Diamond Tweeters

Hi folks, are those so-called "diamond tweeters" really that marvellous?

 

I know very well the ones from bowers & wilkins. They are very sweet, clear, crisp sounding, but they can sound harsh with a bright amplifier.

 

if talking bout the 802d's then, i have different opinon.

by "crisp" and "clear" they are really bright,resonant and strident in my opinion. cant blame the amp either since they were on totl 600w mcintosh mono blocks which uses autoformers to mimic tube like warm sound...i think if the 802's was on more accurate system i probably have permenent hearing damage by now. i like the older b&w's without the diamond tweeters.

 

Actually, the Marten diamond tweeter doesn't really sound like anything at all. If there is hardness in ANYTHING in the chain, you will hear that. It can sound like a metal dome tweeter or a soft silk dome tweeter. It just lets it all through with pretty much zero personality at all...works like a chameleon. Marv, when u come over next, I am going to play the same Townshend table with the Van den Hul Grasshopper III GLA cartridge. I just changed the phono cable from the table to the preamp...

Now the speakers sound like silk tweeters and cloth woven drivers now, but with way more speed and agility to respond to quick transients Basically, a properly implemented TRUE diamond tweeter doesn't sound like anything.

The sheer amount of detail, speed, agility, life in the latest generation of Accuton drivers is unmatched in the world from what I have heard with SOOOOOO many top level speakers. There was a time where ceramic drivers were lean sounding, even clinical, but now with the latest crossover implementations and latest Accuton drivers within the Marten lineup, I don't hear ANY ceramic driver sound at all. These drivers sound as fast or even faster than any electrostatic speaker I have heard while having all the advantages of actually moving air that cone drivers excel at. They are, without doubt, the best audio drivers in existence right now with cone break up resonances way outside of the audio band.

 

I've listen to every speaker in the 800 range, it's easy to have to much highs. If you are too close to the speaker, if you put a bright amp, or there something in your chain that is wrong (even cables), it's gonna sound harsh. But, if you ''synergise'' your system, it's very very sweet sounding and the highs are very well integrated with the rest of the sound. (Btw, the new d3 series are wayyyy better in every way)

Exactly.

 

Wow, are those Sandwich from Accuton also (almost) the best bass dirvers?

 

i was in a 30x30 acoustically treated room sitting 15ft away....how am i too close? was using 600w mcintosh monoblocks..mcintosh uses autoformers to mimic tube warm sound so, how was i using a bright amp?

even after all that the 802d was still ringing like crazy in upper treble and top end and even had sharp razored tizzy air response. and on top of that there was no extension in low bass and was fat and sloppy...

i personally like the older matrix speakers more since they were less offensive to my ears. if need ultra fast smooth effortless response, lot of compression drivers do lot better. i rather have pair of large altec 290 2" drivers or nice pair 902/802 drivers...if going new ill be using renkus, tad or, even spurge for pair jbl d2 compression drivers. perform way better and cheaper than avg diamond tweeter.

 

I don't know what the "best" bass drivers sound like. Accuton bass drivers are fast enough to keep up with the ceramic midrange and diamond tweeter with zero over hang. They are clean, quick and dish out whatever is feeding them. They have zero slop and just don't call any attention to themselves.

 

lol, could been...but, i was so disappointed hearing the 802d's since they were one thing i was gonna future invest in and were dream speakers by looking at them and always loved separate enclosure for each speaker design. they were very cool looking. i wouldn't put the 802d's as a reference point of a diamond tweeter performance though and don't want people to think that. lot other companies probably make better ones but, 802d's always coming up as some type of reference point for that tech is just disappointing i personally think. b&w always weren't very good with crossover designs as well is another problem with their reference speakers. going active will always be better..... but, yea. don't want people think i hate diamond tweeters or anything either. love the idea of them but, there is always better options available for the money. avg good diamond tweeter is like 1.5-3k a piece so......yea, that's not exactly affordable for the avg speaker project builder. beryllium tweeters are kinda same way category..very expensive but, not ideal for price/performance ratio. but, who knows im not an expert really. i just listen to music and toy around here and there once in while. could always be very wrong on my part.

 

Lord, there's also diamond midrange out there...

 

I've wondered about this before. I really don't think that you could cross the Accuton BD50-6-039 diamond "midrange" (more like upper mids) driver so much lower (Fs is 290Hz) than a diamond tweeter to justify its outrageous price. Would be interesting to compare the Marten Coltrane 3 against the Coltrane Supreme II.

 

I've heard Accuton will make some 5" version diamond midranges for those high-end brands. Btw, is Accuton diamond tweeter better than Raal?

 

PS, I read a thread a few days ago, that OP had bought many drivers, just for diy, and his conclusion is: when we talk about diamond tweeters, we talk about Accuton. B&W ain't no Accuton, not even 10% close (he hadn't heard the Seas diamond yet, but his states the diaphragm from this Seas looks exactly like the B&W one, so no hope on it). Second best is Focal Be tweeter and Raal/AMT. The Accuton cerimac midrange (flapship model) is even better than ATC SM75-150S...

Maybe 15" ceramic subwoofers will appear in the future.

 

i believe most woofers nowadays are ceramic/ferrite type for the motors. could be wrong.

anyhoo, i didn't want to start a new thread on this but, wanted to state my opinion here on my experience i had today since it still is on subject. a friend and me decided to randomly go places and to chill. decided to visit the magnolia place again cause he never been around any high end speakers before priced at super high prices. i saw they replaced the old b&w 802d's i hated so much with the newer d3 series. to be honest i didn't know there was a version 2 or anything at all till now but, anyhoo, i have to give credit at b&w for finally listening. the d3 is completely different speaker than the original 802d's. it was actually very smooth,quick and non-fatiguing this time around. i actually liked the d3 but, still it being 26k i think i past on my part cause that is way out of budget i consider comfortable dishing out and for price you can get something like the jbl m2 at. can save even more money(over 8k in savings) if order the parts yourself. i think 26k just for speakers itself is still very high.

but, yea, supposedly they revised the diamond tweeter and use a new one with new type of enclosure. the midrange driver is way different too and doesn't seem like that weird kevlar type and bass drivers look better. they seem tad bit smaller than the original 802d's this time around too. but, have to say i like the d3's a good amount but, i don't think i'll be leaving my altecs anytime soon personally. and still wonder why it took them 3 different versions to finally get it right.

 

Diamond driver headphones will be pretty sweet.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, they will be the ultimate face tweeters.

 

i was thinking of the same thing. but, interesting idea. maybe diamond coated aluminum dome(like jbl does with some of their very large bowling ball sized 2'' compression drivers) and like a very stiff yet very flexible surround maybe(maylar maybe?) to allow the driver to excurt a good bit for decent bass response? i don't know what i'm talking bout though. just quick idea of imagination. been out of headphone game for very long time so i'm partially mentally challenged in that aspect.

 

Hmm my speakers do most of the mids and highs via a tweeter. With the woofers for bass. Pretty amazing clarity, can be a bit bright tho.

That said i wont mind =D