[celebrat]

So I do not post much on the circles. I have had for about 2 years now a set beautiful of HO Alnico Monitors (Karelian Birch). I have been happy as a clam. They are just awesome. I augment them with a set of GR Research OB 2x12" subwoofers so bass is superb. Very simple system. Phasure G3/NOS1a DAC with Peter S. server system direct to a modified Music Reference RM200 (modified High Current model 40wpc class A) right to the HO monitors.

Back when I purchased I was talking to Louis about getting a set of super tweeters to check what if any impact they might have. We both determined "sure give it a shot... can't hurt" well that was a couple of years ago...back burner to be sure. Every once in a while I would look around but I could not find much out there. With the 99DB of the HOs, the sensitivity most of the decent super tweeters out there are in the low 90s at best. However one day I stumbled upon 98DB sensitivity and that piqued my curiosity again.

Audiosmile  www.audiosmile.co.uk/supertweeter-mkii.html 

This gentleman Simon Ashton has been building these for more than a few years now. DISCLAIMER I am not in any way associated with Audiosmile or Simon and I paid retail price. There is a six-moons review of an older model going back to 2008. He custom builds them one at a time and he made a slight frequency modification (12khz) that I though might work well the HOs. If you check out his site and the design you can't help but see how flexible these are with regards to various ways of dialing in a system. Workmanship is on par with Louis.

Making a long story short. This is not a small upgrade. It was absolutely transformative in my system. Funny thing is it does not sound like it's about the highs or treble. It's more about the bass and the soundstage and the imaging. Everything I find wonderful with the HO Alnico Monitors is uncannily much better than ever.

Feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to share more about my set up experience etc.

[restrav]

interesting, thanks for sharing

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I have been curious about this approach with the obvious question that why not then just go for a 3 way design with beryllium tweeter instead of tweaking your way to 3 ways?

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other than the name of the company I also loved the little british monitor that they are selling. i kinda want it for my office.

[MttBsh]

A dozen years ago I bought a pair of (single driver horn) Cain & Cain Abbys and fell in love with their sound, but the bottom end was just not there. I fixed that with a nice pair of subs, which not only filled in the deep bass but also added loads of dimension to the soundstage. A couple of years later I was reading about the Fostex supertweeters and decided try out a pair of T900As. I didn't really feel my highs were missing anything, but once I put in the T900As there was no going back.  As you say celebrat, supertweeters add not just a bit of sparkle but open the soundstage further and deliver more precise imaging, and surprisingly, articulation to the bass. One of my T900As failed about a year ago and I was happy to pay $500.00 + for a fairly hard to find replacement. I really didn't want to listen to my system until the new one arrived.

Over the past 10 years I've lost count of how many sources, DACs, preamps and amps I've gone through, but I have had no interest at all in replacing my speakers, the supertweeters are here to stay!








•8 ohm impedance
•Frequency response from 5kHz to 38kHz
•106 dB sensitivity 1w/1m

[Doody]

Fascinating experiments. Thanks for posting.

Do you install a crossover for the supertweeter - or somehow engineer a mechanical solution (a la Louis' 1.5 solutions)?

The idea of inserting a crossover into an Omega chain defeats the whole purpose of a single-driver solution IMHO.

Doody

[celebrat]

"Do you install a crossover for the supertweeter - or somehow engineer a mechanical solution (a la Louis' 1.5 solutions)?
The idea of inserting a crossover into an Omega chain defeats the whole purpose of a single-driver solution IMHO."


The supertweeter comes with it's own crossover which actually has 3 ranges; 12khz - 14khz - 16khz. I asked for the 12khz as I thought the lower range may offer some fill in for the full range drivers. Louis's magnificent drivers are still without crossover. I agree that it would defeat the whole purpose of the single driver, but with this application it is completely external and adjustable. I was considering the Fostex pictured above but I was nervous that the directionality would make it difficult to implement. Nice to hear that it isn't.

[sruffle]

Hi all.  The posts on this thread got me curious  about AudioSmile supertweeters.   Now that they are installed with my SuperAlnico speakers, I have to say that this has been a significant upgrade.  The biggest improvement has come in soundstage and mid-range detail.   I am not good at the typical audiophile descriptions but my biggest impression is that the music feels more open with greater depth from front to back.

Like the original poster, I have no affiliation with the company but wanted to chime in that I am very happy with how these complimented the SuperAlnico speakers. 

[celebrat]

Thanks for your post here. I still continue to hear the upgrades you speak of with the Audiosmile tweeter. I find it very interesting that what neither of us heard was better "highs" but improved soundstage while you are hearing more midrange detail and I am hearing better bass articulation. Sound like we are both winners with this new addition to an already superb speaker.

[OzarkTom]

I wish I could afford Vaughn's plasma tweeters but not even close in my money. These might be the closest alternative. I can afford these.

Which position do you guys thinks sound the best?

[JLM]

Have heard plasma tweeters and they transformed the speakers of an audio club member.  Can't explain it, but turned them from meh speakers (a short bipole array of "ordinary" extended range drivers) into very enjoyable speakers.

I use a Dayton Audio 1 1/8 inch Late Ceiling Splash (see Audio Kinesis circle) tweeter with a cap in series fed in parallel to my Fostex F200A (AlNiCo, rated 30-20,000Hz raw) in commissioned transmission line floor-standing cabinets (see my AC review) and gained more mid/high and highs, also an expanded soundstage.

[sruffle]

I wish I could afford Vaughn's plasma tweeters but not even close in my money. These might be the closest alternative. I can afford these.

Which position do you guys thinks sound the best?

So far, I have just been using them facing forward resting on the back of the monitors.  It will be interesting to experiment with placement and volume setttings.

[OzarkTom]

So far, I have just been using them facing forward resting on the back of the monitors.  It will be interesting to experiment with placement and volume setttings.

Thanks

This ribbon update is just recent, but I cannot find the price anywhere.

http://www.audioxpress.com/article/test-bench-an-updated-cq76-ribbon-tweeter-from-bozhen-new-audio-lab

[DaveC113]

I tried a few tweeters and found the Fostex T500A MkII was the best... but the price is very high. My speakers are over 100 dB sensitivity so most ribbons wouldn't work but I can see them fitting in very well with Omegas.

[OzarkTom]

I tried a few tweeters and found the Fostex T500A MkII was the best... but the price is very high. My speakers are over 100 dB sensitivity so most ribbons wouldn't work but I can see them fitting in very well with Omegas.

Those must be very popular, no stock anywhere but Ebay gougers.

[DaveC113]

Those must be very popular, no stock anywhere but Ebay gougers.

Yes, I think Fostex can't quite keep up with demand. They sell out often online and horn speaker manufacturers are starting to use them more and more. It doesn't cover down as low as a conventional tweet, but for where it operates it's the equal of anything imo. Most importantly, it's clean enough it blends with the mid driver perfectly.

[celebrat]

I have not heard the fostex super tweeter but I do feel the design of the Audiosmile supertweeter is a big reason sruffle and I have both experienced a significant improvement in sound. Three crossover choices, five levels of attenuation and two tweeters in each unit make placement options very flexible. The additional wide dispersion of 2 ribbon tweeters at 90degrees I feel is important. I think the price is fair for the level of performance increase. Below is a link to the description.

http://www.audiosmile.com/supertweeter-mkii.html

[OzarkTom]

Has anyone here heard the Townsend Audio Supertweeters? $1599 on Music Direct with 60 day money back guarantee. There are a lot of good reviews and owner reviews. These might be also good for the Omegas. My buddy Rex with Omegas has been looking at these.

https://www.musicdirect.com/speakers/townshend-maximum-super-tweeter-pr

[DaveC113]

celebrat, the adjustability is a nice feature with the audiosmile, with some, like the Fostex, it's all up to you to figure this out which may not be ideal for many folks. The audiosmile also looks good for up-firing which some prefer over front firing too.

Tom, I bet the Townsend would work well, I do have a (different) ribbon super tweeter and I think it sounds nice.

I think most will like the ribbons more than lower end Fostex options. I think the T900 has a Mg diaphragm and is probably pretty good but the models with Al diaphragms have some metallic overtones that may "give away" their presence with some music.

[rollo]

  Why consider a super tweeter. Is not the beauty of the Omega speaker due to its driver ? Most of us cannot hear that high anyway. IMHO just leave it alone and consider an amp or other components that excel in the upper frequencies. A sub I can fathom and even that adds issues.

charles

[DaveC113]

  Why consider a super tweeter. Is not the beauty of the Omega speaker due to its driver ? Most of us cannot hear that high anyway. IMHO just leave it alone and consider an amp or other components that excel in the upper frequencies. A sub I can fathom and even that adds issues.

charles

Once you get it just right it's hard to go back... but it's not super-easy to get right so the super tweeter isn't noticeable.

I've heard demos where super-tweeters improved speakers with conventional dome tweets and VSA actually includes ribbon super-tweets along with Be domes in some of their speakers, including the new $$$ VR-11 Ultra.

I will not attempt to explain why augmenting a speaker that already covers to 20 kHz sounds better, honestly it's a mystery to me.    Maybe the super-tweet is more resolving at very high frequencies? I really don't know...

[Wind Chaser]

Didn't Radio Shack sell a tweeter that looked a lot like this for about $40?