Digging through some of my planar tweeter stock, I noticed striking similarities between the larger Hi-Vi / Swan, Dayton and Silver Flute tweeters.
To my ears, all these tweeeters sounded similar in character and had noticeable production tolerances from one batch to the next.
The ones that always stood out as more competent were the HiVi RT2C-A and RT2H-A based on their sound signature. Both are around 94 dB @ 2.83 V
The more narrow bodied Dayton Audio PT2C-8 appears to have the same drive assembly and element, but it doesn't sound quite as clean up top as the two larger HiVi units. This was also a suitably proportioned tweeter for building line sources, although the examples of these I have auditioned didn't sound that great. I remember reading the PT2C-8 being compared to the Silver Flute YAG20 planar, which got a bad review by Zaph as supposedly the worst tweeter he has ever tested. From my experiences I could list several low cost hard and soft dome tweeters that sound far worse than the PT2C-8.
Then there's the new Dayton PHT1-6 which is a horn loaded version of the PT2C-8, but with a major difference. The PHT1-6 is a 6 Ohm driver with a heat sink mounted on its back and the PT2C-8 is 8 Ohms without a heatsink. I can't see how the heatsink will increase powerhandling. Maybe its just a gimmic... who knows. Without any measurements taken, evaluating by ear with music and pink noise, the PHT1-6 sounds much clearer and also louder even when reducing the drive voltage to comoensate for the 6 to 8 Ohm imoedance difference. They claim the PHT1-6 to have 105 dB @ 2.83 V which isn't that far off when comparing a 1 inch compression driver/horn combo. There are audible harmonics when trying to drive it below 1.5 kHz and I wouldn't want to run this tweeter below 2.5 kHz @ 12 dB. It is advertised as being a pro driver, so we'll see if my expectations are on point...
To my ears, all these tweeeters sounded similar in character and had noticeable production tolerances from one batch to the next.
The ones that always stood out as more competent were the HiVi RT2C-A and RT2H-A based on their sound signature. Both are around 94 dB @ 2.83 V
The more narrow bodied Dayton Audio PT2C-8 appears to have the same drive assembly and element, but it doesn't sound quite as clean up top as the two larger HiVi units. This was also a suitably proportioned tweeter for building line sources, although the examples of these I have auditioned didn't sound that great. I remember reading the PT2C-8 being compared to the Silver Flute YAG20 planar, which got a bad review by Zaph as supposedly the worst tweeter he has ever tested. From my experiences I could list several low cost hard and soft dome tweeters that sound far worse than the PT2C-8.
Then there's the new Dayton PHT1-6 which is a horn loaded version of the PT2C-8, but with a major difference. The PHT1-6 is a 6 Ohm driver with a heat sink mounted on its back and the PT2C-8 is 8 Ohms without a heatsink. I can't see how the heatsink will increase powerhandling. Maybe its just a gimmic... who knows. Without any measurements taken, evaluating by ear with music and pink noise, the PHT1-6 sounds much clearer and also louder even when reducing the drive voltage to comoensate for the 6 to 8 Ohm imoedance difference. They claim the PHT1-6 to have 105 dB @ 2.83 V which isn't that far off when comparing a 1 inch compression driver/horn combo. There are audible harmonics when trying to drive it below 1.5 kHz and I wouldn't want to run this tweeter below 2.5 kHz @ 12 dB. It is advertised as being a pro driver, so we'll see if my expectations are on point...
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Dayton PT2-A = Silver Flute YAG-20-1 = Stryke Ribbon.
Zaph measured the PT2-B, and the C was the attempt at improvement.
The HiVi are not the same as the above, but the elements or constructions may be very similar.
I also did not find the A offensive in my build with it.
Wolf
Zaph measured the PT2-B, and the C was the attempt at improvement.
The HiVi are not the same as the above, but the elements or constructions may be very similar.
I also did not find the A offensive in my build with it.
Wolf
Looking from Dayton Audio datasheet of the PT 1-6. It seems to fall 15db from 10kHz to 20kHz although -3db seems to be at circa 15kHz.
Might need to do something in your crossover to match that.
Would be an interesting driver to pair with an array of midwoofers...
Oon
Might need to do something in your crossover to match that.
Would be an interesting driver to pair with an array of midwoofers...
Oon
I'll be doing some measurements on the PHT1-6, but I'm very sure I could still hear flat output past 14 kHz sweeping the driver manually, even with my ears calling it quits at 16 kHz. My measurement mic is flat to 25 kHz, so it should be able to generate accurate results.
This driver is well built for a cheaper planar and weighs as much as a decent 6 inch midbass. Hopefully my measurements won't disappoint.
This driver is well built for a cheaper planar and weighs as much as a decent 6 inch midbass. Hopefully my measurements won't disappoint.