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Replacement tweeters on B&W DM4s

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bjoseff44

New Member
I have a chance to get these B&W DM4s. I went to the store selling them, listened to them and they sounded good, so I put down a small deposit. But when I showed this picture to a friend, he mentioned he thinks the super tweeter on top is not original. My research says this super tweeter should be a Cole’s 4001, and from what I gathered, I’d say he’s likely right… what do the experts here think? And if it’s not original should I ask for my money back? I saw some Dynaco a-25s somewhere else that might be a better option instead? Thoughts?

Thanks!
 

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You can still get Cole's 4001 replacement from Falcon Acoustics in the UK.

Coles 4001G & Coles 4001K New Tweeter

New Coles 4001G & Coles 4001K Tweeters, Full Manufacturers Guarantee.
www.falconacoustics.co.uk www.falconacoustics.co.uk

Depending on how bad you want the DM4's you could use the lack of original drivers as a bargaining point. Of course, you don't know if the crossover was modified to accommodate the replacement tweeters.
 
dogwan said:
You can still get Cole's 4001 replacement from Falcon Acoustics in the UK.

Coles 4001G & Coles 4001K New Tweeter

New Coles 4001G & Coles 4001K Tweeters, Full Manufacturers Guarantee.
www.falconacoustics.co.uk www.falconacoustics.co.uk

Depending on how bad you want the DM4's you could use the lack of original drivers as a bargaining point. Of course, you don't know if the crossover was modified to accommodate the replacement tweeters.
Click to expand...
Yea I tried that but he said, well they sound good and I’m selling them as-is… so I said thanks but no thanks and am looking into getting some dynaco A-25s. Do you agree that they aren’t the original tweeters?
 
I agree. Google image search of the DM4 shows all Coles in that position. The Coles are distinctive enough that I don't think there's any chance of mistaking it. That would be evidence for me.

I had a pair of DM2a's that I restored. They used the same Coles super tweet. Different animal than the DM4 (The DM2a is a folded quarter-wave transmission line) but was certainly a fun speaker. I was really surprised how sweet those old Coles made the top end shimmer.
 
dogwan said:
I agree. Google image search of the DM4 shows all Coles in that position. The Coles are distinctive enough that I don't think there's any chance of mistaking it. That would be evidence for me.

I had a pair of DM2a's that I restored. They used the same Coles super tweet. Different animal than the DM4 (The DM2a is a folded quarter-wave transmission line) but was certainly a fun speaker. I was really surprised how sweet those old Coles made the top end shimmer.
Click to expand...
Yea thought so. I asked him to take the price down by the cost of what it would take to get the Coles and he wasn’t going for it so I left them. Appreciate the help!
 
It really boils down to what you like the sound of. If the price was right, and you liked the sound of the B&Ws, no harm done even if the tweeter isn't orginal. If you prefer the A-25s, then buy those. It's worth noting that both will sound different in your room, and on your gear, so how they sound in the store may or may not hold up in your room.
 
PS, forgot to mention that at least on the DM2's the Coles was the 16Ω version. IIRC that high impedance was part of what made them work as a super-tweeter and it was definitely designed into the crossover. Those DM4's you posted the pic looks to me like that replacement is an older standard Dayton DC28F tweeter which is 8Ω.
 
Those look like Celestion HF-1300 tweeters. They are no slouches IMO. Some people prefer them over the Coles.
There are a few DM4's with those in them when searching.

Oops - wrong tweeter.
 
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sregor said:
Those look like Celestion HF-1300 tweeters. They are no slouches IMO. Some people prefer them over the Coles.
There are a few DM4's with those in them when searching.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the Celestion is the stock lower tweeter. We're talking about the upper tweeter which is supposed to be the Coles 4001 as a "super-tweeter".
 
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