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The best tweeter design

Been giving some thought on the best tweeter design and I came up with the following list:

1) Plasma
2) Ribbon
3) Horn-loaded
4) Diamond dome
5) Ring radiator
6) Inverted dome

But since 1-3 are hard to implement or expensive most speakers start at #4, at best.

Thoughts?
cdc
prof
1,741 posts
 
Well, just my opinion of course but...

The best tweeter/high end I’ve ever heard is still the MBL radialstrahler
omni design.

I still distinctly remember first encountering them at CES in 2000, wandering the grounds I suddenly heard for the first time what really sounded like live music coming from a room. I entered and the MBL 101Ds were playing some jazz. Aside from the obvious imaging and clarity, what struck me was the realism of the drum cymbals - they were actually full, big, round, dimensional and shimmered in the air like real drum cymbals. In contrast, every other speaker at that show, or that I’d ever heard before, sounded squeezed, like "tweeters."

Subsequently I heard various iterations of the 101s in better conditions and that aspect of their sound reproduction always impressed me. I finally got hold of a pair of MBL 121 monitors several years ago, which I keep around even as I go through other high end full range speakers. Every time I play the MBLs they just embarrass just about everything I’ve heard in terms of natural high frequencies - the most effortless, natural detail I’ve ever heard.  I know Jonathan Valin of AS touted the MBL tweeter as the best he'd heard for quite a long time (though I think he's described some new speakers as even better).

(I recently auditioned Raidho speakers, thinking of buying a pair, and their high end was indeed smooth, but overall they didn’t impress me as much as the MBLs).
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
Implementation is everything.

Integration with the speaker and the room second.

The material of the tweeter, or technology, a close 3rd.

And I like the best AMT's over the best ribbons, and certainly over the plasma tweets. 

True horns.... in the right place. There are real trade-offs when you go that route, including the size of the best makes them harder to live with.

Best,


E
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
I should also point out, some of the very WORST tweeters I've heard were AMT's as well. Cheaply made, horrible measuring, horrible sound. Making some people rich, so what do I know??


E
steakster
720 posts
 
@prof    100% agree about the MBL.  Piano reproduction is especially stunning.   I've heard them only at shows driven by MBL electronics.   How much minimum power is needed to drive the 121 monitors?
larryi
1,972 posts
 

The best tweeter is the one that best matches the rest of the system.  I've heard a lot of really clean and fast ribbon tweeters that simply did not sound right with the rest of the system.  Integration is the key.

Also, the right choice has a lot to do with how much of the frequency range the tweeter is expected to cover.  In some applications the tweeter is providing significant output down to 1,000 hz or even lower, in others, the tweeter may be crossed in to provide frequency coverage at MUCH higher frequencies.  I don't know about what specific type is inherently better than others, nor can I really take the measure of the sound of a particular tweeter absent consideration of the sound of the rest of the system.  I've heard good high frequency sound from systems using all kinds of tweeters. 

For most convention box systems, I almost always like the high frequency reproduction of pleated ribbons (AMT-type); they sound clean and seem to integrate well with dynamic woofers in two-way systems.  I've heard regular ribbons work well, but, they can sound disconnected and too different in sound with the rest of the system in most applications using dynamic woofers. 

The exotic plasma tweeters I've heard in very expensive systems were quite impressive--very clean, clear and open sounding.  But, the rest of the system was also quite fast and clear AND VERY EXPENSIVE, so I don't know how they would work in more conventional systems. 

As for more conventional dome types, I don't know if I have noticed any particular types standing out as either consistently good or bad.  If I had to guess, the majority of the systems I liked had fabric domes. 

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