Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site
In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: Tweeter for Vitavox S2. High-sensitively ribbons?
Post Subject: big ribbons, small ribbons, silk and airPosted by Paul S on: 10/23/2006
I'm wondering if part of this "glycerin" sound of ribbons is just "ribbon sound", or purely frequency dependent, or if it has to do with the size of a given ribbon at a given frequency. But why should ribbons not be subjected to the same demands typically made of other drivers, that one or two drivers can do "full-range"? I have never disected an Apogee speaker, which, as I recall, used ribbons of different sizes for various frequencies, just like most "full range" planar speakers have divided driving membranes. Only, no telling how large (or small, for that matter) a given ribbon was for any given frequency, and no telling how many octaves - or which octaves - a ribbon was asked to do. The ribbon in an Arum Cantus G2Si is pretty darn small, and based on my own experience with this driver, I doubt if there is any way it could be made to sound right at the lower end of its stated frequency response range. Anyway, I think silk domes can do a better job with those somewhat lower frequencies, and those I have tried just die off naturally by themselves as the frequency rises. In my experience, adding the dynamic HF-capable MF speaker to the true HF-only driver can improve a drum kit in terms of pitch, timbre and sorted-out-ness, and it can put the music's "air" where it belongs, in the sound of the instruments, not on or around it.
The trouble with all this is the same as the trouble with all multi-driver speakers: integration, including voicing and level matching. OTOH, I think the voicing is easier at the higher frequencies; it's more a matter of finding a sound you can live with.
Piezos, anyone?
Best regards,
Paul SRerurn to Romy the Cat's Site