Tweeter Upgrade: To Do, or Not To Do?
Comments
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I still have yet to SEE the bump. Does any one have a link to lab tests or reviews showing this "bump?" Comparing these to my other speakers, specifically the Dynaudio pair, they sound smooth. Perhaps because my pair were warehoused (air conditioned) for 27 years?
I am very tempted to make some mods and upgrades. I'm just looking for a good reason, some real data, not just opinions and urban legends to go by.
I am going to build a totally new crossover, with an A/B switch that allows me to use the untouched original crossover, or the equal compromise design I have been using since 1982. I would like to be able to go between my design and the OEM Polk crossover.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/polk-rta-11t-loudspeaker-measurements
Look at the FR graph....Figure #4......fairly big bump at 12khz.
Your tweeter caps are very likely bad also. That may be hiding the bump, possibly. We had one tweeter, that replacing the cap made the tweeter a decent bit louder and where it had seemed a bit dull before, it turned overly strident.
Turned out it was the SL 2000 age issue. It just did not sound good anymore.
With that being shown, it could also be some people who like that sound, and perhaps you simply do.
Thanks! That is the evidence I have been looking for.
No, I have never liked an abrasive, edgy sound. I always look for smoothness, and ACCURACY. As for smoothness, I have been doing a lot of work on that. Especially my cartridge/stylus combinations. My Dynaudio speakers are as smooth as silk, always have been. That is my comparison to the SL2000. I'm thinking my 2000s have aged much more gracefully than most. Sealed in plastic, original boxes and packaging, dessicant bags, air conditioned, for 27 years. Used for a 3 year period, military guy.
And why do you so readily say that my tweeter caps are likely bad? Mylar caps rarely go bad. (How they sound compared to polypropylene is a taste issue.) I already checked out the caps, all read within a very nice tolerance of rated value. Even the electrolytics are good, including DC equivalent resistance.
I see so many in here recommending at first sight to recap and re-tweet, that I had to investigate, and then ask why.
Since I'm not of fan of fixing something that aint broke, I'll put in my crossover mods first, then substitute the K010DT tweeters in (yes I have already made allowance for the differences in impedence and sensitivity) and perhaps eventually buy the RD-0194 tweeters.
I might have agreed with you, until we took the plunge.
It is not so much "Broke", but simply not up to potential.
In our experience the caps did make a fairly noticeable change.
We also replaced the tweeter protection circuit.
Things still did not sound great, until we again replaced the SL-2000 Tweeters with the latest version replacement.
Quite better and smoother.
If you use better speaker cables like MIT, they will sound better yet. Because what you use is not up to it's potential and will make a fairly noticeable change, quite better for sure.
H9
"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
