Tweters on rear of FR cabinet?

[GratefulTony]

Hi everyone!

Having recently built a pair of FR loudspeakers (the metronomes, actually...) I have found myself wanting a little more in the extreme treble department... The 6" fostex do sound very nice, but some things such as cymbals lack a bit of "sparkle" for lack of a better word...

I know that the whole idea behind FR speaker design is to eliminate phase distortion/ source position ambiguity by using one single driver rather than many... but is there any way to incorporate a tweeter in such a way as not to interfere with the imaging and coherency of a FR configuration?

Continuing...
I have a question regarding tweeter placement on some FR designs...

On several designs I have seen around here- the builders have actually put a tweeter on the BACK of the cabinet... facing away from the listener, towards the wall I suppose... Is this done to inject a little more [diffuse] high-frequency sound into the listening room, while detracting little from the system's ability to "image"?


thanks!

-Tony

 

[Badwater]

I like them in front. Use an L-PAD and adjust to taste.

 

[planet10]

The usual way is to bring the tweeter in up high with a single cap where the FR starts rolling off. Up this high the ear's sensitivity to the xo is small.

dave

 

[Lowrider]

I also like facing front, image improved, more depth...

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

 

[GratefulTony]

hmmm... ok- so it seems that the consensus is that front is O.K.!

thanks!

-Tony

 

[Godzilla]

It's good on the back too.

http://melhuish.org/audio/DIYBX19.html

http://www.zillaspeak.com/ZillaSpeakStraightPipeForSale.asp

http://www.zillaspeak.com/pioneerb20-piezo.asp

http://www.zillaspeak.com/bib-godzillabib.asp

http://www.zillaspeak.com/Bamboo.asp

http://cain-cain.com/S-ABBY/index.html

I do it to preserve the look of a single driver on the front of the cabinet but also because i think it sounds good when the treble is diffused off the back wall. Sometimes a front facing tweeter calls too much attention to itself. Facing it backwards takes off the edge and reduces fatigue IMO. Both ways work. I just like putting them on the back.

Godzilla

 

[Bob Brines]

You might consider pod mounting the tweet on top of you main cabinet. That way you can point the tweeter any way you want. You may be surprised at the final direction you come up with.

Bob

 

[gmilitano]

Yes, like Bob said, a pod super tweeter works great and provides much more flexibility. I use a Radio Shack 40-1310 Super Tweeter. They pop up on eBay once and a while. Some of the expensive Fostex super tweeters come in a pod.

 

[planet10]

[ I use a Radio Shack 40-1310 Super Tweeter. They pop up on eBay once and a while. Some of the expensive Fostex super tweeters come in a pod.

The solid aluminum Foster tweeter in the RS pod is a pre-cursor to the Fostex horns (and quite good)

dave