Hunting for tweeters

[hdrox88 142]

So, it just dawned on me that I was mucking up my build log just talking about tweeters and thought I'd make a dedicated thread. I have been doing quite a bit of searching and I'm at the point that everything is just kinda starting to blur together. I tend to over think things and it is getting the best of me right now. I am looking for something to mate with my Seas CA18RNX. I liked the ID xs28s I had, though I don't have a lot to go off of either. I didn't have much to complain about them, but when I switched the ID mids for the Seas mids I was surprised by the improvement. If I can get that kind if improvement in the tweeters as well, I'd be a happy camper. I am fairly certain a metal dome isn't for me as I didn't care for either of the two setups I heard with them. Again, my lack of knowledge or experience could be misleading me here. Off axis performance is important as they will be going in the factory door location in my 05 silverado. I listen to lots of different music genre, with the main emphasis on rock and at elevated output levels as well. Large format is ok and I'd like to keep price under $200 for the set.

 

I have seen lots of praise for Seas, LPG, Vifa, Morel, and Dayton. Unfortunately I can only seem to find the metal LPG tweet available. My current list of interest is as follows, in no particular order.

 

Seas 27TDFC

Seas T25CF-001

Vifa XT19

Morel MDT30S

Morel CAT308

Dayton RS28F

[///M5 2,833]

The metal LPG is great.  Don't let material sway you.  You've just heard bad metal tweets.  *25nfa is the one I've owned.

 

I don't quite understand your choices as none are really similar.  Considering your location, off axis is the primary concern I'd have not a secondary.

 

IMO, the 27TDFC is the most over rated forum boner Seas product there is.  Sure, budget friendly small format that can dig but it doesn't do anything all that well.

 

If I only had to pick off your list I'd grab the XT19 hands down.  It has no balls, but will be easy to integrate with the CA in your doors.  Only tweeter on your list I haven't owned is the CAT308 and my T25 was a prev gen, but either way.

 

You also don't need to spend $200 on tweets.  Your location doesn't really bode well for perfect imaging so work on getting the off axis frequency response as nice as you can.

 

SInce you are all over the board, have you looked for used ones?  Your doors come off in 5 minutes so swapping is easy.  May be worth upgrading to something to figure out where you lack and then shopping.  A reference point is always helpful.

[hdrox88 142]

I think we may be thinking of two different Seas tweeters. The one I mentioned was a large format. Not sure if that makes much difference though. The $200 is more along the lines for something that happens to be the ideal driver(pipe dream, I know). I never even considered used, though that is a cheap way to start.

[///M5 2,833]

Ha this time you mean h1189's. I have a set of those downstairs. Way better than the neo counterparts but not superb off axis.

[hdrox88 142]

I was going to see about the used market, but I can't seem to find anyone selling used diy tweeters in the US. Buying from someone in another country(overseas) kinda defeats the cost savings aspect. After you mentioned dome material not being as big a deal as I thought, I dug a little deeper on the 26na and am seriously considering it after reading some of the stuff I found. Of course, their ears are not my ears. Man this stuff gets frustrating, lol. I feel like I am going around in circles.

[///M5 2,833]

Thanks to the original neo tweeters from the late 80's I used to think I hated metal tweets as well.  What I realized a while back is that I hate tweeters that are designed like shit, not metal.  That all being said, generally speaking there are more crappy metal tweeters on the market, but when looking at a quality piece I would let the material sway you too much.

 

Do yourself a favor.  Listen to the ID ones you have crossed over like they will be in your truck ( or better yet mounted there) on their own.  At 4k+ the lack of material will probably shock you.  Will put some clarity into the budget and pricing of what you plan to use.

 

I saved my Neo XT19's but not my LPG's.  Only due to the fact that someone I knew wanted the LPG's.  I also thought at that point I was going to blow out my collection, but just having some shit on hand when I need it is really useful.  lol. ie, I would have kept the 25nfa's in hindsight.

[hdrox88 142]

Haha, "...I hate tweeters that are designed like shit..." Thanks for the early morning laugh.

Unfortunately I don't have the ID tweeters anymore. I do somewhat remember how it sounded when I was tuning and listening to one driver at a time. Kinda weird to listen like that. The mids of a two way set up definitely hold the most important part. Now I think it's kinda funny when people take a stock stereo and add subs and extra tweeters(crappy ones at that) to it.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Yeah, they just don't know any better or don't care enough that it becomes important to them.

Either way, ignorance is bliss, is it not?? lol

[///M5 2,833]

I listened to my tweets alone today. I need about two hours of un bothered time to nail down my tune...as everything I had I scrapped. Fresh install ftmfw. Pc processing in cash rocks.

I wouldn't need 2 hours if the minidsp software would scale better. Hard to hit stuff on it while driving.

[hdrox88 142]

Well, I pulled the trigger on the LPG 26NA.

[///M5 2,833]

You are reminding me that I need another tune session in my truck.  I set it all to center since I had a colleague in town.  Need to bias it back towards the drivers seat!

Let us know how the integration goes and what questions you have.  First step is to see how high the mids play nice in your ears and how low the tweets can play.  Then start to blend!

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

10 hours ago, hdrox88 said:

Well, I pulled the trigger on the LPG 26NA.

Report back when you get them installed. 

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

10 hours ago, hdrox88 said:

Well, I pulled the trigger on the LPG 26NA.

Report back when you get them installed. 

[hdrox88 142]

Will let you guys know when I get it playing. I need to work on treating the doors before I start putting things in place. Hopefully it's not much longer. This factory Blose setup is wearing on me.

[jcarter1885 995]

Excited to see how you feel about those tweeters

[hdrox88 142]

The tweeters came in yesterday and upon visual inspection I noticed something I've never seen before in a tweeter. There is, what looks like, a clear plastic/film disc slightly smaller in diameter than the aluminum dome that is sandwiched between the grill and the dome. It's centered and it's in both tweeters. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be there or not. I did some searching and can't seem to find anything about it.

[///M5 2,833]

I prefer my tweeters without sandwich.

 

More seriously, not sure but a pic would help that.

[hdrox88 142]

I did the best I could to show what I am talking about. It appears to be stuck to the inside of the grill.

[///M5 2,833]

Hard to see. Call Madisound.  They are helpful

[hdrox88 142]

Too late to call by the time I got off work. I managed to find a couple instances where this is actually intentional. The plastic dot as it was called, is there to help with dispersion and FR. I just hope it's some good adhesive as it gets quite hot in vehicles here in the valley of the sun, don't need it coming loose.

[hdrox88 142]

So I finally have these installed pretty much factory location in the doors of my silverado. I don't have a ton of play or tune time on them yet. So far they seem very detailed and clear. They can get splashy on some songs, though I kinda suspect some of my source material. Will see how things go as I listen and tune further.