Phenolic Tweeters- Rediscovered!

[71CNY]

the peerless tweets of the early 70's caught my ear when i heard the ESS Translinear. the ad at the time said "closest likeness to electrostatics yet achieved with dynamic drivers" and I tended to agree (the mid was also a peerless paper cone unit).

later i heard the famous phenolic ring tweeter and built a speaker or two with them. i liked the sound a lot back then but felt the peerless was better (especially in multiples).

back in those days ALL the tweeters were prone to burnout including domes and stats.

that's why the Heil AMT was such a breakthrough because it could handle more power (though it still could burnout).

today i am liking the silk domes a lot..

I also like the silk dome JL audio has a silk dome that is very smooth like silk.

 

[Nat]

Peerless made a polypropylene version of their cone tweeter that had magnetic fluid in voice coil, which damped it enough that the resistance changed very little with frequency and made it a very easy tweeter to incorporate with a crossover. Really nice sounding, but came out at a time when everyone wanted domes. Spica used it in one of their speakers, but otheriwise I don't think I've seen it in a commercial product. I used a bunch as replacement tweeters, but ran out. Alas...

 

[wilke87]

I have a pair of the add on electrostatic panels that Don made for adding to the 1 1/2

 

[Lavane]

That's actually part of it. A really-good cone-tweeter can usually deliver great sound at higher levels without taking your head off, and yet, they don't need much volume to shine. It's a real-world sweet spot, you know? That's one of the things I love about the cone tweets in my W90's. Today's high-quality soft-dome-type tweeters have awesome dispersion and excellent extension. Still, there's something soft and airy about the best cone-tweeters from the '60's and early '70's that I really-like. The Jensen P35-VAH, when used in pairs, can sound VERY-smooth and airy, and Bozak's aluminum cone-tweets are legendary.

For older music, which makes up a large majority of my collection, a good cone-tweeter is just the thing. My modern Denton reissues have really-nice textile domes, and while they have a really, really-nice sound, it just isn't the same. Doesn't sound anywhere near as "at home" as the older Wharfedales do with their Super 3's. For something like CSNY's "Deja Vu" or something like that, forget about it. Give me my Super 3's (That album is heaven through a pair of W90's). They have a more-natural sound to me than the modern domes I've heard, though I do like certain ones an awful lot.

You heard the Super 3's, dc270, so you understand what I'm talking about. Those phenolic jobbers have a similar kind of homey familiarity with older music. That's one of the qualities I tend to look for when I'm speaker-shopping. With older music taking up so much space in my collection, I kind of have to. There are actually quite a few very-large, very-awesome TOTL speakers out there with plain old cone-tweeters. The biggest models often have multiple cone-tweeters, which can really be something, just like the Super 3 pairs in each of my W90's and the aluminum cone-tweets (8 of them in a linear array) in the Bozak Concert Grand and Symphony models. The W90 has a Super 3 cone at the outer-left and outer-right of the cab, with a pair of 5.25" cone midwoofers in the middle, and this creates a very-wide, spacious soundstage that really-fills a room. Plus, with one at each end of the cabinet, you don't have to worry about mirror-imaging because the model is already mirror-imaged by design.

Which of the Marantz Imperial models is generally-considered the best? I was never sure if the biggest, most-expensive model was the best one, and I always thought those Imperial models looked great.

8's and 9's are nice but usually need some love to make them shine again. But the more common much easier to find Imperial 6's just plain sound good! I have a pair and after replacing the caps in the crossovers they sound great. You will find most owners of the 6's tend to keep them around and in rotation. They were made to take on Henry Klosses Advent 1's and beat them out just barely. My 6's are connected to a Marantz 33 pre and 16 power amp. It's a really nice sounding combo.

 

[Lavane]

umbum, post: 9310512, member: 89920"]I've never felt the tweeters in my imp. 6's were lacking. Recapped with a 6.8lytic+.22 poly bypass in both sets. Very satisfying

Yup, thats the setup! I used a 6.8 poly cap though. 7uf caps were just plain stupid priced.

 

[automojo]

I've never felt the tweeters in my imp. 6's were lacking. Recapped with a 6.8lytic+.22 poly bypass in both sets. Very satisfying

Sure, if you sit right in front of them they are ok-IMHO of course.
Otherwise they have a tendency to beam-narrow sweet spot, like most cone tweets.
Each person ears are different of course-but they have always come off a little dry to me, and lack air, and detail.
I prefer hearing what's on the recording-good or bad.