World's Best Tweeters Face-off :: Subjective comparison

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Face,
"passive components", there in lies a big problem when comparing drivers. Different caps have different sound signatures. One cap may make a tweeter sound great and another cap may make it sound mellow, whereas those same two caps may make another tweeter sound the opposite. As I've found that out many years ago, of course I didn't bother to update my caps, lol.
Which to me is a vote for any driver that doesn't require a DC blocking cap. All transformer coupled style tweeters like ribbons require a cap of some value, dome drivers and I believe the AMT can be a direct connection to your amp, providing of course you are using a digital xover ahead of your amp and your amp doesn't have a dc offset or large turn-on thumps.
 
Face,
"passive components", there in lies a big problem when comparing drivers. Different caps have different sound signatures. One cap may make a tweeter sound great and another cap may make it sound mellow, whereas those same two caps may make another tweeter sound the opposite. As I've found that out many years ago, of course I didn't bother to update my caps, lol.
Which to me is a vote for any driver that doesn't require a DC blocking cap. All transformer coupled style tweeters like ribbons require a cap of some value, dome drivers and I believe the AMT can be a direct connection to your amp, providing of course you are using a digital xover ahead of your amp and your amp doesn't have a dc offset or large turn-on thumps.
Did you miss where I mentioned measurements? ;)

As for caps, I generally only use CC MR or ESA.
 
Jonasz, where did you read this about Vapor stating this? Sounds interesting. What do you think Jon, can you wrangle a pair from Chris to try?

Don't remember exactly but I'm sure it was over at the Parts Express forum in one of Pete's or Ryan's posts. :)

Btw, the old Scan-Speak 9900 Revelator is an awesome dome, well worthy of consideration if you choose not to go ribbon.
 
Really should include a Heil ESS AMT in there.

I'll have to let someone else make the comparison... I don't have all these drivers and, to be honest, i'm more interested in the midbass and midrange drivers challenge than the high frequency.

Chances are, if you're using a RAAL, a high-end Scan-speak or Dynaudio dome, etc... the weakest part of your system is elsewhere.
 
+1 nice test

Also +1 ^^ to the suggestion to try the ceramic dome contenders - transducer lab, accuton, visaton.

Maybe the Mivoc ribbon? Visaton magnetostat MHT12? Fountek neo cd1.0/3.5h?

I own the latter fountek, and it simply amazed with its 'resolution', though it isn't invisible...

Certainly a ceramic dome test, or hornloaded ribbon test interests me.

Say TPL150 & neoCD3.5H & mivoc.

If I.win the lotto, maybe ill try :D
 
Jon,

I'm not familiar with the ICE amps but I see they are switching amps(classD), so it may be possible that they already have a DC blocking cap at the output(or not). Looking at their spec I see that the output impedance is < 5mOhms so it maybe that they don't mind the low DC resistance (0.23ohms + cable resistance) that the Raal transformer primaries are presenting.

I'm not really up on the designs of class D amps but I am on standard mosfet/bjt outputs as I design my own amps and connected without a cap to one of these designs would either kill the tweeter transformer or the amp or both.

On another note, I was reading some comments over at the TechTalk forum and I read a few people stating that most systems they have heard that had the Raal 70-20XRs sounded dull in the top. Having never heard the Raals I would never have thought that would be possible, but it sounded like this person was no stranger to listening to lots of different systems as well as building them. Hmmm.
 
Walter, i wouldn't say the 70-20XR is dull (it's still a ribbon) but it's sure not as naturally sparky as the other Raals...

On the other hand, it's a false problem when you have a DSP to make EQ corrections.

Bottomline, for a project without DSP and passive xover, i would go with the 140-15D... still, followed by the 70-20XR :)
 
I'm not really up on the designs of class D amps but I am on standard mosfet/bjt outputs as I design my own amps and connected without a cap to one of these designs would either kill the tweeter transformer or the amp or both.

Doesn't look like a proper amplifier design to me...

We used few different amps (besides ICE) and never had any problem with any of the Raal's.

Also, these Serbian drivers are very tough, unlike many other ribbons out there.
 
Hmmm, something isn't right there.

Aleksandar's comment to me this morning on the dull sounding 70-20;

Nah, 70-20 is furthest possible from dull. It’s just that it doesn’t have any coloration or problems, so in dull systems there’s no ribbon “zing” to spice things up, as it doesn’t sound like any other ribbon. It was an exercise in achieving absolute sound quality, not making it sound like a regular ribbon. Ravens have plenty of that ribbon flavor, if you’re into it...:

I should mention that he is good friends with the guys at Raven.
 
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