[John Casler]

Well Brian sure keeps his ear to the feedback from customers

As many know we like to make a product that allows you to tailor the "sound" you want.

Some want bold reality.

Others want HUGE encompassing Sound

Some like "open and airy"

And still more want "warm silky detail" and on and on.

With adjustments to the tweeter and MR available, and Bass damping too, we seemed to have it all covered.

But, there are some who like to have an even greater ability to "shape" their sonic virtues.

Recently one of our long time supporters (Jonbee) mentioned that he used an "ambience" tweeter to give him the sound shape he liked.  The openness and air that a rear facing tweeter can bring to the sound is well known.

Brian has in the past even used this in some designs.

Well to meet those preferences, we now offer the AMBIENCE ADD-ON TWEETER

This then is an add-on ambiance tweeter usable with "all" our speakers (except the RM v60) that is freestanding and complete with crossover and user-adjustable level control. 

This can stand on top of a speaker or be attached to the back baffle with double-sided tape.  It consists of our spiral ribbon tweeter with a 5kHz xover built-in mounted in a black MDF enclosure 4x4x1.5" deep.   

Introductory Special Price is $169pr.  (MSRP = $249)

It simply plugs in to the back of any speaker we make. The user can direct its output to the rear or side wall, or even the ceiling depending on room acoustics and his tastes.

Rear facing will have the sonic virtue of creating more airy depth to the sound.

Side firing will offer wider appearing soundstages

Ceiling orientation will create a bit of height to the stage.
 
Brian will include this tweeter in the SDE versions of the RM30, RM40 and RM2 at no extra charge for the next 90 days, (till May 30th) thereafter $129pr additional for the built in option. 

The built-in ambiance tweeter is flush with the back baffle and fires rearward.
 
This is also GREAT for the L&R Mains and Surround speakers for HT use.

The user adjustable volume control allows you to achieve that "perfect" blend.

Introductory Pricing = $169 (MSRP will be $249)

Or

Built in to your new speakers = No Charge till after May 15th then $129.

[woodsyi]

Sign me up.  It seems like a cheap enough tweak to add and see how it sounds.  I assume I just connect it to the ribbon binding posts?

[John Casler]

Sign me up.  It seems like a cheap enough tweak to add and see how it sounds.  I assume I just connect it to the ribbon binding posts?

That is how they work.

I'll PM you the details.

[Early B.]

Sign me up, too. PM sent.

Also, can you post a pic or two, if possible?

[John Casler]

I guess, I should also mention that these tweeters can also be used with "NON-VMPS" speakers too, so if you have another speaker that you might want to add a little ambience to in your set up, then this Bud's for you.

B, has said that it will be filtered from from 5khz Upward.

[satfrat]

A picture is worth a thousand words John. 


Cheers,
Robin

[Brian Cheney]

I finished the prototype of the "sticky tweeter" a few weeks ago and ordered some sample enclosures in satin black which I have yet to receive.  Give us10 days or so.

The idea of an add-on ambience tweeter is not new, but the idea of a stick-on tweeter (use as many as you like!) with a ribbon driver is.

The "user adjustable" level control is a foam mask with which you can adjust the amount of tweeter output, or damp it out completely, by moving the mask.  This saves the expense of the Lpad, any sonic degradation it introduces, and about 3" of depth on the palm-sized enclosure.

Wiring can be attached from the bottom or either side so it can be laid out of sight.

Have fun, it's nifty!

[woodsyi]

Brian,

Assuming it's first order what is the cap value?  I have a pair of Fostex super tweeter and some caps that I can play around with until you ship these. 

[Brian Cheney]

It's 12dB/oct with a 2.5uF cap.

B

[satfrat]

I've already got AV123 Extended Response Tweeters on top of my main Lorelei's but having a rear firing ribbon tweeter also sounds intreging for my rear channel Lorelei's,,,, might add some spacial body that I don't get from a rear floorstander pointed directly at me. Definitely a thought and definitely at a good price.  

Cheers,
Robin

[woodsyi]

It's 12dB/oct with a 2.5uF cap.

B

What would be the inductor value? 

Definitely a thought and definitely at a good price.

Considering the Fostex super tweeters cost more than these, I do think it's a great value with the spiral ribbons.  Brian must have a lot of these left over considering all the Jr. deals he has been offering recently. 

[satfrat]

I might just want 3 of these for all my rear speakers,,,,, in fact it would be a given if i do end up placing an order. 

[Brian Cheney]

A 0.2mH coil will work fine for experimenting.

I should mention the add-on tweeter has a 20 Ohm impedance so as not to load down your amplifier at high frequencies.

[konut]

What is the sensitivity?

[woodsyi]

A 0.2mH coil will work fine for experimenting.

I should mention the add-on tweeter has a 20 Ohm impedance so as not to load down your amplifier at high frequencies.

Thanks Brian, 

I will dig around and see what coils I have to play with until the Ambitweets arrive.  This should be fun    Here I stand thinking JC the tweak master was just about running out of tricks in his bag.  Now he has a tweaker's dream box to play around and talk about.  I can already see John posting about reversing polarity.... 

[John Casler]

A 0.2mH coil will work fine for experimenting.

I should mention the add-on tweeter has a 20 Ohm impedance so as not to load down your amplifier at high frequencies.

Thanks Brian, 

 I can already see John posting about reversing polarity.... 

Hi Woodsyi,

That was to be my very next post.

While my 2 channel room would not benefit from this since it is "non-reflective" my HT would.

But regarding polarity, it would certainly be fun to try it both ways since it would for all purposes offer a "dipolar" effect from 5Khz up, one way, or "bipolar" the other.

Also I feel that if you use it as a rear firing device that, depending on how far the speakers are from the walls, di or bi, might offer a better "open, airy" sonic.

There are more uses too.

For those who use side monopole surrounds, you could add TWO of these arranged in dipole/bipole orientation on each side, and have tripole from 5Khz up.

And don't discount the "ceiling firing" orientation.

Brian used this quite effectively on some earlier designs (I think the last was the Tower II's) to a pleasant effect.

[Brian Cheney]

Sensitivity of the tweeter is 88dB/1W/1m.  Fortunately it does not have to be very loud, thus the adjustable damper.

[satfrat]

Sensitivity of the tweeter is 88dB/1W/1m.  Fortunately it does not have to be very loud, thus the adjustable damper.

Perfect for my Lorelei's.   

Question, what connections will these have,,, bananas, spades, pins,,,,???

[Se7en]

Any chance of getting an omni-directional lense for those of us who might want to fire upwards???  aa

[jonbee]

I'm glad to see this offered as an option. Many high end designers have used the  concept, such as several Wilson models. I have experimented with this concept on many very fine speakers, often but not always getting favorable results. Obviously in a room with a heavily damped rear wall these will be of limited benefit. In my room, my RM30s are only a foot or so from the rear wall. I cut down my absorption panels so that the rear radiation had a reflective surface. As I mentioned before, it adds air and spaciousness, a bit like a dipole panel, but also adds a bit of energy to the presence region, adding some dynamic snap to snares and horns. It is very lifelike and in-room sounding, without adding excess brightness or edginess. I can't express how fabulous I think my RM30s sound now.
I demo'd the system with and without the tweeters to Everett last week (see a previous thread), and he was also impressed with the effect they had on the sound.
I experimented with the up-firing mode, and while it did offer benefits, I preferred the rear firing mode, with a slight uptilt to the tweeter.
The price these are offered at is very attractive; I suspect the membrane tweeter is a better performer than the dome I'm using, and all the design and enclosure work is done. I put quite a few hours into building mine, and am considering buying the VMPS version to try them out.
As always, your mileage will vary, but I think this option offers real value in the right circumstances.