The Seas H087 was also very popular in the 1970's, used by Goodman, Dynaco, B&O, Telefunken, ... in their top models of that time and still very sought after. I have a Goodman Mezzo SL with those and that tweeter sounds still very good, even to the standards of today it's a toplevel tweeter.
The modern variation of it is the Seas TC35C002. Never heared it but it's reported to be very close to the original.
But on mass produced cheap tweeters that were used everywhere, the Philips AD016x series is king. They were cheap mass market products and sound actually quiet decent, not only for their price, but also in general. They were used everywhere for decades.
The modern variation of it is the Seas TC35C002. Never heared it but it's reported to be very close to the original.
But on mass produced cheap tweeters that were used everywhere, the Philips AD016x series is king. They were cheap mass market products and sound actually quiet decent, not only for their price, but also in general. They were used everywhere for decades.
I need to speak up in defense of the Audax TW010 aka TW74A.
Others in this thread have slammed it, but it is THE all-time most popular tweeter (and knocked off, sometimes well, other times not) since 1980. And for good reason.
Most manufacturers chose it because it was cheap and small, and easy to throw on a 4.7uF capacitor and give no further thought. But if you took it seriously as a transducer and applied excellent engineering you got excellent results. It's associated with car speakers and cheap home designs because most of the designs it was used in was cheap. It's only as good as the designer and his dedication to the craft.
The Audax design is ingeniously simple and economical; and if crossed over properly (not too low) delivered more precision and detail than most soft domes. I used it a few years ago with a Dayton RS150P woofer and a DSP crossover at 3500Hz and was super happy with the results.
Duntech, who in the 80s was light years ahead of most manufacturers, used it in their PCL-3 and PCL-5 speakers and achieved flat frequency AND phase response, excellent impulse and superb sound, pairing it with Audax 17cm Bextrene woofers and a precision engineered crossover.
Some of the Audax clones were pretty good too. Onkyo made a slightly larger version (1" dia instead of 3/4") which I've used in several designs.
To be fair, it's not the tweeter that @westsounds is searching for based on his original post in this thread... but it remains one of my favorite tweeters, and one of the most elegant designs in the history of audio.
Others in this thread have slammed it, but it is THE all-time most popular tweeter (and knocked off, sometimes well, other times not) since 1980. And for good reason.
Most manufacturers chose it because it was cheap and small, and easy to throw on a 4.7uF capacitor and give no further thought. But if you took it seriously as a transducer and applied excellent engineering you got excellent results. It's associated with car speakers and cheap home designs because most of the designs it was used in was cheap. It's only as good as the designer and his dedication to the craft.
The Audax design is ingeniously simple and economical; and if crossed over properly (not too low) delivered more precision and detail than most soft domes. I used it a few years ago with a Dayton RS150P woofer and a DSP crossover at 3500Hz and was super happy with the results.
Duntech, who in the 80s was light years ahead of most manufacturers, used it in their PCL-3 and PCL-5 speakers and achieved flat frequency AND phase response, excellent impulse and superb sound, pairing it with Audax 17cm Bextrene woofers and a precision engineered crossover.
Some of the Audax clones were pretty good too. Onkyo made a slightly larger version (1" dia instead of 3/4") which I've used in several designs.
To be fair, it's not the tweeter that @westsounds is searching for based on his original post in this thread... but it remains one of my favorite tweeters, and one of the most elegant designs in the history of audio.
Last edited:
Yes, a great tweeter. It -- and the OW2 -- was used in many Linn speakers. The 3/4" diameter gives it wide dispersion to a higher frequency, and with damped back chamber, low enough Fs (850Hz) that it can be crossed surprisingly low. Difference at 10kHz between on axis and 60 deg output is as little as 3-4 dB. Cross at ~3kHz or lower with steep xover to a 4-5" high quality mid can provide a wide dispersion, neutral & transparent performance. That easy wide open dynamic sound is seductively involving.
The SEAS tweeter in the A25, A35, A50 given the huge numbers sold, likely ranks among the most used tweeter. It is quite decent once th emetal grill is removed.
dave
dave
Last edited:
The audax TW025A0 is a great cheap soft dome. It was used alot in Germany when I grew up in the 70s and 80s.
The TW034XO is another great one when used correctly. It plays loud and very clear with the right passive network. I usually take these one step further adding another magnet, opening the pole piece and extra dampening. It fixes the weird resonance around 2k.
The TW034XO is another great one when used correctly. It plays loud and very clear with the right passive network. I usually take these one step further adding another magnet, opening the pole piece and extra dampening. It fixes the weird resonance around 2k.
Attachments
With the right crossover i can change the sound of my tweeter by changing the quality of the crossover parts.
Re: inductance of Al vs Cu. Thicker wires means the coil turns are slightly farther apart, so there is less repulsion (and blocking of changes in current) between the lines of electrons flowing adjacent to each other.
I think the best tweets ever made, or the most desired by all fans of hifi, are the JBL 075/077 tweets, and their variants. While it is an old design, it is one that really has not been superseded. The reason being, it is one that can be used in home or pro audio, puts out a lot of sound, it is rather directional and stays quite linear, but using the deflectors that they made can be diffused quite effectively for a small space, and with the various kits made for them, can handle any and every type of need for high end, and tailored to fit any the system. Otherwise I do agree that paper tweeters are arguably the easiest and most readily available, and there's really nothing wrong with them other than their limitations in output. But they actually can be everything you need as well.
Attachments
Is that resonance what Troels wanted to dampen by adding damping material behind the dome? I remember that after a lot of work he came to the conclusion that it was not worth the trouble to "get involved". Unfortunately, the TG website is excellent, but it suffers from a major flaw, it doesn't have a search engine, and finding each topic he addresses is a real pain.....
By the way, it's a great tweeter and adding a waveguide - if necessary - (as in the case of my DTQWTII), it has a very wide directivity and a very natural tonality. To my ears, which are somewhat worn, but I still enjoy it very much!
I agree, it was used by JBL in the Paragon and many years later Hiraga chose it for their speakers, there must be some good reason...
.. 🙂
https://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/hiraga/hiraga_2.html
The T35 Seas is a serious soft dome in every way. There's nothing about it which looks, feels or sounds like a compromise was made in its design. With a WG, this tweeter is capable of extreme dynamics and highly accurate, precise imaging/ 3D soundstage. I heard this tweeter for the first time in an A25 clone which highly impressed me, being a 1st order design with a single cap and resistor xover.
While the T35 is quite expensive, it's worth the money. The H087 was the inspiration for this tweeter and it still sounds good to this day (without grille of course).
While the T35 is quite expensive, it's worth the money. The H087 was the inspiration for this tweeter and it still sounds good to this day (without grille of course).
These Audax ones along with their many copies, that Perry posted above were indeed a huge seller. One of the first pairs of car speakers I built had them. Thet were so affordable you could have endless fun with them. Little 75mm polycarbonate domes that sounded every bit as plasiticky as the dome. Didn't matter back then.
Attachments
Last edited:
They were popular, but not the original, the original was the Philips AD16x series of which they were a very good copy. Many of the cheaper dome tweeters (now and then) are based on that design, as it's good and cheap.
Some version of the Peerless/Scanspeak R2604 should at least get honorable mention by the number of audiophile brands that have used it. From Polk to YG, Krell, Sonus Faber and even Magico. A really smooth performer even in the cheap version, and in the double magnet version excellent candidate for 2-way systems. Only "downside" is a limited dispersion compared to it's domed cousins. Downside? Maaaaaybe.
IMHO, a terrific example of affordable excellence, at least in some versions.
IMHO, a terrific example of affordable excellence, at least in some versions.
@eriksquires The R2604 family of tweeters is great crossed higher than 3k. Under that it doesn't have much gusto to play clean and the HD is too high. The double magnet version is better by quite a margin but the compact neo version surprisingly isn't that shabby.
The first time I heard this tweeter, I wasn't impressed at all but then I listened closer and realized the lack of coloration, as it first came across as boring. Thats usually a good sign with a tweeter.
The first time I heard this tweeter, I wasn't impressed at all but then I listened closer and realized the lack of coloration, as it first came across as boring. Thats usually a good sign with a tweeter.