19 replies to this topic

[ultim8DTM5]

ubugger is on the right track. Basically by mixing and matching components can yield a far better result than going with the same brand.

I have found this to be the case with Vifa and Peerless. By matching the Vifa XT25 with the Vifa mid (can't recall the exact m#) they were very good, but when I heard them with the Peerless HDS6.5s, the result was great, day and night compared with the all-Vifa.

Both have the same price on www.advanceae.com.au also. For the amount of money people spend on ready made components, you could have the drivers for $440, and a custom crossover (eg US Amps) for $200. For this side of $700 there isn't a better 2-way setup IMO.

[r2dwee2]

Given your restrictions in terms of physical size, I wouldn't venture too far away from products designed specifically for car audio, since home tweeters generally have quite large faceplates (not to mention a lack of sturdy grilles).

Having said that, and taking into account what you've told us, a couple of options include:

Dynaudio MD100 28mm soft dome tweeter
- RRP AUD380/pr
- the models higher up in the Dynaudio range get pretty chunky (comparable to, say, Morel Supremos)
- IMO the MD100s are hard to fault anyway, so they're well worth an audition, and may synergise well with the Morel midwoofers since the two companies do employ similar technologies and ascribe to similar philosophies

Boston Acoustics Neo 5T Pro Series 1" aluminium dome tweeter
- RRP ~AUD400/pr (including crossovers)
- the crossovers that are included in the package allow you to select from "normal" mode (high pass at 3500Hz) or "ambient" mode (high pass at 8000Hz) ... these will be superfluous if you are running an active front stage, but they might be useful for protecting the tweeters

Focal TN51 titanium inverted dome tweeter
- RRP?
- by most accounts, these are well worth the premium over the TN45 tweeters
- as with the Dynaudio range, the higher model (namely the Audiom TLR, RRP AUD1531) is venerable but rather sizable

Vifa did make some car audio tweeters, but these will probably be hard to find. Vifa/Scanspeak produce the X-series speakers for Alpine, so these might be a possibility.

Having heard the above tweeters as part of complete systems, my pick would be the Dynaudios. That's not to say the others are inferior, but they all have different sonic signatures. I wouldn't go so far as to characterise soft domes as "smooth" and the metal domes as "bright" or "harsh", since there are examples of both that sound good and bad, so it boils down to personal taste. If someone can help direct you to some places in Melbourne where you can have an audition of the various brands, then that'd be the way to go. Don't forget to bring along some CDs with which you are familiar, but I tend to think that a good-sounding system should do justice to any well-recorded music.

Happy hunting!

[fraal_moo]

For that price range, definately check out the Hertz HT-250. http://www.rmaudio.com.au/hertz/mille.htm
This is probably the second best tweeter I have ever heard (although I'm probably a bit biased ).
It's got a wonderfully smooth top end, and it also has a nicely detailed upper midrange (~3kHz).
Should be well within your $400 budget, but finding one to listen to might be a problem because there isn't much Hertz Mille gear around on sound boards.

[ May 18, 2003, 22:21: Message edited by: fraal_moo ]

[battousai]

try the scanspeak revelator 99000.
their realism will blow your mind but have a good crossover built