# Tweeter Auditions



## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Ok, I'm going to review these in the order that 'Dang listed on the original free audition thread. The BG Neo3s weren't included in the circulating package, but I have them in my car anyways 

It was a daunting task to review 7 tweeters in an effective, timely fashion. Possessing merely and average ear, utilizing amateur listening techniques, I found it was much easier to distinguish between tweeter characteristics when I owned the tweeter for several weeks (or months!). Therefore, these are simply initial impressions, with less then a half-hour of listening time devoted to each tweeter, so take them with a grain of salt.

Overall, it'll be interesting to compare my initial impressions with the other testers on the list.

Anyways, here we go:

1. Vifa xt25neo
The Vifa xt25 was baby's-ass smooth. It'd be awfully hard to find a way to make this tweet sound harsh. It brings a delightful warm, full sound, that works great on or off axis. Handles low-mid excellently - better then any other tweeter here, hands down. However, inherent to it's tameness is a lack of detail. This is the tweeter I'd pick for the home bookshelves.


2. LPG 26na
The LPG really surprised me, as I had generally no bias or opinion on them going into testing. If I had a 3way, I'd run these in a heart-beat. They are crystal clear, exhibiting distortion free highs that are very clean and accurate. I absolutely loved the impact, detail and top end sparkle. Top-end electric guitar and violin harmonics sounded more accurate and lifelike then any other tweeter tested. I can't say enough about this tweeter. The only downfall was, when pushed too low things will become silibant quick, and on certain tracks their is a noticeable mettallic colouring.


3. DIYMA ref. 1"
What can I say about the DIYMA tweet... Sorry 'dang, wasn't a fan of this one =/. On axis I felt it was extremely aggressive in the mid-range and spitty, and preffered it 30 deg out. Vocals were great with no distortion and very smooth, but 1-2kHz was overpowering! Test tones in this area damn near made me deaf. There also seemed to be a lack of top end, or maybe that was just because of the aggressive-mid... Overall it was a very dark and shut-in sounding tweeter, that only had above-average performance in the midrange IMO.


4. BG neo3 low impedance
For whatever reason, signal noise seems to be much more noticeable with these then anything else. Don't know why, but it's slightly irritating. Other then that, it's nothing but good for these "tweeters". Tons of air - very spacious sounding when setup properly on-axis. Detail and crispness is impressive and damn near perfect for my tastes. Absolutely love the sound of these things, however, the only drawback is that the transparent sound sounds almost contrived and unnatural - I remember my RS28A's exhibiting the same crisp, transparent sound, but in a more believable manner. Likewise, the LPG's exhibit similar crispness, but seem much more lifelike.


5. New Seas 27 neo
Flat out didn't like this tweeter. It sounded very harsh to me, with noticeable distortion, fumbling detail, and a narrow soundstage. Blech. My 27TDFC's stomp this thing in every regard.


6. Vifa d26nc
Vifa knows how to make mellow tweeters, lol. This thing was somehow even more smooth and tamer then the XT25. You could blast metal on this thing and fall asleep. Surprisingly, for such a smooth sound, I found it actually had great detail - much better then the XT - it's just there was no impact at all to go with this detail and you'd have to concentrate on it or it'd get lost. Also, had a fairly steep roll-off when it came to reproducing mids. Curious little tweeter - appreciate the detail and clarity, just needs much more dynamics.


7. Dayton nd20
Very surprising. At first I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This little tweeter was keeping up with the others tested. It took a lot of volume to bring out the weaknesses, but they proved to definately be present. First of all, this thing does not play lows at all - which is too be expected. Also, distortion popped up way faster then the other tweeters, and turned it into a big shrill, muddy mess. Overall though, for $5 the performance was inspiring - I wouldn't hesistate to run these in some sort of mini bookshelf that doesn't get pushed much.

Overall, the clear winners to me are the Neo3s, XT25's, and LPGs. All are a completely different brew: The XT25 is like a smooth, creamy stout, the LPGs are a crisp and zingy IPA, while the Neo3s are like a dobblebock, a flavor unique in it's own right, but stil quite successful. For my personal tastes, the XT25's would be KILLER in the home, and the LPGs are the best tweeter I've heard for the car to date. Because of the RS225's, I'm forced to run the Neo3s to bridge the gap (lower xover), but theyre right their with the LPGs anyways.

The rest of the tweeters, throw out.



-aaron


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

Sweet! Nice review. Btw that's not really the DIYMA tweeter, so don't feel bad. I didn't like the silk dome either, although to me it sounded spitty and too much top end rather than dark. I regret I couldn't send out the alum dome... it's a completely different animal but Jun would kill me 

Surprised you didn't like the Seas neo, Imho it was the best of the bunch. Great to have a differing opinion though.


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## ocuriel (Oct 7, 2005)

Very impressive review. I have the 26na. That's the only tweeter on that list that I've listened to before. Very nice sounding as long as it's not overpowered or crossed too low.


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## Diru (May 23, 2006)

Ahh ha, some input on the ND20s. My evil plan is coming together and that is what I needed to know about those.


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## mtnickel (Mar 15, 2005)

I've heard the ND20's, seas 27tffc's (home audio), New seas neos (alum), and the LPG 26NAs...when turning up the volume on the 26NA's they just became too much to handle...harsh and sibilant. I could somewhat tame them with eq, but it was difficult to take the sibilance away without taking the detail away (8k notch).

Upon switching to the New seas neo alum, i could crank it right out of the box with no eq without any harshness. surprized you felt it was harsh really. doesn't have the top end "sparkle" (which turns to harshness for me) of the LPG, but i find with 1-2 up at 12k on my alpine, it exhibits plenty of detail.

the only harshness i found on my new seas neo was at around 3khz...i had to notch it a tad, but not much at all..I run it at 2k 24db/oct.

I was pleased with the switch and liked the smoother top end of the seas. And it crossed lower without too much distortion to mate with my RS180.

Take it as you want, i liked the Seas better.


As for the Dayton ND20...quite a good little tweeter...crossed over at 3.2k with my ca18's i didn't notice too much of a difference between it and the LPG 26na.

I may not be the most picky reviewer or have a great ear for distortion or true "sparkle", but i do what i can. 

Mark


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## luvdeftonz (Aug 17, 2005)

What testing methods did you use? Music? Tones? Both? Installed in your vehicle or baffled in your home (or just run with them sitting "free air" with no accompanying mid)? Did you see how low you could hp them before they took a dump, or did you just run them unfiltered while testing?

Otherwise, nice review, Aaron.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

I listened to all of them in the home and tried a few in the car. In the car they did 2.5Khz HP on 24db off the HU. In the home they were given no xover, but the bass knob was max low and the EQ was down over 10db's until around 1kHz where I ramped it back up to flat.

The LPG, unfortunately, I did not listen to in the car, which may be why I was so pleased with it. Most everyone loves the RS28A, but I found them to be unbearably silibant in my car on cymbals partially related to dash/windshield reflections. At home, on my desk, I just flat-out loved the LPGs. They just sound very accurate to me. Maybe it'd be a different story in the car *shrug*

I tried the Seas out again briefly tonight to give it another chance. I stil felt it came off bright and didn't stand out good nor bad in any areas. I wish I brought out to school my TDFC's sitting in a box at home =/

It sucks my buddy I know at school, who's auditioned many crazy high-end setups and runs Ti Elites in his car didn't respond to my IM's all weekend to get a 2nd set of ears involved, but that's why these tweets are getting sent on tomorrow 

-aaron


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## illnastyimpreza (Oct 25, 2006)

what would the best tweeter be to run with the RS180 ? (being crossed over by my DCX-730) .....24db at any frequency....


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

illnastyimpreza said:


> what would the best tweeter be to run with the RS180 ? (being crossed over by my DCX-730) .....24db at any frequency....


I ran the following with my RS225's:

-HiVi TN28
-Seas 27TDFC
-Dayton RS28A
-BG Neo3

Neo3 was the best IMO - but good luck with install...

-aaron


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## kskywr (Oct 2, 2006)

I'm glad I ran into this thread again as it was very helpful. I've been looking for some image enhancing tweets to raise my stage and the Vifa d26's seem like a good chioice for that. I'm hoping that with their smooth sound they will just dissappear as they will be mounted much closer than my main tweets. Thanks for the review!


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## jnorman5 (Apr 7, 2013)

Excellent review! I am in the market for tweets and this is helpful.


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## imickey503 (Dec 16, 2015)

The LPG (or what I call them the DIamond Audio Tweeter) is one of my favorites. They just sound so good. Even with a simple crossover. I found a set at a Junkyard. Yea, the woofer is shot. Crap in coil land. But the tweeter. Just rip those out of there, and use them with other projects. 

I would not use them crossed over low at all. These make music come alive on even mundane woofers. 

If there was any tweeter I wanted to use to make a factory system sound amazing that needed some help on the upper range? This is what I would pick. 

A perfect use for them is to replace the cheap tweeter that comes with many aftermarket speakers that have a crappy or blown out or dried ferrofluid tweeter. 

Way over budget here, but if you do happen to have a Stock Infinity acoustic 10 system, and you want to bring your system alive with the Poly cone woofers and the small Poly cell tweeter? THIS tweeter will make you happy and is what the Infinity engineers actually called for after replacing the EMIT tweeter on the dash units. Placing other drivers in the factory dash location can be a real problem. This is almost a turnkey solution. Its not budget friendly, but if you happen to get a pair cheap? Its the way to go and blends like Wine and cheese. 

For comparison, they don't have that Super open sound like a larger 1 1/8th inch dome tweeters like the Dynadio 102's. They are more made to give you that sparkle in the top end. 

If there was ever a tweeter that really loves the Warm Tube amp sound, and you want to get back some of that solid state like well controlled qualities? This is what I would use. Used at a high crossover point? You don't get that typical break up that sounds like an overloaded microphone. 

Those that use Dome Midranges will really like this tweeter. It brings in that missing air you want in the high end. And the smoothness and relaxed sound you like from a dome midrange. It pairs quite well with OEM philips tweeters in some oem cars that seem to be missing the high end. 

The most important factor of this tweeter is that you don't hear it distort. At least I could not. Piano comes out clear if a bit small. It really works best if you find a way to horn load it so that it is able to go a bit lower in output. But it messes up the presentation of the higher notes. 

IMO, this tweeter is great for Off axis, and shooting a bit of from your ears in a car. 

In my experience, this may be on of the tweeters you don't need to use the treble knob. Or ask for a 16khz Eq. I also would not push much at all to them if crossing them over low. They really are made to be used 6Khz and up off axis. I do not recommend them shooting right at you.

There is one area I would NOT use this tweeter. That would by EDM music that the DJ never cleans his needles or records. OR if you have playback gear that has Any high frequency noise. More so with people who eat microphones and that "shhhhhpu" sound will be very clear, but not wonderful to listen to. 

Wide band music that seems dead? Perfect. It will bring it alive. FM radio lover? Nope. 
Compressed music with artifacts become very noticable. And music that has a very harsh and not musical forte' to it will become unbearable to listen to. 

I can only hear to about 14,000 Hz before my ears roll off These tweeters seem to not care what you hear and will make you hear those higher notes louder and make them audible. Weird but true.


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