[Nuance]

Terry, are you jealous of my round RAAL faceplates:)
Seriously though, I get a kick out of your comments.  You mention you dont really care for the RAAL's in comparison to your LCY's but yet you want to retrofit the RAAL?

Im confused

+1.

[TJHUB]

+1.

Who cares what you guys think.  You don't have to figure me out.  I'm FAR too complex for your small minds. 

[Warpdrv]

Who cares what you guys think.  You don't have to figure me out.  I'm FAR too complex for your small minds. 

Ha....  a legend in your own mind....

A few of your multiple personalities are telling you to get the RAAL, and the other ones are telling you NO...

IMO, your just used to your LCY's which are dam good, and you need more time with the RAAL's to appreciate them for what they are - AWESOME....   

I had a hard time adjusting at first coming from my Paradigm Sig S4's .v1's...   and listening to the RAAL's of the SS's made me felling like they were thin as well.... It also didn't help that I still have the Paradigm Sig's out in the Main rig and I was going back and forth between the two rigs, just felt that the whole upper range was missing - when in fact it was just over pronounced in the Be tweets and I had to dial the highs back.... 

[TJHUB]

Ha....  a legend in your own mind....

A few of your multiple personalities are telling you to get the RAAL, and the other ones are telling you NO...

IMO, your just used to your LCY's which are dam good, and you need more time with the RAAL's to appreciate them for what they are - AWESOME....   

I had a hard time adjusting at first coming from my Paradigm Sig S4's .v1's...   and listening to the RAAL's of the SS's made me felling like they were thin as well.... It also didn't help that I still have the Paradigm Sig's out in the Main rig and I was going back and forth between the two rigs, just felt that the whole upper range was missing - when in fact it was just over pronounced in the Be tweets and I had to dial the highs back....

Ha.  I'm a legend in your own mind too.  Admit it...

I'm so glad that now my entire core group of audio "friends" is jumping all over me.  Thanks guys, I love you all too.

I admit to not liking the RAAL after hearing it in 4 different speakers, and 3 different rooms and setups.  It does bother me that so many like it so much, and people like Jim Salk and Dennis Murphy come and state that it is in fact better. 

So what's wrong with me looking into the idea of a retrofit?  What if I'm just curious enough to actually do the retrofit?  I may just prove you're all wrong.  Normally you all are wrong.  I don't know why I have to keep proving it.  Maybe I'm just bored.

On a more serious side of things, my setup has dramatically changed recently.  I completely re-did my acoustic panels, and my setup is reacting very differently now.  I've stumbled upon potential greatness here.  This is one of the only things I've done in the last 6-8 months that was clearing beneficial in every aspect.  Normally every change I make is a series of trade-offs that I can't clearly say is positive.  Now that my setup is sounding different, I feel differently about certain things, one of which is my LCY tweeters.  I'm not dissatisfied per say, but I'm wondering about something.

So yes, I may be interested in the RAAL retrofit.  I think it would be a rather simple swap, and likely worth the money.  You guys know I'm the ultimate tweaker, and I've tried just about everything with my setup.  This is one thing I haven't tried...yet... 

[Warpdrv]

Ha.  I'm a legend in your own mind too.  Admit it...

I'm so glad that now my entire core group of audio "friends" is jumping all over me.  Thanks guys, I love you all too.

We're not jumping on you man, just pokin the bear - to see if we get a rise outta ya...  don't be so sensitive...   

You know you'd have to send those things back to Jim for this to be done....   

Personally I don't think it would be worth it...   but thats just me...  Its not like you've ever listened to me before....   hahhahah   cough*LMS*cough...   

[bigbwb]

Ha.  I'm a legend in your own mind too.  Admit it...

I'm so glad that now my entire core group of audio "friends" is jumping all over me.  Thanks guys, I love you all too.

Just having some fun, you know us well enough by now:). Whatever you decide I'm sure will be in your best interests.  I don't know where you find the time to tweak so much!  I have no kids and can't even imagine;)

[vermont99]

Question, isn’t RAAL that Jim is using a custom version and is not for sale to the general public as is the 10” driver in the HT3’s?

[TJHUB]

Question, isn’t RAAL that Jim is using a custom version and is not for sale to the general public as is the 10” driver in the HT3’s?

Yes, but is a current Salk speaker owner "general public?" 

[jsalk]

Question, isn’t RAAL that Jim is using a custom version and is not for sale to the general public as is the 10” driver in the HT3’s?

Yes, our RAAL tweeters are custom and not available elsewhere.  But if we design an upgrade program, our RAAL tweeters would be part of the package.

- Jim

[Rocket]

Hi,

It is possible to retrofit a Raal tweeter if we could source a suitable template.  The hole would have to be adjusted and a new template for the tweeter would need to be purchased.  I had a custom pair of speakers that I swapped a pair of focal td120's and replaced with a raven 1 tweeter.  The speaker designer had a template made for me and redid the xover.

I'd be interested in a Raal upgrade because its not feasible for me to sell my HT2's (non tl) because I live in Australia.  Salk speakers are not well known here in Australia and would be difficult to sell, plus shipping new speakers is expensive (It added another $1000 to the price).

I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a salk subwoofer for my system and upgrading the tweeter at the same time would be a great improvement imo.

Anyway I hope this can become reality

Cheers Rod

[Wallacefl]

There is no question that I pefer the RAAL to the other ribbon tweeters Jim has tried.  But that's based in large part on instant A-B comparisons.   At last year's Capital Audio Fest, I played the Philharmonic 3's with the RAAL and the Philharmonic 1's with the Fountek (which I find very similar to the LCY's and G2's), and the reaction was mixed.  Some definitely preferred the Founteks.  They had more content in the treble region assoicated with the sssssssssssss sound.  People who preferred the Founteks found the RAAL a little bland.  I agree with Jim that RAAL's are dead accurate, and that might come across as bland on some material and to some people.  But the bottom line is that
it isn't worth the drama and cost to retrofit a Salk speaker with a G2 or LCY with the RAAL.  We're talking modest improvements (and only to the ears of some people) at a very high cost.

I found the Fountek to be a very nice tweeter. I tried testing it versus the Raal 20xr with and electronic/ active crossover so I could cross the Raal higher up (3500 hz) and avoid the 1800 hz built in crossover and found it really hard to rationalize the $$$ Raal. It is just my humble opinion but the Raal has some of the characteristics of the BG Neo 3 pdr...that is not a slight BTW.