How I Transformed My Home Listening Experience

How would these get along with my 96db speakers and 8wpc 300b amp? I don't have a lot of power to spare.

 

Nothing wrong with the proper use of tone controls.

If a little nudge on the treble knob is all it takes, then go for it.

 

Here is the correct answer, direct from the factory:
The max sensitivity we would recommend for the main speakers is 93dB. Anything above that will not be a good pairing.

 

The answer is the super tweeters work well with all speakers with an sensitivity of 93 dB or lower, so you are good, above 93, not the perfect match.

 

I had an idea this might be the case, so good thing I held off ordering a pair.

 

I don't see that necessarily being the case. I think it would also depend on the roll off of the HF. The super-tweeter's that you are using have plenty of adjustments on them to match more efficient speaker's.

My A7's are rated at 103 dB., but in the home audio use, I have padded down the 511B HF horn to better match the sensitivity of the bass cabinet, so they will be a few dB's less sensitive.

My main pair of vintage restored Altec Lansing A7's has the more powerful 908 driver on the 511B horn.

I bought another pair that has the 902 driver. The 902 is rated for lower power and has an aluminum diaphragm, where the 908 has a symbiotik diaphragm.

The 902 is supposed to be the better driver, sound quality wise. The 902 driver plays flat up to 20-kHz, minus about 4 dB.

But, to me, it sounds like a metal diaphragm. Where the 908, sounds beautiful and not like metal at all.

I don't believe the manufacturer on the frequency specs that the 908 goes up to 20-kHz.

It rolls off after about 10-kHz. maybe less. That is why I add on a super-tweeter.

I get that these diaphragm's are lightweight and responsive, but they sound metallic to me, where the symbiotik diaphragm, does not.

The 908 driver.



The 902 driver.



With the addition of the JBL 2404 "Baby Cheeks" super tweeter is has more sparkle on the top end. The 2404's crossover's kick in at about 6-kHz.

If I didn't have the JBL's and the custom crossover's, I think your super-tweeter's would perform perfectly fine in place of the JBL's.

 

I just have to ask, what are your speakers with a 96 dB sensitivity?

 

Larry, I agree with you, I believe Otlset should give the speakers a try, even if his speakers have a 96 dB sensitivity, why do I say that, because ours have an 88 dB sensitivity and I have now moved up to 12 KHz with a 3 dB attenuation. What Otlset will probably find is he "might not" benefit from all of the settings the tweeters offers, but I'm going to bet if he sets the tweeters on their -2, or -1 , or no attenuation, they would, in all likelihood work very well with his speakers and if they did not, shoot them back to the factory, he has 60 days. When I received the tweeters, I did as many people would do, and that is set them to be too loud. It took a few days to realize I needed to tone them down by 3 dB and raise the frequency at least to 12 KHz, possibly higher, the Polk tweeter is no slouch. So, I think Otlset would be fine with the tweeters, as you do, the factory's answer was simply taking into consideration all the settings and being able to use any of the settings successfully with any given speaker.
That's just my opinion, could be wrong, but I believe I'm on target, and I'm basing that on knowing how loud these tweeters can be at -2, -1 or 0db.

 

bottlehead straight 8...they offered them in kit form 15+ years ago...workin' great with 8wpc in large room.

 

Wow, very nice, I had never heard of those speakers before, let's see some pics of your creation! I want you to know both SandAndGlass and I agree, we believe your speakers would absolutely benefit from the addition of the ribbon tweeters, and they would be right next to your dome tweeter! Take a look at my response to member Otlset, his speakers are 98dB sensitivity. As you have the 60 days, I would absolutely give them a try. As I said, mine are set to maximum attenuation of -3dB, and chances are yours will work perfectly set at -2, -1 or 0 dB attenuation, I know I would give them a try, you have 60 days to be completely happy!

 

My gosh GREAT room, all you need are the super tweeters, some really cold weather and a blazing fire, fantastic speakers we do not see every day!

 

I need every db of sensitivity with my 300b integrated. How much would the ribbon reduce it?

 

You won't know they are there as far as your amplifier is concerned, they soak up virtually 0 power. These tweeters are not like normal cone drivers, they are extremely light weight, power wise, you won't even know they are connected.

 

Actually they are closer to 104-105dB sensitivity. I was thinking the super tweeters might fit resting on the woofer section below the horn tweeter...

 

Litejazz53 didn't realize that you have the Avantgarde speakers, which are among the most sensitive home speaker's you can buy.

 

SandAndGlass is correct, I did not realize you had the Avantgarde loudspeakers with a sensitivity of 105 dB, wow, they are over the top. My gut reaction would be they are far too efficient and honestly I'm not sure I would try to add anything to these speakers, I'm sure those tweeters are very nice and very efficient, however, if you wanted to try them, they do have a 60 day trial period and for your information, the exact height of the little super tweeters is 5 3/4" high, including the rubber feet.

 

It was interesting to exchange back and forth with Otlset, as I did not know the Avantgarde speakers were so incredibly efficient, it prompted me to look more closely at the Avantgarde line, and then I came to their gallery, which some folks might like to view. The one thing I brought away from viewing their site is " I simply need to make a lot more money" These are ultimate cool speakers indeed. Here is a link to their gallery, a different world!












Customer Galleries - Avantgarde Acoustic Hornloudspeaker

 

The bass bins alone will set you back as much as a small house.

Maybe a not so small house.

Which is why I have speakers that are fashioned out of aluminum and painted plywood and bass bins that are in a carpeted plywood box.

 

That last pic is far from an optimal listening environment and layout. Looks nice but I'd bet it wouldn't sound very impressive compared to much more venerable rooms, IMHO.

 

So many rooms and speaker arrangements you see in promotional literature are far from optimum for a real work listening experience.

The one in the photo looks pretty bad though.

 

As an experienced Avantgarde Duo user, I have some comments on the above systems. The top system seems to be in a room that is too small, or at least too narrow, to avoid the problems with the resulting sound that might cause listeners to hear a "shouty" presentation, with bass that does not seem to integrate with the upper frequencies, and all the other problems some find with these horn speaker systems. Set up and positioning is very important of course with these horns, and I have spent much time (years of on and off adjusting actually) to find the optimal position in my listening room. But even more important in my opinion is the room itself. It needs to be quite large, and with irregular surfaces if possible, which I am fortunate to have for these speakers to sound their best.

The second picture down shows a low ceiling behind the speakers that seems to get higher as it extends out from them. This looks promising, as the ceiling will act like a horn itself as it opens out and up into the room reinforcing the sound. If the back of the room not shown is large and the ceiling continues to gain elevation, I think it might sound pretty good.

The last picture does not look promising for optimal sound from these speakers at all. Of course the room itself limits positioning, and it would be better to bring the speakers out in the room more, away from the sidewalls too. But in this case the soundfield would probably suffer from being too narrow. Then again there is no "listening seat" so maybe it's only meant for parties and such, not sit-down full attention listening.

 

Your set up and positioning has always looked to me to be more optimum than any in these three photos.

A round horn is probably the best shape for sound propagation.

It is not the best shape to be used close to walls and with the low ceilings found in typical homes.

 

I also recently added the Aperion super tweeters. I have them horizontally mounted on my Mackie active studio monitors. I love what they do. They really do add sparkle to my sound. Great adjustability also. Good price. Couldn’t justify the prices of some other brands, although I’m sure they’re excellent. The Aperions are very cool. Enjoy yours buddy.

 

I have the same model. I’ve mounted it horizontally w some of that tacky mounting putty. Totally stable and locked in. Vertical mounting without putty is also nice and stable

 

Got mine w banana plugs. Perfect fit