[arthurs]

Great write up with interesting outcome Andy, thanks for sharing! 

[Rocket_Ronny]

Foam, or felt around tweeters is a must try for me when new speakers come here. In my truck install I added 3/8" foam around the Scanspeak Illuminator tweeters and it is a big difference. At first seems like less high freq. energy with the foam. But what happens is the hash and diffraction effects are reduced greatly leaving more focus, imaging, and honest musicality.

If you have your wife put on and off the foam on one speaker only then it would be harder to tell the difference. What I want to know is how you managed to get her to even do it and even try to listen for a difference? 

Rocket_Ronny

[ASCTLC]

Pretty inexact Rocket, I know.  I had a small piece of double side carpet tape.  Put the felt in place and when I was tuned in, she'd reach right around and quickly pull it right off.   

I figured that'd be a quick and noticeable change if there was going to be one.  Me just sitting there playing songs over time is not very easy for me.  As it all would sound good.  That's why I wanted to start with finding a noticeable difference if there was going to be before moving to longer term listening evaluation.  Inexact, I realize, but I'm satisfied if there was change to be found we would have detected something somehow through all that.

It's how I was able to hear such a stark difference when I put my Schiit Gungnir in.  One preamp input came straight from disc player and the other came from the DAC.  While playing a disc, I could very quickly switch input knob between each of those inputs and clearly hear the difference.  I didn't have long to test and return that DAC under their policy so I was evaluating as fast as I can.

Now that the DAC has had time to settle I can hear a difference so easily.  It really changed and so much for the better.  If I accidentally left the player playing straight to the preamp input it's dull and lifeless compared to the wonderful openness of the preamp input coming from the DAC.

[avhed]

Signet had a nifty looking piece of foam on some of their speakers.( the one on the above pic has broken down)  SL280, SL256, SL 260, SL388, VL 310
I think the foam that works well is a higher density than the cheap stuff in reply #8. Obviously higher density than used for grilles.

[LostInPA]

My personal experience:
A long time ago, and still the picture on my profile, I made a pair of loudspeakers using long B&G ribbons for most of the range.   I soon added adhesive backed wool felt [from McMaster] to the full width of the wood front pieces so as to tame the sound.    Years later, I used the synthetic material called "fleece" to wrap the majority of the Thor loudspeaker shown here:  https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649730080-a-pair-of-seas-thor-loudspeakers/   It is my opinion that this negates the worst of baffle step problems.   Still not completely satisfied with the Thor, I then added adhesive backed synthetic felt rounds around the tweeters.   This did help.
I now tend towards "old school" untreated wide baffles as the more organic way to avoid baffle step problems.
https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=212504

[lazydays]

you can buy felt in various thicknesses at JoAnne Fabrics as well as Hobby Lobby. H.B. also sell sheets of foam in many colors and thicknesses. This might be an idea worth experimenting with. To test it out, they sell two sided masking tape at Walmart
gary

[Letitroll98]

My Meadowlark Shearwaters have foam around their Scanspeak tweeters placed there by the factory.  I put adhesive felt strips around the tweeters of my PSB Alpha T's to good effect.  By all accounts the heavy felt surrounds made by Jim Golding are the best, and were made from some not easily sourced felt, but sadly we've lost that resource and the many valuable contributions of that member.

[S Clark]

I remember Jim telling me what weight felt he used, but I don't remember the #.  It was pretty dense IIRC. 
I'll go back through my PM's to see if I can find it. 

[S Clark]

Found it!  Jim used F3 weight felt from Sutherland Felt Co. 

[Letitroll98]

Found it!  Jim used F3 weight felt from Sutherland Felt Co.

Thanks.  I checked the company and there's a $100 minimum.  Very reasonable for a manufacturer, but for personal use on one pair of speakers I bet they have a dealer list that may carry smaller quantities.  Unless someone wants to go into business, or put together a group buy.  If I remember correctly Jim used 1/2 inch thick, is that correct?  They have every thickness up to one inch in stock with custom thickness above that available, the F3 is a medium gray color, indicating from their website that it means Australian wool.

[S Clark]

I trimmed my GR X-Statics with 1/2" x 1 1/2" felt I got off ebay.  It wasn't F3, but one step less dense (F4?).  I may have the extra packed somewhere.  You could cut into a starburst pattern to surround your tweeter.  I'll look for it.