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Aluminum vs. Silk Dome Tweets

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Old 07-14-2007, 06:09 PM
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Aluminum vs. Silk Dome Tweets

What are some of the pros/cons of the two in regards to SQ and durability in both hot and cold climates?

Thanks,
Jeff
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Old 07-14-2007, 08:11 PM
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I recommend the one that makes you happy, I am not sure the other differences matter
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Old 07-15-2007, 01:45 AM
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Assuming you dont abuse them, I dont think it will matter. Stay within rated power and frequency ranges and they should be equally durable.
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Old 07-15-2007, 03:35 PM
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whatever sounds best to you
but silk domes can collect dust and in the most extreme of cases this can alter the sound by lowering the fs chances of you noticing are slim tho
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Old 07-15-2007, 05:50 PM
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I find that aluminum or some other metallic dome tweeters somewhat on the harsh (bright maybe?) side for my ears. My last two component sets were silk dome since at that time i found the metal style not to my liking. When I recently needed new set of speakers I decided to try aluminum (Kicker KS6.2), and i find them too harsh. A better quality set would probably produce much better sound, but from what I've read (and heard), metal domes=bright, silk dome=smooth, so it really depends on what type of sound you prefer. (first post!! )
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Old 07-15-2007, 06:44 PM
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Basically with a silk or man made textile material dome it will need to be treated with a coating to develop stiffness. The material has a high degree of internal damping.

A good example of coating is the Hiquphon. All their tweeters are pretty much the same with different coatings.

Due to the high degree of internal damping, without the proper coating, the textile dome will not produce properly. You can have issues with timbre, attack, decay and duration being absent.

A metalic dome normally has issues with resonance due to its surround.
This is why you can get a Focal TN52 and have much better performance than a TN51 when they are basically the same driver with different surrounds.

The metal dome with poor surround design will have too long of a decay and/or duration resulting in a bright sound.

So some silks you have things missing, some metalics you have too much and what you need everything in the right amount.
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Old 07-15-2007, 07:22 PM
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should of made this a poll

Silk for me, Just thinking of titanium or aluminum gives me a headache
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Old 07-15-2007, 07:45 PM
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Originally Posted by 2deep2
Basically with a silk or man made textile material dome it will need to be treated with a coating to develop stiffness. The material has a high degree of internal damping.

A good example of coating is the Hiquphon. All their tweeters are pretty much the same with different coatings.

Due to the high degree of internal damping, without the proper coating, the textile dome will not produce properly. You can have issues with timbre, attack, decay and duration being absent.

A metalic dome normally has issues with resonance due to its surround.
This is why you can get a Focal TN52 and have much better performance than a TN51 when they are basically the same driver with different surrounds.

The metal dome with poor surround design will have too long of a decay and/or duration resulting in a bright sound.

So some silks you have things missing, some metalics you have too much and what you need everything in the right amount.
+1

I prefer silks.
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Old 07-16-2007, 02:42 AM
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Originally Posted by liv2ride
should of made this a poll

Silk for me, Just thinking of titanium or aluminum gives me a headache
old school (10+years)cantons pullman butyll rubber surround tweeters are a great example of headache free aluminum tweeters
just really big and square mounting plate make them very prohibitive to use
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Old 07-16-2007, 02:43 AM
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Originally Posted by 2deep2
Basically with a silk or man made textile material dome it will need to be treated with a coating to develop stiffness. The material has a high degree of internal damping.

A good example of coating is the Hiquphon. All their tweeters are pretty much the same with different coatings.

Due to the high degree of internal damping, without the proper coating, the textile dome will not produce properly. You can have issues with timbre, attack, decay and duration being absent.

A metalic dome normally has issues with resonance due to its surround.
This is why you can get a Focal TN52 and have much better performance than a TN51 when they are basically the same driver with different surrounds.

The metal dome with poor surround design will have too long of a decay and/or duration resulting in a bright sound.

So some silks you have things missing, some metalics you have too much and what you need everything in the right amount.
One of the most informative posts Ive read on this site yet
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