SUPER TWEETERS-anybody heard them?

I don't think anyone can hear a supertweeter.
sorry.

They must be good then....

I have owned and used both the Sequerra and Apature super tweeters. The biggest benefit was with electostatics that rolled off in the top octave, but even with conventional speakers there was a noticible difference, though it would be a value judgement to say that the difference was an improvement. There are several possible explanations. First the built in crossovers have finite slopes so even a crossover with a 15K 3db down point, which is quite higher than my experience, is down only 15db at 7K if the slope is 12db per octave. This is clearly within the audible range. Second, beats, or difference frequencies can be generated through wave interferance in air and on the diaphragm. IE a 22K and a 23K tone will have a difference frequency of 1K, again within the audible range. Finally, I cannot site the source but I recently read an article indicating that there may be a response to frequencies as high as 50K in humans. I might also point out that in conventionally decoded redbook CD there ain't anything up there. In LP, analog tape and the new digital formats there is the capability of recording ultrasonic sounds.

I just sold a pair of Radio Shack Super Tweeters on E-Bay. Hardly used them. I had them hooked up to a pair of AR-90's because they were lacking high end definition. I realized upon upgrading to Carver separates that the receiver I was using was underpowered.

Chuck

The sense of hearing is remarkable. I don't know what is my present upper frequency range, but at one point although I could not hear a 15Kc tone (pure sine wave), I could very plainly hear the effect of a 15Kc HF filter on broad spectrum sound. I think that I could have sensed an even higher frequency filter, but that was the highest one available in my electronics. I found this interesting, and formulated the following theory.

The difference between a 15Kc sine wave and a 15Kc square wave is the presence of higher harmonics. The sinewave vs squarewave difference in sound can be sensed even if the harmonics responsible for the difference would, by themselves, be inaudible. I think that the ear senses the rate of change of pressure, which can be high for a low frequency signal if the signal is not sinusoidal.

So, to address the question, I don't think most people can hear a supertweeter (higher than 20Kc) but I do think that they can sense its effect.