Realistic T-100 - mod or tweeter suggestions

[colehager]

Paging @Lavane and @Bodyblue if they have any suggestions...

I apologize, as I know there are loads of threads on these speakers, but my findings so far have been all over the place. I picked up a pair of T-100s cheap this summer, almost as a toss-in with an STA-2000D, and I'm wondering if there is anything resembling a consensus on how to improve the sound––whether that's replacing the cheapo tweeter, or a crossover modification, or whatever. I've always wanted a pair because the cabinets are just dynamite; aesthetically they knocked it out of the park.

Come to find it's apparently the T-120 and T-200 where Realistic nailed it with the tower format. Oh well, I can live with that. For no good reason, I'm fond of this model.

That said, I'm struggling to get the sound to my taste. There's a harsh edge I can't quite pinpoint: Is it because the parallel woofers have no crossover and are doing a poor job of rolling off naturally? Is it the middling paper tweeter? The woofer thumps along with polite accuracy, but these have none of the low-end warmth of my Nova 8Bs. In fairness, I don't need them to, I realize it's a completely different speaker design.

Acoustic music sounds great, rock not so much, so I think it's probably the tweeter that's bugging me the most. The midrange is aggressive and overly forward in the sonic picture. Zeroing out the high-frequency dial helps tame this a little, but kills the high-end along with it.

I've seen pairs in the past floating around with dome tweeters, so I wondered if any Realistic heads knew of any consensus replacement parts. From what I've read on here, it looks more like a free for all, the luxe cabinets providing a nice blank canvas for experimentation. That's cool too, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Dossier:

- Woofer surrounds are the "no-rot" type and look like they were installed yesterday
- Center dimples on the tweeters are pushed in slightly; I doubt that's affecting the sound, but I'll try to pop them back out with a vacuum at some point
- I replaced the single cap in each speaker (hiding behind the high-frequency dial) with film
- Flushed the dial with D5 which eliminated static and tweeter dropouts

 

[Lavane]

The catalog states the crossover frequency is 3,500hz, so that makes it easier to find a replacement for the paper cone tweeter.
Personally I like soft domes. Silk, doped cloth, etc. Parts Express has a huge selection. You would need to look at physical measurements to make sure it would fit.
You said they're harsh. Is the harshness in the top end? The L-pad doesn't get rid of all of the harshness you hear? The woofers could be overlapping some.
That can give what some hear as a warmer sound since the midrange may be more forward. Or there's a combing effect causing a hole in the responce in the midrange. I haven't personally looked much into the mods that have been done with these. Other than trying a different tweeter, you could get a coil to force the woofers to roll off better at 3,500hz. The bass might sound better controled.
You would need to find someone that can figure out the math for the right coil value though.
I added coils to a pair Nova 7B's woofers. . The crossover frequency is 1,325hz. The 7B's have two midrang/tweeters. I used 1 Henry coils. It made a noticable difference for the better. The bass was better controled. They didn't sound near as loose as they did before adding the coils either.

 

[Bodyblue]

Paging @Lavane and @Bodyblue if they have any suggestions...

I apologize, as I know there are loads of threads on these speakers, but my findings so far have been all over the place. I picked up a pair of T-100s cheap this summer, almost as a toss-in with an STA-2000D, and I'm wondering if there is anything resembling a consensus on how to improve the sound––whether that's replacing the cheapo tweeter, or a crossover modification, or whatever. I've always wanted a pair because the cabinets are just dynamite; aesthetically they knocked it out of the park.

Come to find it's apparently the T-120 and T-200 where Realistic nailed it with the tower format. Oh well, I can live with that. For no good reason, I'm fond of this model.

That said, I'm struggling to get the sound to my taste. There's a harsh edge I can't quite pinpoint: Is it because the parallel woofers have no crossover and are doing a poor job of rolling off naturally? Is it the middling paper tweeter? The woofer thumps along with polite accuracy, but these have none of the low-end warmth of my Nova 8Bs. In fairness, I don't need them to, I realize it's a completely different speaker design.

Acoustic music sounds great, rock not so much, so I think it's probably the tweeter that's bugging me the most. The midrange is aggressive and overly forward in the sonic picture. Zeroing out the high-frequency dial helps tame this a little, but kills the high-end along with it.

I've seen pairs in the past floating around with dome tweeters, so I wondered if any Realistic heads knew of any consensus replacement parts. From what I've read on here, it looks more like a free for all, the luxe cabinets providing a nice blank canvas for experimentation. That's cool too, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Dossier:

- Woofer surrounds are the "no-rot" type and look like they were installed yesterday
- Center dimples on the tweeters are pushed in slightly; I doubt that's affecting the sound, but I'll try to pop them back out with a vacuum at some point
- I replaced the single cap in each speaker (hiding behind the high-frequency dial) with film
- Flushed the dial with D5 which eliminated static and tweeter dropouts

I am sure what Lavane said is on the money. I have never heard the speakers so reading a description of them does not help me. I have to actually hear them.....by brain is weird that way.

 

[coonmanx]

I think Lavane is spot on. Parts Express does have quite a few soft dome tweeters available and some at very reasonable prices as well. It wouldn't hurt to give that a shot. Here is a photo of a pair being sold on the Bay with replacement tweeters with a wave guide...

If the midrange still needs taming then you may have to embark on further modifications. Unless you feel like EQing that out...

 

[Ed240]

Paging @Lavane and @Bodyblue if they have any suggestions...

I apologize, as I know there are loads of threads on these speakers, but my findings so far have been all over the place. I picked up a pair of T-100s cheap this summer, almost as a toss-in with an STA-2000D, and I'm wondering if there is anything resembling a consensus on how to improve the sound––whether that's replacing the cheapo tweeter, or a crossover modification, or whatever. I've always wanted a pair because the cabinets are just dynamite; aesthetically they knocked it out of the park.

Come to find it's apparently the T-120 and T-200 where Realistic nailed it with the tower format. Oh well, I can live with that. For no good reason, I'm fond of this model.

That said, I'm struggling to get the sound to my taste. There's a harsh edge I can't quite pinpoint: Is it because the parallel woofers have no crossover and are doing a poor job of rolling off naturally? Is it the middling paper tweeter? The woofer thumps along with polite accuracy, but these have none of the low-end warmth of my Nova 8Bs. In fairness, I don't need them to, I realize it's a completely different speaker design.

Acoustic music sounds great, rock not so much, so I think it's probably the tweeter that's bugging me the most. The midrange is aggressive and overly forward in the sonic picture. Zeroing out the high-frequency dial helps tame this a little, but kills the high-end along with it.

I've seen pairs in the past floating around with dome tweeters, so I wondered if any Realistic heads knew of any consensus replacement parts. From what I've read on here, it looks more like a free for all, the luxe cabinets providing a nice blank canvas for experimentation. That's cool too, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Dossier:

- Woofer surrounds are the "no-rot" type and look like they were installed yesterday
- Center dimples on the tweeters are pushed in slightly; I doubt that's affecting the sound, but I'll try to pop them back out with a vacuum at some point
- I replaced the single cap in each speaker (hiding behind the high-frequency dial) with film
- Flushed the dial with D5 which eliminated static and tweeter dropouts

I've rebuilt several of these, with the last pair being "borrowed" never to return. The stock crossover frequency of 3500 Hz is totally unacceptable when crossed to an 8" woofer. 8" woofers start beaming around 2,000 Hz, so a quality dome tweeter with a low Fs is required. I use the Dynavox D-2801XL-M01 from Newark, crossed over with a second order network at 1800 Hz. The woofers are also crossed over with a second order network at 1800 Hz. The icing on the cake is adding an additional inductor to the lower woofer, effectively turning the system into a 2.5 way. The benefits are added deep bass and more focused midrange. This can be done to an otherwise stock T-100 with great results. But now I'm on to trying something very different....using a full range in place of the tweeter. This has become quite the rage on YouTube, and being older with compromised high frequency hearing, it makes sense. Use a quality 3-4" full range on the front AND the back (Aiyima, Dayton, Mark Audio). Front full range crossed over at 300-400 Hz, rear full range at 350 Hz (based on a 13" width of the back panel). The woofers get the same treatment, just crossed over at the lower frequency. This has the potential of sounding incredible with great imaging. The rear mounted full range adds to overall output so it will help from overdriving the front full range. That said, this isn't the way to go for a headbanger, as total output is compromised a bit.