AMT vs Dome Tweeters

[nickwin]

We seem to be witnessing a trend where AMT tweeters seem to be overtaking traditional domes as the go-to consumer speaker high frequency driver. In my limited experience with AMTs (Emotiva Airmotiv 4s and Legacy Studio HTs) they sound very good, but not necessarily better.

I have heard that AMTs are much easier to implement and they are certainly "trendy" right now with consumers. This makes we wonder, are they really better or is this mostly a cost cutting/marketing decision? What are the pro's and con's in terms of performance?

 

[slipperybidness]

We seem to be witnessing a trend where AMT tweeters seem to be overtaking traditional domes as the go-to consumer speaker high frequency driver. In my limited experience with AMTs (Emotiva Airmotiv 4s and Legacy Studio HTs) they sound very good, but not necessarily better.

I have heard that AMTs are much easier to implement and they are certainly "trendy" right now with consumers. This makes we wonder, are they really better or is this mostly a cost cutting/marketing decision? What are the pro's and con's in terms of performance?

I believe the original patent for the Heil Transducer has expired in the not-too-distant past too. That is likely another contributor to this trend.

I have AMTs in my GE T2, and they are nice and smooth and detailed to my ears!

 

[Dennis Murphy]

We seem to be witnessing a trend where AMT tweeters seem to be overtaking traditional domes as the go-to consumer speaker high frequency driver. In my limited experience with AMTs (Emotiva Airmotiv 4s and Legacy Studio HTs) they sound very good, but not necessarily better.

I have heard that AMTs are much easier to implement and they are certainly "trendy" right now with consumers. This makes we wonder, are they really better or is this mostly a cost cutting/marketing decision? What are the pro's and con's in terms of performance?

AMT's are a very mixed bag. Most of the relatively inexpensive ones I've tried have measured poorly, with periodic dips and peaks that made for a harsh sound. Aurum Cantus makes an excellent unit that I've been experimenting with. At their best, AMT's can sound very much like ribbons. However, due to the greater width of the element in relation to most ribbons, the horizontal dispersion is not as good, and the vertical dispersion isn't any better than most ribbons. I haven't found them easier to implement than a dome. The increasing popularity is probably due to their low cost (when ordered in quantity directly from the manufacturer), and the marketing novelty.

 

[TLS Guy]

I still firmly believe a soft dome tweeter offers the best value for money, and generally have the best dispersion patterns.

People try and promote alternatives as superior and they seldom are.

 

[Verdinut]

AMT's are a very mixed bag. Most of the relatively inexpensive ones I've tried have measured poorly, with periodic dips and peaks that made for a harsh sound. Aurum Cantus makes an excellent unit that I've been experimenting with. At their best, AMT's can sound very much like ribbons. However, due to the greater width of the element in relation to most ribbons, the horizontal dispersion is not as good, and the vertical dispersion isn't any better than most ribbons. I haven't found them easier to implement than a dome. The increasing popularity is probably due to their low cost (when ordered in quantity directly from the manufacturer), and the marketing novelty.

Hi Dennis,
I have been using an Airborne AMT Model RT-4001 in all my HT speakers and I am really amazed with its performance and its wide horizontal dispersion which provides a full front stereo sound stage. Several audiophiles have been impressed as well including a retired friend who worked for many years in the retail hi-fi business.

This product has a very smooth frequency response and shows a flat impedance curve at just over 3 ohms. It can be used with a third order filter as low as 2000 Hz. It's available from Solen and Meniscus at a very affordable price. It is worth experimenting with it.

I have no interest in that company but I like to share the good information. Should you try it in the future, I would appreciate your feedback.
Cheers,

 

[shadyJ]

AMT's are a very mixed bag. Most of the relatively inexpensive ones I've tried have measured poorly, with periodic dips and peaks that made for a harsh sound. Aurum Cantus makes an excellent unit that I've been experimenting with. At their best, AMT's can sound very much like ribbons. However, due to the greater width of the element in relation to most ribbons, the horizontal dispersion is not as good, and the vertical dispersion isn't any better than most ribbons. I haven't found them easier to implement than a dome. The increasing popularity is probably due to their low cost (when ordered in quantity directly from the manufacturer), and the marketing novelty.

RBH has felt good enough about the AMT's from Aurum Cantus that they have started putting them in their higher-end speakers. If we are lucky, we may see a review of such a model...

 

[Dennis Murphy]

RBH has felt good enough about the AMT's from Aurum Cantus that they have started putting them in their higher-end speakers. If we are lucky, we may see a review of such a model...

Right--that's the unit I've been experimenting with. It doesn't have any of the periodic bumps and grinds of the other units I've tried.

 

[slipperybidness]

Right--that's the unit I've been experimenting with. It doesn't have any of the periodic bumps and grinds of the other units I've tried.

Just curious, you ever done any work or measurements on the Goldenear Tweets?

They sound pretty smooth to my ears, in my room. I would not be surprised if they have some faults, but I'm not necessarily hearing any.

I bought these at the beginning of my audio journey. Today, I likely would have gone a different direction, but I am not disappointed by the GE T2 by any means either. They are definitely keepers for me.

 

[everettT]

I miss BG products, they where really affordable for their performance .

 

[nickwin]

I believe the original patent for the Heil Transducer has expired in the not-too-distant past too. That is likely another contributor to this trend.

I have AMTs in my GE T2, and they are nice and smooth and detailed to my ears!

Interesting, I didn't know this but it explains a lot!

 

[nickwin]

RBH has felt good enough about the AMT's from Aurum Cantus that they have started putting them in their higher-end speakers. If we are lucky, we may see a review of such a model...

Im actually really curious about these new SV/R speakers from RBH, thats part of what lead my to post this!

One thing I know though is that not all business decisions are product performance driven. In fact its probably safe to say most aren't... The Scanspeak tweeters they used before where no slouches. I to would like to see some objective reviews/measurements of these.

 

[nickwin]

I miss BG products, they where really affordable for their performance .

I actually have some BG Radia X3s in my man cave. Kind of the poor mans BGs but they still sound very good. Amazing for what I paid for them... I believe the X3s use planer tweeters but some of there higher end models used true ribbons?

 

[OscarJr]

I just auditioned AMT's in a set of Legacy Calibre's last week (along with other Legacy speakers), and I do like their sound. My other speakers (B&W, Focal) use metal domes, so the AMT's do have that certain "different" sound that one kinda has to get accustomed to. I wouldn't know how to describe the difference really, and even if I could, words are gibberish since there is so much subjectivity with using creative language to impart qualities to a sound.

As nice as those AMT's sound (which look almost identical to Airborne RT-5002's), I can only imagine (or not) what a superior set of Raven or Raal ribbons can do.

 

[nickwin]

I just auditioned AMT's in a set of Legacy Calibre's last week (along with other Legacy speakers), and I do like their sound. My other speakers (B&W, Focal) use metal domes, so the AMT's do have that certain "different" sound that one kinda has to get accustomed to. I wouldn't know how to describe the difference really, and even if I could, words are gibberish since there is so much subjectivity with using creative language to impart qualities to a sound.

As nice as those AMT's sound (which look almost identical to Airborne RT-5002's), I can only imagine (or not) what a superior set of Raven or Raal ribbons can do.

Nice pic! How did you like the Calibre's? Did you think the tweeter + "super tweeter" on the Aeris made for a significantly better sounder top end vs the single AMT on the Calibre's?

+1 on the ribbons. Ive listening to just about every tweeter type besides ribbons. Definitely on my short list.

 

[OscarJr]

Nice pic! How did you like the Calibre's? Did you think the tweeter + "super tweeter" on the Aeris made for a significantly better sounder top end vs the single AMT on the Calibre's?

+1 on the ribbons. Ive listening to just about every tweeter type besides ribbons. Definitely on my short list.

I only listened to the Aeris for a little bit, because I was getting depressed that I won't hear that kind of clean, clear sound anytime soon again, LOL. But they did sound spectacular with that wavelet processor.

As for the Calibre's, I'm just waiting on my quote to be emailed for a set in Black Pearl. Rest assured, I will have to eat bologna sandwiches and ramen cup noodles for a couple of months to recover from this gift to myself, lol. These will likely go in my office at work, where I end up working 12-14 hrs a day. Might as well enjoy it.

My "current setup" (which is actually now in my 2nd office) consists of Focal Aria bookshelfs + Infinity 8" powered subwoofer running off a Behringer vacuum tube pre-amp -> dbx crossover -> Peavey CS800X. Sounds killer as-is.

 

[nickwin]

I only listened to the Aeris for a little bit, because I was getting depressed that I won't hear that kind of clean, clear sound anytime soon again, LOL. But they did sound spectacular with that wavelet processor.

As for the Calibre's, I'm just waiting on my quote to be emailed for a set in Black Pearl. Rest assured, I will have to eat bologna sandwiches and ramen cup noodles for a couple of months to recover from this gift to myself, lol. These will likely go in my office at work, where I end up working 12-14 hrs a day. Might as well enjoy it.

My "current setup" (which is actually now in my 2nd office) consists of Focal Aria bookshelfs + Infinity 8" powered subwoofer running off a Behringer vacuum tube pre-amp -> dbx crossover -> Peavey CS800X. Sounds killer as-is.

Wow, that'll make for one heck of a desk setup! A buddy of mine has the Studio HDs, I haven't spent a ton of time with them but they definitely sound really good.

I'm really curious about the pro's and con's of a small AMT (1x1"), large AMT (3-4") and both like the Aeris. Did you notice a difference in the treble between the Aeris and Calibre?

This leads me to another question, can anyone comment on the output capabilities of AMT compared to domes? Is a 1" AMT generally = to a 1" dome in terms of output?

 

[OscarJr]

Well the AMT on the Calibre's is flat out to 30kHz or so, so I dont know how much more extension would even be audible/perceptible. I couldn't hear any more top-end, but that doesn't mean that they are not capable of it. It could very well be that the Calibre's were already reproducing everything on my music that I was listening to. Alas, I didn't want to spend too much time with the Aeris with the intention of getting as much acquainted as I could with the Calibre's. I would certainly entertain the idea that the point of dual AMT's on the Aeris would be for more dynamic capability vs just one.

Soon I'll have both AMT's and domes to compare side-by-side. My guess is the AMT's will be more efficient overall. I'll post up my findings.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I vote for 3) All of the above.

A great speaker is a great speaker.

At the end of the day when you are listening to music or watching a movie or TV show, great sound is great sound.

It doesn't matter if it's dome, ribbon, AMT, Al, Mg, Ti, Be, Diamond, direct-radiating, bipolar, passive or active design.

If you have a large room, it is also important to have great output/dynamics and sensitivity.

 

[Hetfield]

I vote for 3) All of the above.

A great speaker is a great speaker.

At the end of the day when you are listening to music or watching a movie or TV show, great sound is great sound.

It doesn't matter if it's dome, ribbon, AMT, Al, Mg, Ti, Be, Diamond, direct-radiating, bipolar, passive or active design.

If you have a large room, it is also important to have great output/dynamics and sensitivity.

Now that I could not agree with more. There's too much concentration in this over that in this hobby. Good is good and that's it. What might sound great to me, not to you and vice versa. It's a crazy hobby we chose to be in. Have fun with it.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[nickwin]

I vote for 3) All of the above.

A great speaker is a great speaker.

At the end of the day when you are listening to music or watching a movie or TV show, great sound is great sound.

It doesn't matter if it's dome, ribbon, AMT, Al, Mg, Ti, Be, Diamond, direct-radiating, bipolar, passive or active design.

If you have a large room, it is also important to have great output/dynamics and sensitivity.

Good point, I actually intended to have a third option in the pole, "depends on implementation" but I forgot and the site won't let me edit the pole.

Of course it depends to some degree, I'm sure there are good and bad examples of both types but what I was wondering is, from a technical standpoint, is one type was technically superior to the other? If not, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each type (again, from a technical standpoint)?

With extension to 30khz and beyond extension has to be one of the strenghts of AMTs.

It sounds like dispersion (evenness and width) is still a strength of domes?