Tweeters too harsh, thinking of replacing..

[rbtrucking 10+ year member]

Right now I have Boston acoustic sr50s they are good but the tweeters are really harsh with female vocals. I am thinking of replacing them. What are some recommendations on a good tweeter that isn't too harsh at higher volumes? I have tried messing with the frequencies but it does not work, its still very harsh. My budget is about 200. Id like to keep the specs close to the sr50's because I am gonna be using the crossover and midbass from them. Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks.

Click to read more...

 

[WheresTheButta 10+ year member]

Right now I have Boston acoustic sr50s they are good but the tweeters are really harsh with female vocals. I am thinking of replacing them. What are some recommendations on a good tweeter that isn't too harsh at higher volumes? I have tried messing with the frequencies but it does not work, its still very harsh. My budget is about 200. Id like to keep the specs close to the sr50's because I am gonna be using the crossover and midbass from them. Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks.

are they on axis or off-axis? have to tried to change the aiming?

 

[rbtrucking 10+ year member]

They are on axis. It is in the factory tweeter spot. The car is a 06 Hyundai sonata. The tweeter is mounted right where the side mirrors are. I'd prefer to keep them where they are because I don't wanna do any drilling to my car.

 

[rbtrucking 10+ year member]

Any ideas or is that just what it's gonna be if they are on axis? I kinda figured 150 watts of tweeter power aimed directly at your ear is probably gonna be piercing any way you put it.

 

[supermaxx123 10+ year member]

try changing the polarity, it may help. I've honestly have never had a set of tweeters that sounded harsh that couldn't be fixed. If you have metal dome tweeters, try a set of silk dome

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

My brother had the same set of comps and I agree the tweets are harsh. I'd just replace them, I like the sound of these HiVi TN28 Fabric Dome Tweeter 297-409

They are really decent for their price.

 

[xmakeafistx 10+ year member]

As everyone has been saying just look into some silk dome tweets, normally the way to go.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

WoofersEtc.com - CAL 25 SILK SLC - Rainbow SLC Tweeters

also make sure your tweeters are in acoustical phase not just that they are wired with the same polarity

 

[dontbeaprix 10+ year member]

Check out parts express for the tweeters or media sound. I believe the ba have metalic tweeters so any fabric/ soft dome tweeters should suit your needs as far as sound. You will have to look at the freq range and compare to current ones if you plan on using current crossovers. Maybe check out tthe clasifieds also.

 

[rbtrucking 10+ year member]

WoofersEtc.com - CAL 25 SILK SLC - Rainbow SLC Tweetersalso make sure your tweeters are in acoustical phase not just that they are wired with the same polarity

What does acoustic phase mean? I know the phase as in positive and negative is all correct with all the speakers. Is that something different from acoustic phase or are we talking about the same thing?

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

What does acoustic phase mean? I know the phase as in positive and negative is all correct with all the speakers. Is that something different from acoustic phase or are we talking about the same thing?

I think by acoustical phase he means time alignment possibly

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

no time alignment is different, just because your speakers are wire to the correct polarity does not mean it's the way they should be. My left speakers are wired 180 out of polarity so they end up in phase.

zSHARE - 03 - Left _ Right Phase Verification.mp3

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

harsh tweeters are usually a result of phase interference due to reflections/diffraction from placement/aiming, and phase interference/acoustic phase as a result of the combination of tweeter/woofer at crossover frequencies.

factory tweeter locations are usually poor, and how the tweeter is mounted or interfaces with the factory grills makes a difference. the wavelengths being reproduced are small, and affected by surrounding surfaces/mounting.

the tweeters are separate from the woofers, and the crossover point is different from factory - acoustic phase plays a role here.

companies like Boston Acoustics don't make harsh sounding tweeters, but they test them in ideal conditions. i've taken tweeters i thought were harsh and put them in spheres and had them sound amazing. diffraction is real. i've changed crossover points and slopes and solved harsh sounding highs.

additionally, you could be hearing distortion in the form of harmonics. as you turn up the volume the amplifier distortion increases. as distortion increases, harmonics are introduced. tweeters suffer the most from increased distortion because of harmonics. when tweeters are blown, it's usually the result of an increase in delivered power in the form of harmonics from clipping.

my point is, replacing the tweeters with different models in the same location with the same amplification is not a likely solution to your problem.

acoustic phase is describing the signal from the speakers arriving at your ears - this is more important than electrical phase since acoustic phase involves the listening position. you need to consider that the tweeter signal needs to be in acoustic phase with the woofer signal or it will sound harsh. you'll think it's just the tweeters, but it's commonly the combination of the tweeter and woofer (since they crossover slopes are generally shallow). swapping polarity on the tweeter may or may not solve the problem based on the woofer separation and crossover point/slope.

you consider the acoustic centers of the drivers, then think that the path lengths traveled are different. then factor in specular reflections, and you have multiple arrival times. at high frequencies, those arrival times can result in constructive and destructive interference which sounds harsh.

the dome material matters much less than the placement. silk can sound "harsh" with poor placement and metal can sound "smooth" with proper placement.

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

^^^^ This man knows his stuff. I dnt understand half of it but I got a lifetime to learn lol.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

thanks I was to lazy to type it all out, I posted a link but the download I pasted must have copied over it