I saw the very tall order spectrum products (beyond F5) were excellent too. The only strike against this tweeter is it's ragged frequency response and energy storage issue at 4kHz. I don't think the 4kHz problem can be fixed in the filter. The top octave droop probably can't be fixed either because this tweeter is already pretty inefficient so there's not much SPL to work with for a high pass shelving filter.

Everything considered but disregarding the price, I'd call it a good tweeter. But if I had to put a price on it's value, it would be $27. Or turning that around, I'd be charging about $300 for the basic Seas.

Regards,
John

[Eton]

I would guess that the lack of popularity is due to A: most designers feel they have to spend more than 100 on a tweeters so they can psyche themselves into believing they can hear the difference. B: the lack of alignment pegs. C: LPG26T’s specs are modest and
Don’t claim beyond 20K. I worked in audiology field for a while and never met anyone at any age that could hear beyond 8K pure tone signals. People that claim they can hear up to 20K and beyond are same people that spend 300 on cables and 600 on tweeters.

[DougL]

People that claim they can hear up to 20K and beyond are same people that spend 300 on cables and 600 on tweeters.

I have a friend that could hear the electronic scan on a color TV from the next room. He's 50 and is no longer irritated by this, but he was in his mid thirties when I "saw" him do it.

Doug

[Zaph]

Originally posted by DougL

I have a friend that could hear the electronic scan on a color TV from the next room. He's 50 and is no longer irritated by this, but he was in his mid thirties when I "saw" him do it.

Doug

Funny you should mention that. I always use cathode ray tubes as a quick hearing self-check. Generally, whenever I enter a room with a tube type TV on, within a few seconds I can tell if it's on or not. (with my eyes closed) I measured it one day. It's a massive peak at around 15kHz. I'm thankfull in my old age (nearing 40) I can still hear that though I think it's getting harder these days. Of course with silent LCD tvs, that old casual hearing test will probably become a thing of the past.

From my own tests, I can't hear much past that though.

[kan3]

I find this post ironic because about a minute before I read this I was thinking to myself "I need to turn that TV off" after "listening" to the constant HF noise from 2 rooms away with an air conditioner blowing next to me.

It's one of those things that you ignore as a whole but if you focus on it, it drives you nuts. Matter fact, reading this post has made it intolerable....going to go shut it off now.