The strength of compression drivers is typically in their ability to produce dynamics far better than most dome tweeters. This gives the CD's a very addicting quality that makes it hard to go back to dome tweeters.So not better, but louder?
Who sells these type of speakers? Or are they DIY?There are other options out there besides dome and compression driver. You have ribbons and there is the AMT based tweeter. I used to use compression drivers for my HT. My last three sets of speakers in my HT used compression drivers, before those three different sets, I had several sets of speakers with dome tweeters. I have since moved to a horn loaded AMT tweeter. The horn loaded AMT tweeter I am using has the sound of a ribbon, but power handling and dynamics like a compression driver.
A CD by itself is unusable, it has to be horn loaded. The shape/size of the horn has a tremendous impact on the sound quality. There are a lot of different horn design available, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.
I like mine because they are very dynamic (ie high efficiency in translating electrical input into sounds, from low levels to insanely loud that gives a better representation of realism TO ME).
The only way to tell if they are for you is to get out there and listen to multiple speakers that employ them. Low cost Klipsch are not a good representation of the potential for the design, however that doesn't mean all Klipsch speakers are harsh. K-horns are awesome!
@Gooddoc's JBLs are insanely good. But the company probably spent more on RDT&E on the speakers than most companies entire budgets.
Hsu has horn-loaded tweeters.Who sells these type of speakers? Or are they DIY?
Ah ok. I have seen your thread - very interesting.Hsu has horn-loaded tweeters.
Many pro sound speaker manfs. like JBL, Tannoy, Meyer, Electrovoice, Danley, Yorkville, QSC, Behringer, Mackie...
You have to find the ones that care about fidelity and not just output to a crowd of drunk audience.
JBL, Klipsch, Procella, JTR, Seaton, Pi, are just a few that offer residential speakers with waveguides/horns.
You have to find the ones that don't lie about their speaker's capabilities / specs.
The DIY community has embraced horns for audiophiles for many years. Especially since the trend of using flea watt tube amps that require 100db+ efficiency.
Pi Speakers and Bill Fitzmaurice are active in community and offer kits and assistance. DIYSoundGroup, spawned on AVS by local members, provides kits of all sorts.
I have a spreadsheet containing many such speakers here: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...-speakers.html#/forumsite/3207/topics/1387083
Lots of companies use AMT tweeters, but very few companies use horn loaded AMT tweeters. Martin Logan Motion series use AMT tweeters. Triad uses a horn loaded AMT tweeter in the top of the line cinema reference speaker.Who sells these type of speakers? Or are they DIY?
+1 for Air Motion Transformer (AMT) based tweeter. My surrounds are a pair of Emotiva Pro Airmotiv 5 powered studio monitors, and I adore them. They are both neutral and smooth, and, for speakers this small, they can go impressively loud without sounding stressed or becoming fatiguing in the long run. There's good dynamics and detail, punchy and snappy bass, and crisp transient reproduction combined with a convincing soundstage. What's more, they sound musical instead of uninvolving or "monitor"-like. Piano music sounds like piano music through them, which is something that cannot be said about most speakers in this particular price bracket. I would have expected to pay €600 - €700 for this kind of quality from a pair of speakers. I live in Europe so Emotiva products are quite a bit more expensive to me than they are to people who live in the U.S., but as unbelievable as this may seem, I have never regretted the purchase even for a split second. Seriously. Usually if you go this cheap, you only get metal dome tweeters that produce a whole lot of annoying top end harsness, or there's something else sloppy about the sound, or the sound is overall just so so. Not so with the Airmotivs. Not so so. Anyone who is still having second thoughts should IMO go read this: http://www.stereophile.com/content/emotiva-audio-pro-airmotiv-4s-powered-loudspeaker (Please note, the review in that link is about the 4S. The model that I own is the 5, which is a little bit bigger and more powerful in comparison.)There are other options out there besides dome and compression driver. You have ribbons and there is the AMT based tweeter. I used to use compression drivers for my HT. My last three sets of speakers in my HT used compression drivers, before those three different sets, I had several sets of speakers with dome tweeters. I have since moved to a horn loaded AMT tweeter. The horn loaded AMT tweeter I am using has the sound of a ribbon, but power handling and dynamics like a compression driver.
Don't forget Quested or Adam Audio!!!!Lots of companies use AMT tweeters, but very few companies use horn loaded AMT tweeters. Martin Logan Motion series use AMT tweeters. Triad uses a horn loaded AMT tweeter in the top of the line cinema reference speaker.
Martin Logan: http://www.martinlogan.com/motionSeries/models/towers.php
http://www.martinlogan.com/motionSeries/models/bookshelf.php
Triad Cinema Reference: http://www.triadspeakers.com/products/ircrlcr2.html
These are some speakers that we sell. There are lots of others out there.
Ahh sorry I missed the context. Yes I am interested too. I've been reading about the planar magnetics, AMT, Wisdom Audio, etc.Ah ok. I have seen your thread - very interesting.
I was thinking horn loaded ribbons. Haven't seen many of those. The others (JTR, Seaton, etc.) I am familiar with.
I wish the GTC line didn't sacrifice efficiency for extension that's unneeded with subwoofers.Don't forget Quested or Adam Audio!!!!
If Adam Audio had actually started their in-wall version of the GTC 88's.............I would have used GTC 88's and their in-wall version of same speaker. Damn...............company scraped idea!
I've always been sold on ATM's..........................![]()
I would venture to say the wave-guide 1" ceramic dome tweeters of my Canton Vento 890.2 DC front speakers are nothing short of the type of holy grail that you mention.Ahh sorry I missed the context. Yes I am interested too. I've been reading about the planar magnetics, AMT, Wisdom Audio, etc.
Getting distortion lower, faster transient response ("temporal distortion"?), while retaining high sensitivity, power handling, and able to maintain controlled directivity across a wide band would be a holy grail!