Soft Dome vs Metal Dome Tweeter: Audio Myths

[@GrB-M]

This channel, so far, appears to be one of the best accidental discoveries I’ve made in a while. I’ve not had time to watch too many videos but so far it appears to be everything I like most about audio reproduction; science/facts that are used in different combinations to make a sort of art. The basics are simple, anyone can easily grasp them, and are easily built upon yet there’s no end to what can be learned and used. Unfortunately channels like this, that actually gets into the science behind everything, aren’t easily found. Not by the average person anyway.

[@1984robert]

I have 2 way speakers designed and built by a small local manufacturer. It has SB Acoustics alu dome tweeter and alu midbass drivers. I love its sound. Very smooth, balanced and calm, I can listen to it hours without any fatigue.

[@status101-danielho6]

I appreciate this series of videos. I fondly remember the articles written by Alan Lofft, Ian G. Masters, Larry Klein, and Tom Nouisane (I'm dating myself) that tackled these same myths, and decades later the audiophile community is just as full of true believers. I blame the audiophile publications that have a vested interest in perpetuating the $$$=better narrative.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thank you for the comment, especially the comparison to those writers. 👍

[@kennethcohagen3539]

My two way speakers have Focal drivers. The tweeters are acid etched titanium inverted domes. They are the smaller version of their 90’s vintage tweeters, td90k’s vs the td120k’s. They are incredibly accurate, bright and not harsh at all. My old speakers had peerless soft domes in them, which were popular in the late 70’s. They are rectangular in shape with the wiring for the voice coil in the front of the tweeter. They are not as accurate as the Focals, and don’t play as high in frequency, but they sounded pretty good when I built those speakers. This is solely my opinion, but they measure quite different from each other, the Peerless tweeters having an f3 of 19k, while the Focals have an f3 of 23k. So I believe my opinion is correct.

[@furion..]

kennethcohagen3539 - I still have 3 sets of TC90x put away for future use, but I might end up ebaying them if I inherit my brother in law's Klipschhorns. They sure are clean, fast & open w/o harshness.

[@imqqmi]

Could be a self fulfilling prophecy in that designers know people expect a brighter sound from metal dome tweeters compared to soft domes and design the cross over network/L pads to match fueling the belief that metal domes are brighter than soft domes. I've read that myth a lot too on forums when I was starting my journey building my own speakers. In general I like the highs to be not too forward and bright so I picked soft domes, and it worked out well. But it makes perfect sense that it shouldn't matter when building your own crossover, you just measure them and create a network that brings all drivers in line SPL wise. There's shouldn't be a difference in SPL unless you make it so. Ringing, nodes and resonance can be a problem but I tend to think it's so small in that range (at least with 3 way speakers) it barely makes much of a difference at a certain quality level (my tweeters are in the 40-60 euros range). It's mainly for spatial cues, not so much to produce notes that are played. Brightness is mainly in the 1-3khz range according to Danny of GR-Research and I believe that to be accurate. I've crossed the mid range and tweeter at around 6khz and above 15khz I don't hear anything. 6-15khz is about 1.5 octave I think. I might buy a good quality metal dome tweeter to try it out, I'm curious how it would improve (or not) listening to music and how it's different. It's probably going to make more of a difference in a 2 way speaker design.

[@csimet]

One of the best informational channels on audio out there. So glad I stumbled across it. I'm finding perception to be the #1 cause of arguments... Like opinions, everyone has there own perception on how things sound. I'd rather see real scientific evidence, rather than opinions/perceptions, before I make a decision. This hobby is full of "experts" who can't back up their findings with measured data or applied scientific means of gathering such.

[@georgebartolo8856]

Thanks for this. Maybe you can speak of the relationship between tube and solid state amplifiers and how they effect the sound of speakers.

[@rickc2222]

Im guilty of having held that myth. Your video made me reflect on how/why i had acquired that view. I think I came to that conclusion that soft domes sounded warmer/less bright not because i was comparing metal dome, but just comparing cheaper low grade products i owned in the past that may have had mylar or other plastic material, or a strip of cheap metal for tweeters, all of which have rather poor sound quality. Thank you for this...i will try to audition as many speakers as I can with metal dome tweeters without bias going forward.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Rick, that’s one of the most satisfying comments that I have received on ANY of my videos! I’m so pleased I was able to offer you a different perspective that has changed your approach to listening and auditioning loudspeakers.

[@VicariousAdventurer]

In the early 90s, I bought Heybrook HB1s with the same Tweeter used in Monitor Audio speakers. My young ears could hear the breakup modes about 20k. I'm also the kid who couldn't stand store fluorescents. BUT some $6000 ProAcs, 10X the cost, had metal domes in a hi-end store with no audible problems. Lesson: Lower-quality metal domes cannot match the finest metal domes for detail and distortion.

[@zoroluva]

Just had the opportunity to listen to a pair of B&W 802 D4. Best tweeters I've had to date. Now I understand what "airy" means.... Metal dome.

[@joshuamcbride9576]

Man! This guy is so smart, and he teaches clearly.

[@stealthis]

Now to get crazy. Where would a compression driver and AMT fit? What do you think of those?

[@faizpuzi6932]

I reinstalled back the metal tweeter that came with the woofer and tune the dsp again. The tweeter sound is now as neutral as the silk tweeter and in harmony with woofer sound.

[@chuckmaddison2924]

When a Canadian is telling me something I have faith. The one thing I wonder about is why some domes have a cap over dome and some don't.

[@Jayarajdreams]

I heared before 14 years Pioneer TS-S250 model tweeter. which one is excellent performence . that was only the best treble. but after that I never heared quality treble like TS-S250. That was a ceramic tweeter. can you suggest a low budget tweeter(not proffessional) for music listening under 2000INR(pair)

[@thomasward00]

I ordered a pair of Paradigm 200B bookshelves, metal dome... They sounded beautiful for 20 minutes, then my ears would be ringing and had a headache... Sent them back and just ordered a pair of Wharfdale Dentons... My ears agree with warner speakers with soft domes.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

I’m going to bet it had as much to do with the balance of the speakers as the material of the tweeter domes.

[@adamant3844]

Having listened almost exclusively to soft dome tweeters in my speakers for the last 40 years I can tell you that there is an audible difference. I initially perceived it to be a slightly colder quality to the sound of my aluminum domes. Keep in mind my custom speakers have two aluminum domes per cabinet. In truth, I adjusted to the "new" sound within a week and don't even notice it now but enjoy those speakers immensely.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

It’s possible you are hearing a resonance or some other characteristic of the metal dome tweeters, but as you have found we tend to quickly tune out some small details after spending some time with a new pair of speakers.

[@adamant3844]

Hey Andrew, The aluminum domes in question are the ones found RBH-MC-6C which are high quality. Unlike my soft domes I've never heard these metal tweeters resonance. Like you said over time we adjust to the different sound. There is no which one is better, just different.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@adamant3844 That’s exactly the point I was trying to make…different, not better or worse!

[@drnarenderdutt7584]

Thanks for a great video. Cleared a lot of concepts.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Glad it was helpful!

[@akilghosh]

Thanks for clearing that out. Now I don't have to throw out my focal tweeters for a Silk dome tweeters. Can you also clarify if class d amplifier is inferior to class ab?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

I believe the myth about Class D being “bad” came about in the early days when the technology was immature and switching frequencies were low. Today many Class D amplifiers can equal or better Class AB in terms of performance.

[@phillipallen5564]

so lets say you want it modifed to be brighter how would you make your klipch speakers hit higher im curious

[@lucbeauvais1847]

Hi Andrew, In this series of video could you please talk about impedance. I have a basic understanding of it but can't decipher all the different brands ways of describing this specidications. For example spec shows Impedance 8 Ohms nominal; 4 Ohms minimum ?? While another one rates the speakers at 4 ohms but in the same description says its compatible with 4 , 6, 8 ohms ??? I got more concern about this when I bought my last av receiver. Sony 1080 .when I opened the box there was a big sheet of paper with a warning not to use it with speakers less than 6 ohms. It is my understanding most avr are 8 ohms some 6 ohms. A lot of speakers coming out including yours are rated 4 ohms. ? VERY confusing to me all that stuff. Thanks

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

What a coincidence! Did a video on this exact topic this morning that should cover all your questions. It's only raw footage, and should be coming up on KZbin in a few days. In the meantime, you may find this video and the comments show you're not alone in being confused, which is why I did a second video on the subject today. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqqveqdvir9sldU

[@lucbeauvais1847]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters thanks Andrew ill have a look at it asap and look forward to the upcoming video. We can always count on you to explain the things that others don't. Thanks from your "almost neighbour" from Orillia!!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thanks almost neighbour!

[@buddywalker8855]

Andrew, can you look at the impedance issue reversed? I have a 200 w Mcintosh multi impedance amp and 2- 50w JBL L100's rated @ 8ohms. The amp has speaker protection, will it harm the 50w speakers when connected to the amp at 4 olms? I'm thinking I can push more power from the amp to the speakers @ 4 olms, possibly driving better sound at lower volumes.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@buddywalker8855 If your McIntosh amp has separate taps for 4 and 8 ohms, always use the one that matches closest to your nominal loudspeaker impedance for the most efficient power transfer. You will not get more power on the 4 ohm tap with an 8 ohm loudspeaker. The latest videos on this topic went up yesterday, the short one is just and excerpt of this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJKomKRtjJ18kKs Thanks for a great question and for watching.

[@chloeleedow7250]

I'd argue that people who know what they are talking about are saying anything like that now, since beryllium is the most commonly used material in super high-end tweeters now. Then you got ceramic one of hardest substances around, that are even more expensive right at the top.

[@hoticesteve]

good assessment friend. thanks a lot

[@hudsonbissell6946]

Love the videos, but gotta say, for an audio channel these videos are too quiet... I have to turn up the volume and then switch to another video or an ad plays and its extremely loud.

[@GordonPyzik]

I'll go on record that a silk dome tweeter WILL ALWAYS HAVE MORE TONAL COLOR THAN A METAL DOME. I agree with you about metal being bright all the time is not true. But I'll go to my grave knowing that silk domes give the best tone.

[@abelscaliber7969]

Most metal dome tweeters have a higher sensitivity so that contributes to easily over doing the highs And new models Can handle twice the power of soft dome tweeters

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

You are correct, however a good loudspeaker designer would compensate for this during the design phase.

[@robertojensen7482]

im looking for a metal dome tweeter for a event 2030

[@babakgholian3467]

The crossovers are important as they have diverse ranges for different speakers .

[@mostirreverent]

Why aren’t tweeters cones. Is it due to the directionality of high frequencies?

[@JoelHernandez-tz3vk]

They're midwoofers rather than tweeters, but I still wonder what's people's input on SEAS U18RNX/P VS L18RNX/P VS ER18RNX. Poly cone, aluminum cone and paper cone respectively. They all seem to be VERY hard choices as all of them seem fantastic midwoofers, preactically regardless of price bracket in theory... I don't know what these are capable of in practice however.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

I don’t have any direct experience with those mids, but SEAS make some very nice drivers.

[@nickdoughty518]

Do we need to worry about the sound coming from the rear of the tweeter cone? Where does it go and can you get cavity resonances?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

You certainly do need to worry about it. In many cases the pole-piece behind the dome is vented and damped to prevent resonances and reflections back through the dome. Might be an interesting topic for a future video?

[@nickdoughty518]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters would be interesting. B&W seem to have gone to great efforts with their high-end tweeters.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@nickdoughty518 Seems like a detailed tweeter video is overdue. Thank you!

[@Boorock70]

Love your videos & here is a topic, directly related to "tweeters" Hi-RES Audio ! What do you think about it ?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Hi-res audio is a fantastic way to enjoy music. Thanks for watching & commenting.

[@mfkhometheater7742]

You guys do definitely make good videos, good job!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thanks, glad you’re enjoying them and taking the time to comment 🙂

[@Z-add]

Are speakers for PA systems different from speakers for personal music?

[@supercompooper]

Plasma treaters sound like fire 🔥

[@missmisiowa]

can't stop me from writing :-) i had many, many floorstanders over the years. settled for TDL studio which sound just fantastic (to me). recently bought kef q950 (£1500, $2000) and they do sound 'metallic' to me. i have given them over 200 hours to get accustomed. no improvement. i have exceptionally good hearing which could be the issue? even James Taylor sounds harsh and metallic. they are going back. i can't stand my favourite tracks coming from these tweeters.

[@davidusmar8363]

I know in theory what you are saying may be correct - but I have yet to hear a metal domed loudspeaker I like .. and interestingly Wilson have moved away from the Focal metal dome to a soft dome tweeter .. and sound better for it.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thanks for your comment…I suspect the Wilson differences are more to do with design than the tweeter dome material, but I’m only saying that based on my own experience.

[@steveschwartz9421]

Wilson had to make the change as Focal in and around 2004, quit providing raw drivers for non Focal-Jmlabs speakers. Properly corssed, I will take the Focal TDX120Td5's every day of the week and twice on Sundays! Hard to beat the accuracy and quickness of the almost perfect pistonic movement the Focal Berylium tweeters exhibit, they are simple breathtaking in a properly designed speaker.

[@angelov9976]

People saying metal tweeters are harsh have never heard a proper focal inverted aluminum/magnesium tweeter or have only compared cheap soft vs cheap metal

[@1JRW1]

You didn't talk about resonance, which is the real difference and problem with hard dome tweeters. The harmonics produced from that resonance are like ringing a bell and that's where the metallic sound comes from. Soft domes have less resonance and dissipate it much faster. The downside of soft dome cones is lower resolution. Obviously, as you mentioned, the design is the most important fact to obtain a pleasant sound, but the main challenge for hard domes is resonance and the main challenge for soft domes is resolution, mainly at the highest frequencies. This should be very clear when designing a speaker.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

It's a valid point…I did not go into too much detail on resonances. But I’m not in agreement with your assessment of different dome materials. ALL domes, cones, ribbons, whatever, will have breakup modes at some frequencies. It’s how they are dealt with and damped that is the most important factor. An example, I have a beryllium and a silk dome tweeter with identical motor systems, surrounds, and voice coils. The beryllium tweeter has a sharp, high-Q resonance at 30kHz of +6dB. The silk dome has multiple, lower-Q resonances that are below 20kHz and within the range of hearing. Which one will be better? The answer is, it’s not possible to say, but they both have faults. Which faults are audible?

[@Huub1e]

For your next video can you address the dual tweeters in your vp180 center channel?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Dual tweeters (and dual midranges and woofers) are used in the VP180 to greatly increase maximum power handling (volume) and lower distortion at very loud playback levels. I can certainly add this to the list of video requests. Thanks for your feedback, and for watching.

[@Huub1e]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters there's a lot of criticism about lobing from side by side tweeters in a center channel. It would be interesting to see your discussion about why you chose the design you picked vs the tweeters stacked on top of each other. I chose the vp180 for my brother's theater (you've used his theater picture in some of your videos) and it sounds incredible. I don't notice any problem with the side by side tweeters but I'm interested in why it's measurable but not noticable to real ears.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@Huub1e The quick answer to your question is that lobing will be present acoustically in any loudspeaker with 2 or more drivers. In a vertically oriented design, like a typical bookshelf or floorstanding speaker, these lobes will be measurable in the vertical response family. With a well-chosen crossover point and design these lobes can be mitigated and will usually appear at the listening position in the reflected energy from the ceiling and floor. In the case of a center channel, those lobes are now in the horizontal response family and tend to be far more audible as they as they appear in the critical side-wall reflections. Our research shows that having a large lobe to each side of the tweeter in the common woofer/tweeter/woofer configuration had a much larger negative impact on the overall sound than having more lobes where the cancellations are not as “deep”. Our ear/brain system seems to have an easier time integrating these smaller cancellations. That resulted in the placement of the drivers in the VP180 and is also why the tweeters are not side by side in the middle of the cabinet. Glad your brother's VP180 sounds great in his home theater!

[@chadmorris946]

@@Huub1e Looks played a huge part in that decision. That horizontal design goes against every thing a speaker designer would do. I've read on forum that so many disliked the VP150 with tweeters on the end. Unless the tweeter is just being crossed really low I see no reason for dual tweeters on a center channel. There really isn't enough drivers to warrant dual tweeters. And if very loud playback is need in very large rooms than using 5.25" mids and 6.5" woofer is probably not a great idea or at least going about it wrong. Pro audio woofers and horn loaded tweeters will get significantly louder than the VP180 with out the inefficiency.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@chadmorris946 Actually, we found a significant improvement with dual tweeters in our blind listening tests during development. The reduction in distortion at higher levels and better dynamic capability with effects was clear. Sure, you can get more efficiency with horns and 15 or 18 inch pro woofers, but very few would want that in their living or family room.

[@emo65170.]

I like metal dome tweeters in my car because...... they match the color of my dashboard. Hehe

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

🤣

[@OCCUPIEDNATION]

Great video - very informative, just a shame you couldn't find a better mic. 😂😂

[@uber3D]

You say that it is a myth, yet go on to explain how you get rid of the harshness of the hard dome tweeters. As a designer and audiophile myself, hard dome tweeters are in fact inheriently bright and harsh. You must have a proper crossover network and many times a waveguide or phase plug / dispersion device to “tone them down”. To try to prove your point, you refer to a poorly designed crossover with a soft dome will sound bad.. duh. Apples to apples, hard dome (in general) will not be as smooth as soft dome. Same thing we see with paper pulp vs aluminum vs composite mid ranges, woofers, etc. What moves the air is very, very important! How it flexes, how it dampens. Ultimate stiffness doesn’t always equate to the best sound. I have found most every system that suffers from high levels of listening fatigue have hard dome tweeters.

[@kellygrant4964]

When looking for a set of loudspeakers I got this question a lot "what type of music do you listen to". What a stupid question. What I want is a loudspeaker that will as failfully as possible reproduce the signal. This is right up there with the notion that a center channel sounds better than a good 4.1 system. There are so many snake oil crap out there. And of course the more snake oil the more money you spend.

[@PoulLarsenmusic]

people will tell one over another about Soft Dome vs Metal Dome Tweeter and viceversa but the reality is that most people listen with thier eyes. How hard can it be to close your eyes and listen. Why hasent't anybody done a blind test a real practical blindfolded test where the listener is blindfolded and the listener can swith between two sets of speaker A/B but without knowing wich one is soft dome or metal dome.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Exactly, double blind tests are the only way to critically evaluate speakers.

[@chadmorris946]

I'm guess it has to do with mass. Fabric tweeters and paper woofers have less moving mass than metal type drivers. So the smooth or more transparent sound usually is a driver with less mass. A 6.5" heavy duty metal woofer is going to store more energy than a paper 6.5" woofer. There is always a trade off with every design choice. The metal tweeters are much more noticeable when they break up than fabric soft domes.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

In my experience, I have not found any link between “smoothness” and transducer mass. While metal dome and cones can be heavier than silk or paper, that is not necessarily always the case. I have run into many thick paper woofer cones that weigh far more than aluminum and doped fabric domes that weigh more than our titanium domes. Thanks for your comment.

[@sreesree9505]

Very good info

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thanks!

[@dtwistrewind7361]

We probably all agree that piezo tweets are for carnivals and fairgrounds 😁😁👍

[@socksumi]

Dude you do understand the concept of truisms and tendencies right? Saying metal domes can sound metalic and hard is not saying that ALL of them do. It's saying that more of them do than for other materials like silk. A generalization is valid if taken as a generalization not an absolute rule. Of course there are excellent metal domes but there are lots of nasty ones too especially those made back in the 80s. Just as there are both lousy and wonderful sounding soft domes. One advantage soft domes have which people rarely mention is that they have lower moving mass than do metal domes. That makes for potentially higher resolution of low level detail. But again there are other facts that determine quality so it's not an absolute rule.

[@stealthis]

That last comment about fabric tweeters being better for low-level detail is interesting.

[@jonlopez6901]

Why do you need a tweeter

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Well, technically you don’t as you could use a full-range driver, but there are big deficiencies with off-axis and sound power performance.

[@vasyapupken]

this is easy metal domes - sound harsh and metallic. plastic domes - sound unnatural and plasticky. silk domes - soft and natural non-silk soft domes - soft but unnatural. diamond dome - clear and BRILLIANT you just need to learn how to deal with it. for example - take a regular AL dome tweeter, anodize it to a weird color like blueish-green and claim this is secret soft metal "alusilk" technology. (don't forget to double the price otherwise it will not be convincing)

[@phillipallen5564]

soft doemes hit more db at the higher frequencys i like it that way i dont like the low pitch sound of metal marerial to much db at 4k

[@terrygreen6088]

what is that music on the background its really fcking enoying

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

We stopped using the music a few years ago based on this kind of feedback.

[@chloeleedow7250]

I've heard some awful soft domes for the record though 😂

[@phillipallen5564]

when i mean metal i mean klipsch they demand qaultiy its true it does affect it this guy just deosnt notice it he probablly has wayy to goood of hearing to notice a differnce i have bad hearing and notice every little .5 db differnce titanium is annoying it like the treble is to low pitched on the highs dont get up theri i wish i new his eq sectret he prob doesnt use klipsch cuz their terrible at hitting high like a soft doeme

[@cpaint69]

The blind test you mentioned is already flaw in the first place. To compare whether metal dome really sound more harsh than a soft dome tweeter, you should design both speaker with a similar frequency response and crossover point. By pushing the output of the silk dome, of course you are making it sounds harsh and bright. What you did is simply stating a poor design crossover will sound bad no matter it is hard or soft dome tweeter and it did not show whether a hard dome sounds the same as a soft dome tweeter.

[@veedub272]

The problem with what you are saying is that all those scenarios you present simply dont exist in the real world. No one would make a soft dome tweeter speaker to have a harsh sound on purpose and there is ALWAYS going to be room gain in any environment outside of an anechoic chamber, etc. Your video offers no real world advice. Yes metal dome tweeters can be made to have breakup above 20KHz but the majority if speakers are not made this way due to cost. Therefore the majority of speakers out there with metal tweeters (most are aluminium and some more expensive are titanium that make up the bulk of what the average listener comes into contact with). This is why people think metal tweeters sound harsh, it's simple economics. While you are trying to present something that would either live firmly outside of the price range that most people can afford (therefore they never get to experience it), or that simply does not exist altogether unless you are trying to trick someone, thereby wasting crossover components an possibly other speaker components just to prove your point.

[@kai-hamilton]

Why is the video and audio quality so bad in this video? Like there is a hissing sound in the whole video that sounds like the video was highly compressed before uploading to youtube! Not dismissing the content but you should make it better in future videos! Thank you for the lesson though!

[@kai-hamilton]

I agree that metal domes can sound good! One of my favorite home audio companies is Klipsche and they use titanium domes as well! I love the part where you were talking about how a speaker is supposed to move and that a soft dome has much more bending rather than the dome moving uniformly as one body! I have heard this at high SPL in the soft dome home audio tweeters I use in my car.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Not sure why there are issues with the video, but we are constantly improving our setup. Thank you for sharing your experience with metal domes!

[@waterzipper]

Easy soft dome tweeters are little children finger magnets and metal tweeters although they still attract little fingers don't collapse as easily

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Excellent point, and why many parents keep the grilles on!

[@beslemeto]

The shape of the tweeter does not change the sound at all!

[@drumsmoker731]

The myth originates from the fact, that most cheapo speakers have PP or Metal tweeters and soft domes are usually found in the higher range. That said, I agree with your statement about "engineering is king", since I know how good even simple components can sound, when they are made with concept and reasoning and vice versa. But, from what I've experienced, "good sound" lies in the ears/brain of the listener. It is almost as subjectable as musical taste. Take ten persons and ten pairs of speakers and you will never have all agree on which sounds the best. Some people can sense the difference between a harsh/soft sound others don't. Add to the equation the variable of the amp used and the conclusion for finding the best sound is only one: listen for yourself to various mixes and matches of amps/speakers, without any preconceptions and outer influences, possibly blind folded. I myself was surprised, how I ended up preferring cheaper components (prize wise) over top of the line ones.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

This is all very true. We can all be easily fooled by brand names, retail prices, cosmetics, etc. These things play a real part in how we perceive everything. But listening biases and preferences are all very personal, as you say. What I think IS important is for everyone to listen to any respected, well-engineered and neutral speaker design when shopping to re-calibrate the ears. It is very easy to live with something for many years, and however good or flawed it may be, we get used to the sound and use that as our “reference”.

[@navy831ari]

Sir, you have a part British, part American accent😊

[@plcamp1]

Beyond anything else, reviewers want their opinions on sound to be treated as authoritative truth. As with tv shows, if their statements are less spectacular than a competing reviewer, they lose market share. So exaggerations grow, golden ears claims are profound, and bullshit reigns. You are best off simply ignoring all reviewers that fail to start by showing competent measurements. They don’t measure = they don’t have clue 1 what they are talking about.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

There is a lot of validity to subjective reviews to express “real world” experience with a product, but I agree that should be backed up by some form of properly executed measurements.

[@phillipallen5564]

metal sounds metalic and unatural unless u put extremly high quality thruough it doem soft is more universal with quality

[@richarddortch6122]

I have yet to hear a Corundum, Diamond or Ceramic tweeter that has ever sounded pleasant to me. Likewise I have only ever heard 1 horn based speaker that I could ever listen to for a prolonged period of time. I think some of this has to do with my own hearing deficiencies. It blows my mind that 30+thousand dollar speakers can have unpleasant sounding tweeters...... I know this is totally subjective, but maybe these opinions get passed along and create these preconceived notions that poison peoples' mind and create a bias.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

I’m not sure I understand it either. I think that many associate a boosted top end for openness and clarity…but it just becomes hard to listen to after a short time.

[@AlexMartinez-hr5gm]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters absolute agreed. I have miself several sonos speakers in my house AND i have yo turn down the trebble eq to minus 10 witch It Is. The lower setting. I have that sistem for streaming convenice But It Is important to say how "artificial" almost every speaker sound today. Companies tend to make the people think that super hig end response in 15k AND above Is signal of super hig quality speakers. It sad But each day wey live More in a world of stereotipes. AND lies. Is Just like culturist take a look to old ones AND they Just look natural. Today they got Bellygut AND same whit sound. Is hard to find a quality natural sounding speakers.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@AlexMartinez-hr5gm Yes, it’s a common problem. Many are so used to the tipped-up high frequencies that are common today that they find “neutral” loudspeakers dull sounding.

[@jonfoss3437]

Not a myth. Wait 20 yrs, youll throw away those hiss pots and put silk domes in every speaker you have

[@genaishivatov1737]

Soft tweeters are less likely to convey the metal of instruments, but many love them because - with prolonged listening and a volume higher than average, you get less tired of them, their sound is not so annoying.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

I’ve never really found that to be true, it’s all about design.

[@genaishivatov1737]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters sorry - but you have a very amateurish approach. According to your reasoning - if you take two silk tweeters: a chinese tweeter with Ali for 10$ and a Scan-Speak 9700 for 200$ - they can sound the same ???? )))))))))