RBH - Ribbon Tweeters

S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
Power limitation and increased distortion with falling frequency compared to domes. In addition dispersion is different which is not truly a downside. However a dome has even lateral and vertical dispersion, while a ribbon has excellent lateral dispersion but vertical dispersion very limited. This is a plus minus situation, but integration with moving coil drivers can be an issue.

I just don't see the need for the complexity, especially having to use a transformer. The other issue is that performance of ribbons is known to undergo subtle degradation over time. This is because, especially with hard driving, the fragile aluminum ribbon can and often does stretch over time. So you have to keep an eye on them.
Hmm that is a downside that they may degrade over time. Like 10 years or are you saying less?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Hmm that is a downside that they may degrade over time. Like 10 years or are you saying less?
You can't really put a number on that. It depends on how the customer plays the speakers and the design implementation.

Low crossover point, low order electrical filters and how loud the customer plays them will determine this. The problem is stretch of the ribbon from the lower frequencies and volume has in impact on that. Certainly a ribbon is not a good choice for a high power loudspeaker.

Again this goes to making the implementation difficult, as acoustic roll off of the selected drivers is really the determining factor in the crossover point and to quite a large extent the electrical order of the crossover.

I would say that I try to use the acoustic roll off of the drivers as much as possible to minimize time shifts. However the acoustic roll off does not protect the ribbon, as the acoustic roll off occurs because of failing output as the frequency drops, but only mechanics limit excursion, which puts the ribbon on stretch.

All these factors tend to dissuade me, as longevity is always a primary goal in what I design.
 
I

ichigo

Full Audioholic
I think Dave at Ascend says the only dome he's ever heard that can keep up with a good ribbon tweeter like the RAAL 70-20 in the high frequencies is the Seas T29D001 diamond dome...and that's a $3.5k/ea dome tweeter.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I think Dave at Ascend says the only dome he's ever heard that can keep up with a good ribbon tweeter like the RAAL 70-20 in the high frequencies is the Seas T29D001 diamond dome...and that's a $3.5k/ea dome tweeter.
Can't keep up, huh?

Do the Domes run out of air or something. LOL. :D
 
E

Erod

Audioholic
Is there a problem with having AMT tweeters in the LCR channels with domes in the surrounds and atmos speakers?
 
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