What kind of tweeter do you prefer ??

[d.v.jorge]

There are many materials to make tweeters and many tweeter models too. Silk, soft dome, aluminum, titanium, beryllium, paper, etc. I would like to hear your preferences and what kind of music do you listen to. I find that silk tweeters aren't my preference to listen to rock or metal music, however, aluminum domes sound better for me when listening to rock. Titanium is too bright to my taste causing me fatigue. I have heard people to say that beryllium (Focal) is the best tweeter for jazz. Some people say that silk domes are better for classical music and vocals. Just to know your preferences.! Thanks

 

[Blue Shadow]

Ribbon. These are aluminum
Plasma
Are two I like

For the domes, the Ti are a bit harsh. Others I haven't made enough comparisons to have favs.

 

[soundmig]

Interesting thread!
I tend to like the more "organic" sound of the better silk domes but have "favorite" speakers that use several different types of tweeter materials. There have been several speakers that I like well that used aluminum domes also. Probably the best high-end I've ever heard was from a system using a plasma tweeter - pricey! At the end of the day its more about voicing and how well the designer optimizes what they are working with. There is a lot that a designer can do to "shape" the sound and "voice" the sound regardless of the tweeter material - so long as it is a good one with low distortion. I'll be interested in hearing what other's preferences are and what has shaped those opinions.

 

[restorer-john]

Well let's break it down and summarize tweeters...

Paper. Paper is cheap. Paper tweeters must be low-end, cheap and can't sound good.
Silk is organic sounding and of course smooth.
Soft domes are, well, nice and soft, but stronger than silk.
Titanium, well it just has to be harsh and brittle doesn't it?
Aluminium, that's easy. Its metallic, bright and not really strong. Reminds me of alfoil and beer cans. Cheap sounding.
Alumina. That chit is hard, like diamond, but super thin and easy to break, but looks pretty cool. Needs to be vapor deposited for domes. Must sound fragile, like expensive crystal.
Beryllium. That chit is sure hard to work with, toxic, brittle and expensive and only a few manufacturers have ever really done it. Used in the high end so it will be polarizing and there will be no consensus on whether it is good or bad.
Polycarbonate. Well it did sound exotic 3 decades ago, but now even our headlights are made of it. Too common to sound any good.

Logical tweeter to use? A silk soft dome. It's name sounds good, they're reasonably durable and cheap and sound like their name implies.

Easy.

The best tweeter is a working one.

 

[turnitdown]

Horns every time. Aluminum

 

[awillia6]

Paper. Paper is cheap. Paper tweeters must be low-end, cheap and can't sound good.
Silk is organic sounding and of course smooth.
Soft domes are, well, nice and soft, but stronger than silk.
Titanium, well it just has to be harsh and brittle doesn't it?
Aluminium, that's easy. Its metallic, bright and not really strong. Reminds me of alfoil and beer cans. Cheap sounding.
Alumina. That chit is hard, like diamond, but super thin and easy to break, but looks pretty cool. Needs to vapor deposited for domes. Must sound fragile, like expensive crystal.
Beryllium. That chit is sure hard to work with, toxic, brittle and expensive and only a few manufacturers have ever really done it. Used in the high end so it will be polarizing and there will be no consensus on whether it is good or bad.
Polycarbonate. Well it did sound exotic 3 decades ago, but now even our headlights are made of it. Too common to sound any good.

Logical tweeter to use? A silk soft dome. It's name sounds good, they're reasonably durable and cheap and sound like their name implies.

Bravo! That one's gonna leave a mark...

 

[stevo137]

Yamaha beryllium:



Infinity EMIT:



ADS polydome:



I say this because these are what I have now and I really like all three.
There are others that are amazing but amazing money too.

 

[awillia6]

This is THE tweeter. Although directionality is critical. The second pic shows the proper directional setup relative to the viewer/listener...

 

[restorer-john]

...This is THE tweeter...

Funny guy.

Henceforth is shall be known as THE TWEETER.

 

[jazzmans]

I like ribbon and planar tweeters.

Old Emit era Infinity,
Magneplaner,
Carver amazings,

 

[OMGCat!]

I have two pair of speakers, both with aluminum dome tweeters. I like these more than the (multiple) speakers they displaced so I guess I am partial to aluminum domes.

I haven't heard a plasma tweeter though I'd like to one day.

 

[91r100gs]

Prefer most ribbons, Magnepan, Lineaum and others
Boston Acoustics soft dome is kinda sweet and never harsh
The tweeter in the early Minimus 7's is quite nice
Heil AMT's are real nice and real fragile IME
Like the plain cone tweeters in classic Bose speakers very non harsh.
The tweeter in the upper part of the front door of my Toyota pickup are extremly nice. Go figure

 

[91r100gs]

This is THE tweeter. Although directionality is critical. The second pic shows the proper directional setup relative to the viewer/listener...

View attachment 1088377 View attachment 1088379

Harshest tweeter I have ever listened to, right up there with the tweeter in the JBL L36's I left on the curb when the woofers rotted. Sorry JBL fans. JMO YMMV
I must say I sold a lot of the Realistic Super Tweeters to owners of Optimus 10's which had great bass and midrange but no high end response. The setup shown above is correct.

 

[Nightwisher]

My favorites out of the speakers I own:

Polk RDO-194 silk dome (replacement for the SL2000 in my SDA-2s)
Marantz Imperial I Paper Cone (the most musical paper cone I've heard and not harsh)

 

[Dave59]

Currently have two pairs of speakers both have versions of the Heil AMT tweeter, very accurate and clean, great for stereo imaging

 

[Vintagear]

Diamonds

 

[Putterman]

One favorite tweeter would be the EPI/Genesis inverted dome. I also like the Emit tweeter. Currently listening to some titanium tweeters on a Celestion 5. I guess I'm a natural skeptic, but never bought into the "It's metallic so that's the way it sounds."

I've also read some info that basically says that the metal moves the tweeter breakup modes into the 20+ khz range. Take it for what you will, but would agree that execution is as important as material.

 

[tubed]

Hard domes and soft domes, peizos and planars and ribbons

 

[KDAC]

A polycarbonate ferrofluid dome tweeter... simply becuase they are what my ears are used to and are featured in my favorite two pairs of floorstaonding speakers to date - KLH 9250B and KLH 9154. They produce clear, "open" highs to me.

 

[z-adamson]

Paper cone, phenolic dome