Section 5 - Horn tweeters
Wednesday, 09-Jul-2008, 11:12:53 GMT
Last modified: 25-Mar-2007, 19:49:53 GMT

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Guidelines

Beyma
CTS/Motorola
JBL
MCM
Selenium
TAD-Pioneer
Visaton


Horn tweeters:

Once upon a time, high-efficiency speakers were mandatory. Then, transistor amplifiers came along and with them came smaller, less efficient speakers that could take advantage of the extreme power available from transistorized power amplifiers. Nowadays, vacuum tube (also called "valve") power amplifiers are once again in vogue with many audiophiles. Although these newer designs sometimes offer power comparable to many transistor power amplifiers, more often they do not. For this reason, and because of the emphasis placed on smaller, less intrusive speakers, higher efficiency drivers are once again of interest.

The best way to achieve high efficiency systems is to use horn-loaded drivers. Bass horns are almost always built from conventional drivers in an enclosure that horn loads the driver. Classic examples of this technique are to be found in the Klipschorn folded horn systems designed by Paul Klipsch.  Klipschorn   Klipsch La Scala  In the driver comparison sections, I color code the driver listings based on driver sensitivity. There you will find woofer suitable for horn loading as well as a handful of highly efficient woofers which can be used directly without horn loading.

High efficiency midrange drivers may also use horns, but midrange horns typically involve the use of an assembly of specific compression drivers with other specific horns. Midrange horns are therefore covered in Section 6.

This leaves tweeters… In this section, I summarize recommended horn tweeters. Also note that planar drivers available to the DIY'er are often among the most efficient available - these can be found in Section 4. The horns that will be discussed are only complete assemblies which don't require the DIY'er to mate a compression driver with a horn. Separate high-frequency compression drivers and suitable horns are covreed in Section 6.


Vendor guidelines - Beyma:

Beyma is a Spanish company which makes primarily pro sound drivers. Several of these have smooth enough response to recommend them for Hi-Fi applications:

  1. The CP21/F is a slot-loaded horn supertweeter using an aluminum diaphragm, and featuring a 140 x 40 degree dispersion pattern. Its FR and distortion curves are commendable above 3 kHz.  view   response/distortion 

  2. The CP25 is a biradial horn using an aluminum diaphragm, and featuring a 100 x 60 degree dispersion pattern. Usable from 2 kHz, its FR and distortion curves are both excellent.  view   response/distortion 

Beyma distributors & dealers:
North America: Beyma USA, US Speaker, and Image Communications
UK Performance Light and Sound
Germany BEYMA Vertriebs-GmbH
Denmark Dansk Audio Technik
Spain La Casa de los Altavoces
Russia Music Land


Vendor guidelines - CTS/Motorola:

CTS is the current manufacturer of a large line of piezoelectric horn-loaded tweeters orignially made and sold by Motorola. These are hard to use since they present an almost totally capacitive load to your amplifier (and crossover). The sound generally isn't the best, but they have been used in some quite decent designs once crossover issues were settled. And they are extremely cheap!

All units share some common specs: 4-27 kHz response, 94 dB/W/m sensitivity, and 50 W continuous power capacity. Motorla once produced several units of interest to the DIY-er, however the current product line only offers two drivers of interest:

  1. The KSN1005A has the look that most people associate with Motorola’s piezo tweeters. It's a short circular horn with 6 radial ribs along the sides of the horn.  view 

  2. The KSN1177A is a dual bullet tweeter with both elements driving though a single rectangular mouth. It offers narrow vertical and wide horizontal dispersion.  view 

Look here for CTS/Motorola piezo tweeter application notes, including crossover details.
CTS/Motorola distributors & dealers:
North America Martin Sound and Image Communications
Australia Jaycar and Delsound


Vendor guidelines - JBL:

JBL is one of the great names in American hi-fi, sound reinforcement, and autosound. It makes two horn tweeters suitable for home hi-fi use:
  1. The 2402H bullet supertweeter is useful from 3-15 kHz.  view   response 

  2. The 2404H features a bi-radial horn providing 100x100° coverage. It is useful from 3-20 kHz.  view   response & impedance 
JBL & distributors & dealers:
North America US Speaker and Parts Express


Vendor guidelines - MCM Electronics:

Like Madisound, MCM is best known as a distributor. Also like Madisound, MCM has its own house brand of speakers. MCM has one horn tweeter worthy of particular note for home hi-fi applications:
  • The #54-285 combination horn/driver. This unit features a titanium dome and aluminum modified biradial horn assembly. Of particular note is that this driver is rated to go down below 1 kHz. MCM runs frequent sales on these drivers, so check their sales and specials listing.  view 
MCM distributors & dealers:
International: Order directly from MCM


Vendor guidelines - Selenium:

Selenium is a Brazilian manufacturer of high-quality pro sound drivers. The following Selenium drivers have been recommended:

  1. The ST320 is a slot-loaded horn supertweeter using a titanium diaphragm, and featuring a 140 x 40 degree dispersion pattern. Its FR and distortion curves are commendable above 3 kHz.  view   response 

  2. The DH200HM is a long-throw biradial horn using a titanium diaphragm, and featuring a 60 x 40 degree dispersion pattern. Usable from 2 kHz, its FR and distortion curves are both excellent.  view   response 

Selenium distributors & dealers:
North America Martin Sound, Speaker City, and and Image Communications


Vendor guidelines - TAD-Pioneer:

TAD-Pioneer is Pioneer's commercial speaker division. Most pro sound vendors' products aren't cheap, and TAD's are among the most expensive, but they also have the reputation of being among the best. TAD hass one horn tweeter recommended for home hi-fi use:
  • The ET-703 slot-loaded horn supertweeter is unique in using a beryllium diaphragm. Beryllium has the highest stiffness to weight ratio of any metal. Unfortunately, it's dust or fumes are highly toxic, so fabricating products with it is quite an expensive process. The ET-703 must be crossed over no lower than 5 kHz, and so is suitable only for use as a supertweeter.  view 
Pioneer distributors & dealers:
North America Martin Sound, MCM, and Speaker City


Vendor guidelines - Visaton:

Visaton is a large German company with the reputation of having one of the best development labs in Europe. They sell several lines of drivers covering high-end, hi-fi, and pro (PA, stage, and sound reinforcement) drivers. They sell several horn drivers and systems suitable for demanding applications.
  1. DHT9 Hi-Fi supertweeter. Extremely flat response from 5 kHz out to 20 kHz.  view   response 

  2. HTH8.7 constant directivity horn. Extremely flat response from 2 kHz out to 10 kHz.  view   response 

  3. TL16H high-end horn. A supertweeter for use above 7 kHz.  view   response 

Visaton distributors & dealers:
North America Solen
Germany/Netherlands Speakerland/Speaker & Co.
Germany Open Air Loudspeaker and Hifisound




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