Replacement tweeter suggestions

[Mr. Shelly]

I have a pair of Energy Connoiseur C-6 front speakers which I love. One of the tweeters is broke and can't be repaired. There are no replacements available anywhere. Simply Speakers is willing to rebuild them both with totally different guts just keeping the grill but I am not to hip on that idea, having no way of knowing what they'd sound like and spending close $200 on a roll of the dice like that is something I am not willing to do. I thought of getting a pair of the same tweeters that they use in my AC-300 center but those are hard to find and 6 ohms instead of 8 ohms. So, that's out too.
Does anybody have any suggestions of what tweeters I should get? They will be crossed over @ 1.8k if I remember correctly. The sound of the stock drivers is just awesome and I'd like it to be as close as possible. I would be willing to modify to fit the new ones if needed. And finally, I would like to keep the cost down, maybe find something out of expensive speakers used on ebay. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

[ArmSC]

Replacing tweeters with something not stock is tricky. If you want to go down that road Parts Express is your friend. You're already hit on some of the issues to deal with but there certainly are more. You have to find one that fits or can be adapted to fit, has the same impedance, sensitivity, and type (hard/soft dome) that will match what you have. You also have to find one that will play comfortable down to 1.8k so be sure to look at your response specs.

I would recommend that if you find one that will work that you do both mains so they will sound the same. It not you'll have one speaker that is likely to "stick out" from the rest. You might also consider doing the center too while you're at it if it's the same series. If not then just do the mains.

 

[Robert_J]

Looking at the speaker, I don't see how you even replace them. Do you access them from inside the cabinet? Does the speaker have a decorative cover over the front?

Tony hit some points you have to remember and one was impedance. He may have meant resistance but the impedance curve must match as well or your crossover point will change. Because an 8 ohm speaker is just 8 ohms nominal. The actual resistance will vary by frequency.

You either roll the dice and get a tweeter that you can fit in and might work. Or you get an exact replacement either from Ebay or getting them rebuilt as closely as possible. The third option is to just reuse the cabinets and find a DIY speaker design that will fit it. Here's an example of a TMM that may work depending on the actual size of your cabinets/drivers - http://projectgallery.parts-express.com/speaker-projects/usher-tmm/ .

 

[Mr. Shelly]

I have been watching ebay for a while and have never seen one yet. I am still always looking though. I am also checking craigslist in case there happens to be somebody getting rid of a C6 or C8 cheap and I can harvest the drivers from it but no luck yet.
I have contacted Parts Express and they said they don't have anything that would work and would suggest only finding a used direct replacement. There are no new/used replacements out there from the maker or the normal suppliers. I have searched multiple times and have come up with zip.
It wouldn't so hard to replace I would guess if wasn't for the design. To get to it, you have to take out the bass driver, reach up and turn the (rather large) tweeter to bring it lose and bring it out from behind. As I said before I am just uncomfortable with just sending it to somebody to replace the guts with whatever they decide to use. If I am not going with the stock tweeter, I would like to research what I am putting in it's place and hopefully listen to sound clips, you know.
I just can't give up on these, I really like them but I am growing tired of my stand in speakers and want to get my C-6s back in play badly.
Thanks for your thoughts though guys... please keep 'em coming.

 

[Robert_J]

I would trust Simply Speakers to rebuild each tweeter. Those guys have been in business for decades and know what they are doing. I've ordered woofer foam from them for some speakers that are approaching 30 years old.

Yes, it is replacing the guts of the tweeters but there isn't much to replace. It looks like an aluminum or titanium dome and there is a voice coil you can't see. They can look at the original tweeter to determine the wire gauge along with the number of turns and rebuild it as close as possible. It will be closer than anything you can buy off the shelf. Only Energy can supply anything better.

 

[Mr. Shelly]

Here is what Energy said about these tweeters:
1" Aluminum Hybrid Dome Tweeter (Aluminum Done, Cloth Suspension)
- this light rigid dome offers unparalleled dispersion and extremely low distortion with exceptional detail.
Simply Speakers said, "If you send in both (so they will match) tweeters we can rebuild them completely and just use the grill. We'd probably have to use soft domes. It will cost $75 per speaker. You might consider sending us the tweeter from your Center as well for better voice imaging in your three front speakers."
So, I don't know what they'd be using, except that it won't be anything the stock speakers. With shipping both ways, tax and such I am looking at well over $200 and will say goodbye to any chance of ever being able to have stock tweeters in there since they require me to send them in... So, I am going to be stuck once I commit to this. This is why I am rather concerned of doing it this way and would be more comfortable getting something close that I can read reviews about and make an informed choice. Then, if I don't like it, I can always keeping looking for another used stock tweeter.

 

[Robert_J]

This is why I am rather concerned of doing it this way and would be more comfortable getting something close that I can read reviews about and make an informed choice.

You can't get anything "close" because you don't have any idea what you already have outside of the description. You know the size of the speaker and that they are aluminum domes. Nothing more.

Looking at Parts Express, they have six tweeters that have a 1" metallic dome and they range in price from $11 to $92 each. Even if you pick one of them, you may have to modify the mounting system to get it to work with your speaker's reverse mounting system.

You have a broken tweeter in one so you can't mess it up any more. Replace that one with a Dayton Titanium model. If it sounds good, then replace the other tweeters so you have a matched set of speakers.

I would like to see pictures of your tweeter when removed. The reverse mounting looks neat so you only see the dome.

 

[Mr. Shelly]

The problem is that most tweeters can't handle being crossed over at 1.8k or handle the higher power but I did find a couple that look promising. Any thoughts on these?

SEAS Prestige 27TBFC/G (H1212)
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/hard-dome-tweeter/seas-prestige-27tbfc/g-h1212-aluminum/magnesium-dome-tweeter/
SEAS Prestige 27TBCD/GB-DXT (H1499)
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/horn-tweeters/seas-prestige-27tbcd/gb-dxt-h1499-tweeter/

 

[Robert_J]

They are both 6 ohm tweeters. You will have to redesign the high pass filter of your speaker's crossover. Why? Values of the components in a passive crossover are chosen based on the impedance at the crossover point. If you change the impedance, you change the crossover point. I can't remember which way but the new tweeter may be crossed over lower meaning it will blow easier or higher meaning you will have a gap in the frequency response.

How about a Morel? http://www.parts-express.com/morel-mdt-22-1-1-8-neodymium-tweeter--277-062 Yes, the dome is 1/8" larger which may require you to open up the the hold in the cabinet but it's frequency range goes to 1.8k hz and it is 8 ohm. There are 50+ other 8 ohm tweeters on the PE site.

 

[jetjo]

I can get you a used one or i can offer to buy your good one if you did not fix yours yet. I will use the money to partially fund a set of 2. I am in the same situation, one is damaged. Let me know. I fully tested the good one.