Focal Shape (65) Tweeter mod - Silk dome upgrade to Monacor DT-28N

Hi K9vap, I borrowed form a friend of mine a Gustard X 18 with ES9038 PRO and I'm using it through XLR ports.
I rolled back with the original tweeters, just to see the difference, their sounds reminds me a coke can 😉
Maybe that as I'm almost 50 I am going deaf and I need different treble but.... since I was 18 I can't live without the sound of a silk tweeter.
So I mounted again my Monacors, setted at 0 gain, and I'm happy again, their treble is smooth as usual.

They don't cost so much, give them a try ...
 
Hi K9vap, I borrowed form a friend of mine a Gustard X 18 with ES9038 PRO and I'm using it through XLR ports.
I rolled back with the original tweeters, just to see the difference, their sounds reminds me a coke can 😉
Maybe that as I'm almost 50 I am going deaf and I need different treble but.... since I was 18 I can't live without the sound of a silk tweeter.
So I mounted again my Monacors, setted at 0 gain, and I'm happy again, their treble is smooth as usual.

They don't cost so much, give them a try ...
I also have Elac Navis and Acoustic Energy AE1's, both with soft dome tweeters. In my system, they both sound great too....but I still prefer the Shapes. There is no way I would consider doing this mod....I would rather chose a different speaker ....
 
I also have Elac Navis and Acoustic Energy AE1's, both with soft dome tweeters. In my system, they both sound great too....but I still prefer the Shapes. There is no way I would consider doing this mod....I would rather chose a different speaker ....
I usually prefer original things but nowadays it's not so easy to test speakers before buying them; in addition Focal shape have a non common extension at low frequencies so you could eventually forgive this little compromise 😉
 
I know this is an old post. But just wanted to post an update on my attempt at this tweeter mod. I had the 3d adapters printed, installed the tweeters suggested in the post and soldered in adapter wires so it was plug and play. I used the same 3d printer settings suggested (the material/density may change the sound). I also used/have focal shape twin speakers and may play a part on the results I had.

After 4 weeks of listening and using them. Here are my impressions:
-Clarity/resolution is def increased. (And that's the only thing I liked. Its the smooth crispness of the silk tweeters that I liked).
-Higher frequencies have a notable compressed and distorted sound (only with some frequencies) (almost as if the tweeters are being overdriven. Sometimes its very noticeable and sometimes the speakers are prefect as they are. Depends on the song. Loud or soft does NOT make a change).
-Eq/Crossover is also way off. Its now very bass/mid heavy. Higher frequencies are sometimes perfect and sometimes they're way off (depends on the freq). The tweeters and possibly all the speaker drivers need a new crossover design. The shelf adjustments on the back do not help at all.
I have not opened the speakers completely up to examine the plate amps to see what needs to be done to rework them.

At this point, I'm returning to the stock tweeters. While these newer tweeters have a better clarity/resolution and smoothness I like, the unbalanced crossover network and certain high frequency distortion makes using them in this configuration impossible for mixing. May work for music, but it still may drive people nuts from the imbalance between the frequencies (depends on your ear training, and how deep into the audiophile world you are).

I'm still looking for the right tweeters to pair to these speakers, or the right mod to the amp to make these tweeters work. I don't think I'll spend much more time going any further. These speakers have potential. But they're class ab, and no matter how much work I put into them, I don't think they'll ever be as dynamic or resolving as I'm looking for.
Great for mixing. But lacking in the audiophile genre.
 
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Still very happy with mine, from audiophile POV. In fact, have updated to the Twins now.....same tweeter of course! More dynamic and best upper bass I have ever heard. Midrange to die for and a sweet & detailed treble. True, they are very revealing, and if there is an issue with other equipment in the system, or the recording, they wont cover it up.
I am not interested in deep bass, as I use subs for that and roll these off at 60Hz.
There is nothing I would change on these speakers, and I lust for nothing else. Well done Focal!
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