Best tweeter for under $30?? (1 Viewer)

[BrianJ>Y]

I'm looking for the typical round shaped tweeter. My main preference is flat/neutral response. I'm completely new to this and i'm planning to replace the crappy tweeters in my Polk R10's. I'm guessing the crossover for the tweeter is around 2.5k.

Are there any low budget favorites out there that I should be looking at?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

going here will help you get an idea of ALL sorts of drivers and their strengths and weaknessess:
http://www.snippets.org/ldsg/sect-3.php3

in particular, Vifa has some solutions for you:
http://www.snippets.org/ldsg/vendors/vifa.php3
hope this helps

 

[Brian-K-Owens]

I agree with Vifa!!!!

PE's special of the day today is a "buyout" of 1" silk domes for $5.50 each.

PE special

Brian

My webpage

 

[BrianJ>Y]

Anthony, thanks for the link. I'm browsing through partsexpress right now and the AUDAX TM025F7 looks to be my favorite right now. The website you gave me gives high praise for it as well. There doesn't seem to be anything better in terms of flat response in it's price range...any thoughts before I go ahead and purchase a pair?

-Brian

 

[Brian Foley]

Keep in mind that speakers have three main components: the cabinet, the drivers (woofer, tweeter, midrange), and the crossover. All three of these are designed to work together. If you change one, you change everything. For example, let's say that your current tweeter outputs 88 dB given 1 watt of input. The electronic crossover is specifically designed to make that tweeter mesh with the other driver(s) in the speaker. Among other things, it makes sure that all the drivers are playing at approximately the same level, usually by attenuating (limiting) the output of the tweeter to match the other driver(s).

If you come along and plug in another tweeter, the crossover is now wrong. Suppose you use one that puts out 91 dB instead of 88. Now the entire frequency range covered by the tweeter will be 3 dB higher than the other driver(s). Or the crossover might be correcting for an output peak in the existing tweeter that doesn't exist in the new one.

Maybe you don't care, or maybe the current tweeters are so bad that anything would be an improvement, maybe you have a graphic equalizer installed that will let you manually compensate for the difference, or maybe you'll get lucky and choose a perfect replacement. But I just wanted to point out to you the problem that will likely result from doing this. You might well solve one problem only to create a bigger one.

If you do decide to go ahead with your plan, be sure to measure the hole and the recess for the current tweeter to be sure that the new one will fit. I sure wouldn't modify the cabinet if I were you, because you could find yourself reinstalling the old tweeter.

 

[BrianJ>Y]

Good points Brian, thanks for bringing them up, I was aware about all those factors but I basically thought any tweeter would be better. I'm gonna ask for a more detailed set of specs from Polk before I do anything, hopefully they can give me some info.

-Brian

 

[Michael R Price]

The Kit281 uses the Audax TM025F1 1" silk dome which costs $20. Dan says it's one of the best tweeters under $50. It sounds pretty good.

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

Brian has some good points but I wouldn't stress too much.

I'd find some specs on the existing tweeter and find a good substitute. Try to find an aftermarket tweeter with the same nominal impedance and sensitivity. The tweeter should also be able to crossover at 2.5khz.

I think those are the primary factors to take into account. You could also try reversing the polarity of the tweeter or flush mounting to tweak the sound.

I guess you could get really involved in the design by dissecting the crossover and finding the detailed specs on the woofers and stuff but I'd rather start from scratch.

 

[Michael R Price]

"I'd rather start from scratch." That's a better idea. Has anyone ever replaced drivers (without re-doing the crossover) in commercial speakers and had a worthwhile improvement?