# Seas Lotus RT27F



## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

Got my grubby little hands on a set of these  and must first say that not too many things really impress me so much that I feel the desire to write a review but my plans for the weekend changed and these really impress me so I will write a review.  

*My credentials if you will: I'm an old fart that remembers LP's, recording engineers that actually knew what they were doing as well as cared about it and I'm a big fan of live music with real instruments and singers that can actually sing. I beleive I am very familiar with how instruments sound as I attend any live music performance I can such as my neighbors band practicing, the local Mariachi bands at my favorite Mexican restaraunt, the high school band playing at the mall during the holiday season, Blues in the Park during the summer here, Monterey Blues Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, "old school" concerts at the fairgrounds (most recent being Tower of Power ), Battle of the Bands, local Jazz clubs etc etc etc. My home system uses a 30 year old (yes, thirty  ) pair of Infinity towers that have ribbon tweeters and a paper cone mid that others have said rival some more current high end speakers they have heard.*_

*disclaimer: the following is based on MY first hand experience (not something I read or that someone told me) as well as my personal opinion. As usual, I cannot hear what you can hear and you cannot hear what I can hear so your results may vary!*_

I actually got these tweeters kind of by accident (I was expecting a DIY set to try out) and had never heard of them so I had NO pre-conceived notions about how they "should" sound. I have them paired in a 2-way set with Scan Speak 15W/4531G Revelators (both in kicks). They are powered actively and I'm NOT using any EQ at this time. After a bit of experimenting/level matching I have them hi-passed at 3.15k with a 6db slope and the mid is underlapped at 2.5k with a 6db slope. Everything seems to blend very well but I'll be doing some more experimenting when I have time. 

I like music kind of "in your face" with naturalness that includes details bordering on harsh to some if thats what that instrument _is supposed to sound like_. 
All I can say is WOW!  I have used/listened to a lot of tweeters mentioned on this site (as well as many other "main stream" tweeters) at my BBQ's etc and can honestly say that not too many have made the hair on my neck stand up like this! (the Genesis cars at the BBQ were the most recent to cause this ). My music collection is comprised of everything from blues to jazz to R&B to old school rock, Funk and even a little bit of Disco  (not to keen on most metal, pop, rap or techno so I don't have much of that). I played a little of all types of music with the time I had. The natural smooth "airyness" and detail of this tweeter had me sitting in the car with a big sh!t-eating grin on my face the whole time! As usual I try to find something "difficult to reproduce accurately" and can say these handled everything I had very nicely. I don't claim to full understand about the technical end of things graphs etc show (and I NEVER look at them until after I listen to something) however the dispersion pattern of these seem quite different than my Scan Speak 2904/6000's. I don't think it's my "imagination" but the imaging seems more detailed/focused than it was, stage depth/height improved slightly and there's a "shine" up top that I havn't heard with many others.  All in all I have to say these are way up there on my list of "I really like these" products. They are rather pricey you say and do I think they are worth it? Well that's a judgement call on your part but if you get a chance to hear these I'm sure they will put a smile on most peoples faces .


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## zfactor (Oct 19, 2005)

which ones are these?? large format?? i dont remember which these are.. thanks.. btw are you the one who's going to try out the premier prs comp set?? i CANT WAIT to hear how they sound...


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## Beau (Oct 8, 2005)

Mr Marv said:


> Got my grubby little hands on a set of these  and must first say that not too many things really impress me so much that I feel the desire to write a review but my plans for the weekend changed and these really impress me so I will write a review.
> 
> *My credentials if you will: I'm an old fart that remembers LP's, recording engineers that actually knew what they were doing as well as cared about it and I'm a big fan of live music with real instruments and singers that can actually sing. I beleive I am very familiar with how instruments sound as I attend any live music performance I can such as my neighbors band practicing, the local Mariachi bands at my favorite Mexican restaraunt, the high school band playing at the mall during the holiday season, Blues in the Park during the summer here, Monterey Blues Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, "old school" concerts at the fairgrounds (most recent being Tower of Power ), Battle of the Bands, local Jazz clubs etc etc etc. My home system uses a 30 year old (yes, thirty  ) pair of Infinity towers that have ribbon tweeters and a paper cone mid that others have said rival some more current high end speakers they have heard.*_
> 
> ...


PM sent (unrelated to this post)


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## jay (Sep 12, 2005)

zfactor, they are the new seas reference tweets. marv, good review...i had similar impressions after listening to them


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

jay said:


> zfactor, they are the new seas reference tweets. marv, good review...i had similar impressions after listening to them


they did sound pretty good in leon's car .


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## cam2Xrunner (Apr 30, 2005)

Nice review! 

http://www.mobilesq.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=161


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

If I buy these now Marv, It's all your fault you know!!!


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

zfactor said:


> which ones are these?? large format?? i dont remember which these are.. thanks.. btw are you the one who's going to try out the premier prs comp set?? i CANT WAIT to hear how they sound...


I'll post a review of the PRS comps as soon as I get a chance to install them 



B-Squad said:


> If I buy these now Marv, It's all your fault you know!!!


I'll take the blame unless you don't like them!  (which I seriously doubt )


Beau-I replied to your PM


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## dual700 (Mar 6, 2005)

Mr. Marvin,

[shameless plug]
I am wondering if you could post your review for us?
http://www.mobilesq.com/store/produ...=161&&osCsid=435055aba245869a7c1651c85c0170f4[/shameless plug]

Thank you sir..
Everything is well with the family, I hope


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

dual700 said:


> Mr. Marvin,
> 
> [shameless plug]
> I am wondering if you could post your review for us?
> ...


Will do buddy! Everyone is well and hope they are all well down your way! I'll be giving you a call next week.


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## mvw2 (Oct 2, 2005)

Neat. 

A lot of tweeters(all?) will surpass the Scan 6000 on the top end. A good bit of detail and shine is lost with the 6000s simply from their early roll-off. Unless you can make good use of its 1kHz low end, they almost sacrifice too much up top. 

I came across a pair of the Reference tweeters, the RT25, not too long ago for a decent enough price. I thought about grabbing it, but I kind of wanted the 27mm version instead. I'm curous how much the RT25 and RT27 vary from each other. Ah so many curious tweeters, so little money.


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## newtitan (Mar 7, 2005)

nice review, interesting so it appears they (lotus) have improved this version over the ones from last year

guess I need to hear these two, along with the piccolo's


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## Rbsarve (Aug 26, 2005)

I must say I agree with your findings, the 27 is a gem. Was actually expecting is to be harsher, but it just isn´t. And still there is oodles of details. Really nice.

The only reason for me not using it is that I´ve grown addicted to the shine of ribbons...


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## low (Jun 2, 2005)

these tweeters really do open up on the top end...very purrrrrrdy. id recommend these tweeters in a heartbeat.


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

Well after several days of listening I still have the  on my face. It is definately clear that the imaging/stage has improved and I am hearing new details especially in my old school recordings


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## hc_TK (Jan 18, 2006)

Mr Marv said:


> Well after several days of listening I still have the  on my face. It is definately clear that the imaging/stage has improved and I am hearing new details especially in my old school recordings


I am very satisfied with my seas performance, but i think they are a bit too detailed, and bad recordings do fast sound sharp and harsh. When i play guitars, piano, general everything with realy good recording, sound great. But hiphop, dance and recordings that arent very good, often sound harsh when i turn up the volume a bit. This might also be because of some peaks in the 1000hz - 3000hz areas from the seas..


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## cotdt (Oct 3, 2005)

this tweeter looks exactly like the Seas H1396 (27TFFNC/G) Neo tweeter, except this one uses Sonotex and has a rear cup. I wonder how they would compare sonically against one another.


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## rcurley55 (Jul 6, 2005)

I've heard both tweeters in the last few - completely different animals. Let me just say that the new lotus set is very intriguing


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

Well, for those waiting on the review of the PRS components it may be a while.  I am really enjoying these Reference tweeters and I don't think they will come out any time soon even for a short while to try something else.


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## Unbreathable (Nov 13, 2006)

I just got these things installed in my car today. 75watts off a audison vrx- omg these things are so clear and smooth sounding, so much better than my alpine type x tweeters. I have them crossed at 3.15k with an 18db slope and they are amazing.


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## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

anywhere to get them for less than 250 each?


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## |Tch0rT| (May 7, 2005)

legend94 said:


> anywhere to get them for less than 250 each?


These are $250 each? **** I thought they were $250 a pair...

Ryan


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## dual700 (Mar 6, 2005)

Contact one of our dealers... $250 is MSRP


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## crxsir121 (Oct 18, 2006)

|Tch0rT| said:


> These are $250 each? **** I thought they were $250 a pair...
> 
> Ryan


Nevermind...


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## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

crxsir121 said:


> I was quoted $280/shipped for the pair from mobilesq.com


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## zfactor (Oct 19, 2005)

nevermind wrong post


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## Daishi (Apr 18, 2006)

Has anyone tried crossing these guys over at a lower point? I have mine at 2.5khz with an 18 db slop and they seem to be doing quite well.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Totally agree with you so far Marv. They do have more "air" than the previous year model. They also seem more effortless and sweeter on the top end. I haven't really cranked them yet with really dynamic music, so that will be the ultimate test for me.

Too bad Seas still hasn't figured out how to design them right yet. They use the exact same grill/flange as the Seas Neo's from what I can tell. Oh well I'll just have to get the hot glue gun out again I guess.


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## storm (Jul 21, 2006)

erm... how do the RT27F compares to the Lotus Reference silk domes? worth upgrading to the RT27F?


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## chadillac3 (Feb 3, 2006)

RT27F are the new Lotus Reference silk domes...


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

storm said:


> erm... how do the RT27F compares to the Lotus Reference silk domes? worth upgrading to the RT27F?


2 more mm worth of dome, you can imagine some improved off axis.


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## storm (Jul 21, 2006)

mine's presently firing on axis so improvement in off-axis response don't really motivate me much to upgrade haha...

in terms of resolution and 'air', are we talking about better performance? contemplating an upgrade after reading the rave reviews


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## Pierce (Jul 20, 2006)

How does the RT27F fare in comparison with the Morel Supremo's or even the Piccolos?


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## MinTze (Sep 27, 2005)

Pierce said:


> How does the RT27F fare in comparison with the Morel Supremo's or even the Piccolos?


 not sure abt piccolo,but if compare to supremo,seas had richer,smoother sound but less airy and "light".


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## mk1982 (Jul 3, 2005)

im getting some used RT25A tweeters delivered in a few days. are they much different to the RT25F ?


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

mk1982 said:


> im getting some used RT25A tweeters delivered in a few days. are they much different to the RT25F ?


I did A/B them for a short while. The main differences I noticed was the smoothness and effortlessness of the 27f over the 25f. I think because of the shape of the lip on the new ones, they are also louder off axis. However the 27f's have a 92dB efficiency vs 89.5 on the 25f's so that at least partially explains that. 

I would also say that the 27f's hold their composure better when they are pushed very hard. And I always felt the 25f's were the best high volume tweeters I'd ever used personally.

***EDIT*** Nevermind....I just noticed you were asking about the aluminum dome and not the new fabric dome that replaced the 25f's. You do realize the tweeters in this review are the RT27F's, right??


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

mk1982 said:


> im getting some used RT25A tweeters delivered in a few days. are they much different to the RT25F ?


i briefly listened to the rt25f (only briefly like 15 min) and owned the rt25a. the major difference i recall is that the rt25a is much more detailed (duh, its alum). to me the rt25f was a little too laid back for my tastes. could have been the install i listened them too in which it was dash firing up, towards the cabin. both top ends is lacking though.


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## Locke (May 29, 2007)

dual700 said:


> Contact one of our dealers... $250 is MSRP


 none are in a thousand miles of me


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## truejoker (Apr 1, 2007)

there is RT27F mag? and if how they does the RT27F fare in comparison with the the silk ?


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

truejoker said:


> there is RT27F mag? and if how they does the RT27F fare in comparison with the the silk ?


RT = Reference Tweeter
27 = Depth in mm
F = Dome material (Fabric)

This tweeter uses a fabric diaphragm called Sonotex that Seas developed. You'd have to go back to the previous model year to find a metal dome, which is the RT25A.

http://www.seas.no/New Lotus start.htm


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## evangelos K (Aug 27, 2005)

mk1982 said:


> im getting some used RT25A tweeters delivered in a few days. are they much different to the RT25F ?


I don't really know how different they are, but I do know you will love them  I love mine.


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