imma noob... advise on tweeters?

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

also these:

planet audio plt70

earthquake tw-35s

boss audio bpt60, bpt70, bpt80.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

i really don't know how to tweak the highs... can someone explain more on this? i kinda like the lanzar optibt44, the power acoustik nb-4, and the lanzar optitw. any of these good? i want good highs. i compression horns are hella loud. so I kinda want those, but i do want good sq.. but how much worse could a decent compression horn be for sq and to install and tweak?

I think you are confused. Compression horns (HLCD's) are very good for SQ, as they offer low distortion levels and very good imaging. Bullet hors are the ones that tend to just be loud but sound bad (harsh), and their horn bodies tend to focus the sound to create hyper-axis response characteristics, unlike HLCD's that are designed to disperse the sound properly from one side of the car to the other.

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

lol.. i got that the hlcd's sound good and the bullets r crap lol. do the hlcds get really loud tho?

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

and idk if my tweeter is really blown or what. because it still plays music, but when it gets up higher it freaks out and just buzzes at the high frequency. i don't think its as loud as before either... so what exactly could be wrong?

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

and again how exactly do i tune it? do i tune it with my amp, or with the actual component? because there is something on there that is like 0db, -3 db, and so on... what does that do?

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

lol.. i got that the hlcd's sound good and the bullets r crap lol. do the hlcds get really loud tho?

and idk if my tweeter is really blown or what. because it still plays music, but when it gets up higher it freaks out and just buzzes at the high frequency. i don't think its as loud as before either... so what exactly could be wrong?

and again how exactly do i tune it? do i tune it with my amp, or with the actual component? because there is something on there that is like 0db, -3 db, and so on... what does that do?

Yes, HLCD's get really loud. They tend to have a sensitivity in the 100-110db range. I tend to refer to them as 'compression horns' for short because they use a compression chamber to front-load the tweeter, increasing cone damping (less distortion). Then the horn body not only disperses the sound well, but it also gives the traditional advantage of increasing output. Stay away from piezo driven hlcd's and you will be very happy with the SQ (assuming installed well).

The tuning Ive referred to in this thread is with an EQ or similar device, which allows you to adjust output levels at a given freq (and in the case of a parametric, at a given Q range).

Your tweeter sounds like its blown (diaphragm has been damaged), but I cant say for sure just from your description.

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

any questions you can ask to see if its blown and ill try to give u the best answer. and any brand / model of the compression horns that u would recommend so i don't have to tune it a lot with my current system?

 

[dragonrage 10+ year member]

What's your budget? There are car-specific HLCDs from companies like Image Dynamics but those tend to be expensive. You can use pro audio stuff like from Parts-Express.com but like anything else, quality varies.

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

Im liking these. the power peak is 350 but i would have to run them at that correct? cuz i only have a 250.2 which has true power of 600. 2 30 amp fuses. but if I'm putting out the 300 each channel how do i know how much of the 300 my mid is using?

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

um maybe 40 to 75... i found those boss 80's for $49..

 

[dragonrage 10+ year member]

In a 2-way system, the midbass takes 70 to 85% of the power depending on the crossover frequency. In addition, because horns are so efficient, you would literally be able to get by with driving them with a 5 or 10 watt amplifier. (You can use a bigger amplifier, of course, but keep that gain down low or your ears will be in for a painful surprise the first time you give them power!)

Seriously.

I don't know which ones you're looking at. Link?

Edit: No, I don't really recommend that Boss stuff. Really, I don't recommend any Boss stuff. At all.

Real HLCDs are like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-ProCompM-Image-Dynamics-Competition/dp/tech-data/B004XWJ2DM (that's super expensive, but you can do similar for cheaper... check out the 1" exit drivers and 1" throat horns on Parts Express' pro audio section... though they won't have any horns that are quite like those IDs)

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

they r scheap and the compressions so they can't be complete crap. yeah normally id stay away from them. Boss Audio BPT80 Car Tweeters at Onlinecarstereo.com

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

so those r way too much power. id be looking at a 50w compression tweeter... now would that be rms or peak that i should be looking at?

 

[dragonrage 10+ year member]

I honestly wouldn't call them compression. They are bullet tweeters. They are crap. Boss is a crappy brand comparable to Dual.

Look at some of the 1" exit drivers on P-E. Look at the sensitivity. Over 100dB 1W/1m. Most 6.5" drivers are 85dB to 92dB 1W/1m. Say you had a 90dB 1W/1m mid and a 100dB 1W/1m tweet. The mid would need 10x the power to get the same SPL as the tweet... well, actually a little bit more due to power compression. And some of those compression drivers are even higher than 100dB... like 105dB...

Regardless of how much power they can take, you won't need to give them much. Remember, they are meant to provide sound for large areas. Using them in a car is fine. You just won't need to use their maximum capability.

 

[Mr.meyhem 10+ year member]

okay i think that helps lol. btw pls try to use simply terminology lol. I'm still newer to audio. and I'm rele new to the highs