If you had a preference in a waveguide equipped dome tweeter, which one would it be?
It could be a tweeter that already comes with a WG or a combination of tweeter and WG you came up with.
There are a few which IMO are an afterthought just to be trendy, but tweeters which are engineered with the WG as a complete design are actually not that abundant.
My favorite soft dome in a WG is the Morel CAT378. It just does everything really well and can be crossed sucessfully 1st order with just one 3.3 - 5.6 uf cap. There is enough dampening at Fs to not need an LCR, but I still prefer one.
It could be a tweeter that already comes with a WG or a combination of tweeter and WG you came up with.
There are a few which IMO are an afterthought just to be trendy, but tweeters which are engineered with the WG as a complete design are actually not that abundant.
My favorite soft dome in a WG is the Morel CAT378. It just does everything really well and can be crossed sucessfully 1st order with just one 3.3 - 5.6 uf cap. There is enough dampening at Fs to not need an LCR, but I still prefer one.
SB26ADC in the Somasonus waveguides is pretty much perfect.
Directivity measurements: click
Distortion vs. one of the better 1" compression drivers: click
Bliesma T25B-6 too: distortion measurements
Directivity measurements: click
Distortion vs. one of the better 1" compression drivers: click
Bliesma T25B-6 too: distortion measurements
Generally I consider very worthwhile using smaller wg with the domes and it is my preffered solution.
Without WG, I usually try to cross over higher than current modern trend pushing Fc as low as possible. It usually does not sound natural and relaxed. This of course requires midrange capable of LR2. 6-7inch LR2 at ~2.5kHz is my usual target, and smaller midranges even higher. For example, 12MU+9800 alu 4000Hz LR2 created very nice off axis responses and sounded excellent.
TW29BN-8 + Jantzen WG: this is my current setup. Measures excellent (better than TW29BNWG), nice off axis reponses, easy to make crossover for. Sounds great, Be + larger surround combo has very delicate sound, a lot of air and top end sparkle. Requires patient work when setting the level by crossover otherwise can sound little bit hot. It sounds clean and clear, transparent . I have it in 2way with W22NY003, 2200Hz LR2, this resulted in nice balances sound, all the details are there, they are not just in your face like LR4 which I tried as well.
TW29TXN-8 + Jantzen WG: measures again excellent, same as BN. Just the sound was not my cup of tea, somewhat dry and scratchy (same as if you move your fingers on MW16TX cone), that signature was still there. Definitely not as good as Bliesma BE or Satori Be. I would like to try this tweeter again to reconfirm my impressions.
T34B + my 6" WG: veeery detailed and having top end sparkle. Not that easy to work with. I had it in 3way with 18WE, 1800Hz LR4. Nowadays I would try to go with LR2. The sound is more in your face, it is ultimate tweeter in many aspects, it is just that I prefer more relaxed sound, natural and relaxed yet detailed and vivid.
T25B + my 5" WG: LR4 at 2000Hz, with MW16TX. Basically the same as T34B when it comes to the sound.
Pioneer S-1EX: this was coaxial, very hard to obtain. I worked on crossover upgrade. The tweeter is Be, and has wg loading from the midrange cone. I mention it, because this is simply the best sounding coax (after crossover upgrade) I had had opportunity to work with. The Be tweeter sound like Be, very similar sonic character to Satori or Bliesma Be. Excellent detail, body, and top end, smooth and vivid sound.
Wavecor TW030WA 21 Tetoron: I really wanted to like this tweeter, as the small WG really works and makes it easier to couple with ~6" midranges. It measures good, though the distortion is quite high above 3kHz.
7100 + WG148R: measures ok, I mean, WG effect is there, just the area ~10kHz is not perfectly linear. Anyway, this was likely the best of the soft domes I have worked with
6600 + WG148R: basically the same as 7100 in the same WG
R3004/6620 + WG148R: measures good, overall little bit too soft sounding
edit:
Viawave GR-145W-8: 3000Hz LR2, in 2way with PTT6.5W. Excellent sounding tweeter, different character compared to Be or Alu though. It is very neutral, clean, and light. No sense of harshness nor sibilance.
Without WG, I usually try to cross over higher than current modern trend pushing Fc as low as possible. It usually does not sound natural and relaxed. This of course requires midrange capable of LR2. 6-7inch LR2 at ~2.5kHz is my usual target, and smaller midranges even higher. For example, 12MU+9800 alu 4000Hz LR2 created very nice off axis responses and sounded excellent.
TW29BN-8 + Jantzen WG: this is my current setup. Measures excellent (better than TW29BNWG), nice off axis reponses, easy to make crossover for. Sounds great, Be + larger surround combo has very delicate sound, a lot of air and top end sparkle. Requires patient work when setting the level by crossover otherwise can sound little bit hot. It sounds clean and clear, transparent . I have it in 2way with W22NY003, 2200Hz LR2, this resulted in nice balances sound, all the details are there, they are not just in your face like LR4 which I tried as well.
TW29TXN-8 + Jantzen WG: measures again excellent, same as BN. Just the sound was not my cup of tea, somewhat dry and scratchy (same as if you move your fingers on MW16TX cone), that signature was still there. Definitely not as good as Bliesma BE or Satori Be. I would like to try this tweeter again to reconfirm my impressions.
T34B + my 6" WG: veeery detailed and having top end sparkle. Not that easy to work with. I had it in 3way with 18WE, 1800Hz LR4. Nowadays I would try to go with LR2. The sound is more in your face, it is ultimate tweeter in many aspects, it is just that I prefer more relaxed sound, natural and relaxed yet detailed and vivid.
T25B + my 5" WG: LR4 at 2000Hz, with MW16TX. Basically the same as T34B when it comes to the sound.
Pioneer S-1EX: this was coaxial, very hard to obtain. I worked on crossover upgrade. The tweeter is Be, and has wg loading from the midrange cone. I mention it, because this is simply the best sounding coax (after crossover upgrade) I had had opportunity to work with. The Be tweeter sound like Be, very similar sonic character to Satori or Bliesma Be. Excellent detail, body, and top end, smooth and vivid sound.
Wavecor TW030WA 21 Tetoron: I really wanted to like this tweeter, as the small WG really works and makes it easier to couple with ~6" midranges. It measures good, though the distortion is quite high above 3kHz.
7100 + WG148R: measures ok, I mean, WG effect is there, just the area ~10kHz is not perfectly linear. Anyway, this was likely the best of the soft domes I have worked with
6600 + WG148R: basically the same as 7100 in the same WG
R3004/6620 + WG148R: measures good, overall little bit too soft sounding
edit:
Viawave GR-145W-8: 3000Hz LR2, in 2way with PTT6.5W. Excellent sounding tweeter, different character compared to Be or Alu though. It is very neutral, clean, and light. No sense of harshness nor sibilance.
Last edited:
Yes good idea, without waveguide I find this TW29TXN sounds very good and neutral. The setup is with the W22NX001 1500Hz LR4 acoustics but first/second order electrical. The marriage with the woofer/mid is not always easy.
Other subject You confirm me the idea to associate my W22NY003 with a BE dome but it works well with the 27TAC 3kHz LR2.
- 27TBFCG + WG148R is also good combo, easy to filter, one cap is enough.
- 27TBCD/GD-DXT sounds good with the right partner, SEAS U series ?, but not easy to filter, a cap + linearization circuit is required.
I have a few favorites.
I also like the W-148 waveguide mated to the KE-25 SC dome from Visaton. This tweeter
has a relatively large X max for a tweeter and the W-148 waveguide is designed to
work with it. I digitized the profile of the waveguide and custom 3D printed
front baffles to fit in the LS-3/5A cabinets. I took first place in the two - way division
at the local speaker contest with that tweeter. The tweeter with and without waveguide
is in the speaker library of the very capable Visaton Boxsim free design software. If
you buy this tweeter specify it be heavily padded in the shipping box. When dropped on
the side in shipping, an unpadded tweeter will get the voice coil scraping the magnet gap.
https://www.visaton.de/en/products/drivers/dome-tweeters/ke-25-sc-8-ohm
The JBL Professional bl-053ti-tweeter-123-10003-00x is used with wave guides in many of the
professional studio monitors. This dome has a sort of highly damped sort of memory foam
plug in contact with the back of the dome and it produces a very clean sound.
The SEAS Prestige 27TBCD/GB-DXT or rather a derivative of this dome is used in the Grimm Audio
speakers. I was able to use this tweeter to mockup a copy of the Grimm Audio speaker. It required
quite a bit of compensation with several digital filters in the miniDSP to get a flat response. The results
were very impressive. Possibly the best speaker I have yet produced.
I also very much like the SB acoustics 1" metal domes, but I have yet to get one fitted to a
waveguide. They do work beautifully on a flat baffle for a wide radiation pattern.
I also like the W-148 waveguide mated to the KE-25 SC dome from Visaton. This tweeter
has a relatively large X max for a tweeter and the W-148 waveguide is designed to
work with it. I digitized the profile of the waveguide and custom 3D printed
front baffles to fit in the LS-3/5A cabinets. I took first place in the two - way division
at the local speaker contest with that tweeter. The tweeter with and without waveguide
is in the speaker library of the very capable Visaton Boxsim free design software. If
you buy this tweeter specify it be heavily padded in the shipping box. When dropped on
the side in shipping, an unpadded tweeter will get the voice coil scraping the magnet gap.
https://www.visaton.de/en/products/drivers/dome-tweeters/ke-25-sc-8-ohm
The JBL Professional bl-053ti-tweeter-123-10003-00x is used with wave guides in many of the
professional studio monitors. This dome has a sort of highly damped sort of memory foam
plug in contact with the back of the dome and it produces a very clean sound.
The SEAS Prestige 27TBCD/GB-DXT or rather a derivative of this dome is used in the Grimm Audio
speakers. I was able to use this tweeter to mockup a copy of the Grimm Audio speaker. It required
quite a bit of compensation with several digital filters in the miniDSP to get a flat response. The results
were very impressive. Possibly the best speaker I have yet produced.
I also very much like the SB acoustics 1" metal domes, but I have yet to get one fitted to a
waveguide. They do work beautifully on a flat baffle for a wide radiation pattern.
Last edited: