Ok, Cone Tweeters suck! Will it screw up my speakers if I replace them? (1 Viewer)

[Dan Hine]

I just wanted to know if I can replace my cone tweeters with soft dome tweeters?

The consensus is to NOT do it. The problem is most likely not the tweeter and what with crossovers being designed specifically for the drivers in the speaker now, replacing it with another brand/type would be a step back.

Regards,

Dan Hine

 

[NathanP]

But, I'll do as Pat says and check out the mid-range

 

[Jack Gilvey]

I think you should keep the tweeters you have already in the speakers because...

1. They're functioning, no use in swithcing 'em yet.

2. They were made to function with the other two speakers in the box and you don't want to mix stuff up...

Heed my advice!

 

[NathanP]

I hate you so much Jack.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

That's music to my ears, I must be doing something right.

 

[NathanP]

I hate all of you!

 

[Patrick Sun]

Guys, we need a little less "loving", and a little more attention to reading comprehension here. Continuing to show a disdain or inability to comprehend the English language in order to troll will not be tolerated here. People share their knowledge freely of their own accord to make this a better place for DIYers. I will not allow blatant waste of people's time, energy, and generosity from posters who engage in non-sequitors. If such posting behavior persists, we all know the consequences, so please, let's not waste people's time/energy unnecessarily.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I don't see a problem with changing the tweeters. As long as you have the same resistance rating (4 or 8 ohm.. etc).

Here's how I would go about it:

First, if you have a test CD, try to "earball" the crossover point where it hands off to the midrange. Then, start searching for a tweet that covers that frequency response easily... and also fits into the cutout of the old tweeter. That will be the hardest part.

I would doubt mass produced speakers contain crossovers that are specifically designed for a tweeters frequency curve (ie: with notch filters and such). Mass produced speakers contain mass produced crossovers... if they contain crossovers at all... some just slap a capacitor to protect the tweeter from low frequencies and thats it.

And, since your friend can get you the parts cheap, there should be no harm in experimenting with dome tweets. You can always switch 'em back if you don't like them.

As far as the discussion of whether tweeters are that important, I would have to side with the "yes they are" crowd. When I built my first DIY 2-ways.. the first thing I noticed was their clarity. The reason they were so clear is that the Vifa tweeters were making short work of the upper freqs without distortion. Even bass drum beats sounded clearer because that initial "pop" of the drum is really an upper mid sound (or a "snap" of a bass guitar).

I think a lot of people who are not happy with the sound of their speakers can't put their finger on what is wrong. If they feel the bass isn't "punchy" enough, they throw in some more bass drivers.. which can make things worse. The thing they are really looking for is that "pop".

 

[Ryan T]

From what I remember about the sony's is that there is no crossover. next time i'm at Nathans house I will take a look at the crossovers if he lets me. I belive that there is just one capacitor on the tweeter and one on the midrange. I think it is to protect the speakers form bass. I know for a fact that the midranges are not that great(hey I got these at a thrift store for 35 bucks what can you expect!). The mids are 4" drivers with paper surrounds, and they sound really muddy IMO. I can't recall what type of "crossover" the Kenwoods had but I will check on that. Nathan I think you should try and pawn the sony's and Kenwood's and build some Adire kit81 towers. There about $130 per speaker -wood.

Ryan

 

[Mark Krawiec]

another nay vote
when i was young and impetuous i used to cruise down to the local la speaker store and buy some good looking drivers to stick into speakers that were laying around. i didn't really understand speaker design, but hey, how could you go wrong with a bulky, shiny 12" monster? it never really worked. i ended up giving away most of those hideous mutants.
think of the drivers as keys fitting into a lock. the xover is the lock. it's unlikely that picking a random key will open a lock, no matter how "good" the key.
if you read and think about how speakers are designed you'll see alot of effort goes into matching the particular driver with the others and the xover.
on the other hand, the dayton tweeters are ~13 in bulk-hey, if you got 5 for $50 bucks, then why not experiment? Even experiments that don't turn out well can be learning experiences. tweeters fry fairly easily though, so be careful. i've blown my share.
if you're really into making your own, then first, get a solid foundation in the theory. buy some texts. get a simple design program and some cheap drivers...to learn on. get some basic test equipment and experiment. once you get a decent grasp of the theory and played around with a few drivers, put together a system and test it.
there really isn't a shortcut around this--if you don't want to do this--then consider one of the kits that someone has spent much time designing. the kits on speakerbuilder.net are quite good and inexpensive. otherwise you too will likely end up with hideous mutant speakers destined for the goodwill box.
all in all, it won't likely sound good. (i mean it's possible, you know beginner's luck, hole-in-one, win the lottery kind of stuff--it's just not very likely)

I would doubt mass produced speakers contain crossovers that are specifically designed for a tweeters frequency curve (ie: with notch filters and such). Mass produced speakers contain mass produced crossovers... if they contain crossovers at all... some just slap a capacitor to protect the tweeter from low frequencies and thats it.

well, that's probably not quite right. an enormous amount of engineering effort goes into designing the cheapest possible system to meet a given budget. the the engineers designing kenwoods and sonys aren't bad...it's just that their design constraints are different. do you need an xover for the woofer? well, not if you spend alot of engineering effort to design a woofer with an acceptable acoustical rolloff so it doesn't need an xover. viola! you've just saved 18 cents on some electrical components. same goes for the tweeter, though you're usually stuck with a 3 cent capacitor. ( i wonder if there's a cost optimization subroutine in the professional verson of LspCAD .)

 

[Cam S]

Is this another thread that is going to make me look like a fool?

nah, what are you talking about??