Probably just because they can. Loudspeaker manufacturers have released all kinds of materials over the years just because not because it's actually a good idea.
Mostly because it works well with marketing, therefor tons of people start to believe it and so it sells well 😉
Which on itself creates an entire sub-market of fancy products and materials. etc etc etc
And they apparently still "do the job", along with having plenty of 5-Star reviews.
Eh from the belly of the beast that's not always so. There can be a lack of guts...or those with guts don't have the development funds.
I've long wondered like @diyiggy why nobody has tried cone tweeters any more. They could have significantly more surface area to go lower than a dome. I guess the dispersion was narrower back in the day? Worse distortion? But half a century on, I would think you could make a quite good one. (I do see such things, but they are all crazy low sensitivity trying to get "bass")
... and alas only Kevlar (though foam surround 🙂 ).
Wavecor tried something in between or hybrid with their last tweeter anoucement, but measurements are so so.
Wavecor tried something in between or hybrid with their last tweeter anoucement, but measurements are so so.
(to quote myself from another site)
I am now going to dedicate my life to developing "UltraBlack™ Kevlar" which will be infused with carbon fiber for a darker sound. The carbon fiber will be spun from carbon derived from the CO2 being sucked out of the atmosphere at the Orca plant in Iceland, the carbon being split from the oxygen in a reaction powered by the abundant green geothermal energy there.
Hmmm.
Just read how Kevlar is made, OMG how toxic and nasty. Maybe I can develop some kind of paramecium that can grow it? Or perhaps better to use the liberated oxygen to grow flax in nearby greenhouses. I can dye the flax yellow using natural dyes from plants also grown in said greenhouses and call it "Natural Kevlar™"...
EDIT: almost forgot to mention it will be "Digital Ready" and deliver "Perfect Sound Forever"!
Flax is being used as a substitute for carbon fibre. Just as strong, 30% heavier, 10% of the cost, recyclable. The lower body parts on the side sof this for instance.
I figure hemp can do an even better job.
dave
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IIRC, the domes of the original tweeters & mids in Allison Acoustics speakers were made of paper.
Yup: https://www.stereophile.com/content/glorious-time-ars-edgar-villchur-and-roy-allison-allison-part-2
Yup: https://www.stereophile.com/content/glorious-time-ars-edgar-villchur-and-roy-allison-allison-part-2
And obviously the best lowest distortion!
Because that is ALL that matters!
@head_unit
Yeah, kevlar is also a pain to do on a consistent level, lots of waste as well.
Too bad, it looks so pretty dough!
And we all know, when things look better, they already sound objectively better as well!! 😎
@planet10
The real evil devil here is the (epoxy) resin, which is basically pure poison.
(ask any chemical scientist)
No they were not ordinary domes. Meant to behave... kind of like a pulsating hemisphere, which domes are not.
FWIW I am manufacturing Cone Tweeters today , for my own use in Bass and Keyboard cabinets.
Loud, powerful, can reach down where no dome will ever get, easy to biamp.
Can stand abuse which would vaporize a typical dome voice coil.
Notice the huge magnet and magnetic circuit in general (for a Tweeter that is).
In the Musical Instrument world, higher directivity/reduced dispersion IS a bonus.
But isn't it a lot easier to just use good 2-3" fullranges, if want more area tweeter?
Like faital 3fe22 or vifa ne65w?
Like faital 3fe22 or vifa ne65w?
I used a set of four paper cone type Technics mid/tweeters for my jukebox project, and they disperse plenty of sound for entertaining at parties. (along with four 10" Technics woofers in the lower sealed chamber)
