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Review: Diffraction be gone Anti-diffraction tweeter surround Tweak

Category: Accessories

I order a pair of the anti-diffraction tweeter surrounds for my Silverline audio SR17.5 monitors. Not that I was unhappy with the performance of my speakers but at just $50 it was a cheap enough tweek to give it a try.

The surrounds were made to my exact measurements and shipped quickly. They come with stick on velcro pads to hold them in place and this does work well.

I put them on and sat back with some Diana Krall. The image was very focused and clean and clear. It gave that immediate wow factor. This trait was even more apparent with movie soundtracks, making dialog more intelligible.

Over the course of a few weeks it became apparent that something just wasn't right. Lots of on and off with the pads followed. What I discovered was that the highs were being rolled off and the air in recordings was being removed by these pads.

After a few days of trying them on and off I cannot bring myself to put them back on. The air and life is lost to the pads. These pads are quite thick and I wonder if a thin pad would have the same effect.

Like a lot of things that immediately wow it is just a matter of time before their true flaws are revealed.
128x128geared4me
lak's avatar
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lak
3,516 posts
 
What is the size and weight of the Tweeter?
Can you post the website where these can be viewed?
Thanks,
geared4me's avatar
geared4me OP
206 posts
 
Lak, I'm not sure what the size and weight of my tweeters has to do with it because the product is a felt pad that sticks to the front of your speakers. You can find this product by typing diffraction into the general search box or by going to diffractionbegonedotcom.
lak's avatar
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lak
3,516 posts
 
Sorry,
I misunderstood the post.
My apologies.
emailists
607 posts
 
Some time ago I tried sticking very thin felt around my tweeters and I found the same effect you described.
dazone
57 posts
 
My understanding, subsequently, is that the Silverline designer has the forethought to lower the output of his product/tweeter precisely in the lower bandpass of the tweeter where diffraction effects will cause a rise and uneveness in the frequency domain. That's hip, but does nothing to remove the time and phase disorder to the signal when diffracted waveforms arrive late and combine. So, it is only in one respect that diffraction effects are being made more benign. In the other, time and phase error caused by the late arrival of diffracted waveforms (of the same information), this does nothing.

What is missing from Gear's eval and perhaps escaped his attention is the 3D roundness and transparency of space in a recording when diffraction effects are removed. Tho he did cite improved focus. Damn straight there is. Look at Gallo or Gradient loudspeakers, or Vandersteen. No baffle. Image like bastards. No diffraction is the reason. Gear misinterprets a loss of air. It's the very early reflection off his baffles and edges combining and reinforcing is what is missing. That, is a distortion to a recording. Further, it comes at a price to absolute dimensionality. Air is there, more naturally. Just as it was 'hesrd' by the microphone(s). So long as some guy in a booth hasn't f----- it up.
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