Tweeter domes

[vanman]

i was looking at my jbl l26's today. and noticed that botnh of the domes on the tweeters were pushed in. would replaceing the tweeters with a good un-smooshed versions im prove the sound noticebly?

thanks,

steve

 

[Nat]

Here's my guess: Possibly a little bit, but not as much as you might think -- I am assuming that you don't hear an obvious problem with them, since you wouldn't be asking if that were the case. Despite what would seem intuitive, the dome shape doesn't have much effect on dispersion -- that's determined by size, not shape. It might have some effect on resonances (whether dents would cause a problem or, instead, an improvement, is less clear than you might think, since a mushed dome might have resonances that are spread out, which might be better than the more defined resonances of the dome, and the softer mushed paper might be more self damping.) And the dome is probably only really important at the highest frequencies, which you may be unable to hear.
Cosmetically, the pushing in is unfortunate, and hard to repair in a way that doesn't still look bad, but you could try if it bothers you. Because its paper, pulling with tape or with a vacuum -- careful not to pull the entire dome off -- isn't likely to work. But using a pin poked through and then pulling/levering up the low parts will work more or less well. A bit of glue will seal the hole.

 

[stickman]

Steve, I would replace them only if they were misbehaving in some way. Sometimes smooshed domes will cause deformity of the attached voice coils on hard dome tweeters which can cause voice coil rubbing, but you would be able to hear sonic artifacts. If they sound okay I'd forget about it unless the aesthetics really annoy you, in which case its worth replacing them.

 

[outlawmws]

I'd try the masking tape trick, or the vacuum trick using a computer/electronics attachment to reduce down to the 1/2" size tube, have someone on the switch to shut it down when you have it pulled so you don’t rip it out.

 

[thenewguy]

Something that has worked for me when trying to pull out dented dust caps is to use two pairs of drafting dividers, one in each hand, to tease the dents out. Brought a pair of Klipsch back to respectable looking condition with that method. This way you have four needles to work with and they are securely mounted. Worked great for me.