Hey everyone,
First a little about myself. I have built several speaker systems in the past, mostly from Zylatron, Viva, Seas, Dynaudio, and Peerless parts. However I haven't done much in the last 20 years. So some of the brands I am seeing are new to me. I do still own some test equipment, an old Tenma sound level meter, and a pretty good multimeter.
Anyway I picked up a set of Cerwin Vega 300 SE speakers with blown surrounds and fixed them. I added some bracing and re routed / added damping material. I currently have some Dayton Caps on order to replace all the vintage mylar caps currently in the crossover.
As expected the phenolic bullet tweeters are pretty harsh so I want to replace them. I have not been a fan of aluminum or mylar tweeters in the past. My favorite I have personally used where a set of Dynaudio silk domes circa 1994 ish.
So basically what i'm looking for is something that sounds good, and not harsh like the factory units. My wish list is as follows.
1 High power handling / dynamic range
2 high sensitivity probably 91-92db ??
3 square, rectangular faceplate prefered.
4 8 ohms, I'm fine playing with the crossover a little bit but it would be less complicated to me If it was kept 8 like the current tweeters.
5 Inexpensive, hopefully under $30ea
Thanks
First a little about myself. I have built several speaker systems in the past, mostly from Zylatron, Viva, Seas, Dynaudio, and Peerless parts. However I haven't done much in the last 20 years. So some of the brands I am seeing are new to me. I do still own some test equipment, an old Tenma sound level meter, and a pretty good multimeter.
Anyway I picked up a set of Cerwin Vega 300 SE speakers with blown surrounds and fixed them. I added some bracing and re routed / added damping material. I currently have some Dayton Caps on order to replace all the vintage mylar caps currently in the crossover.
As expected the phenolic bullet tweeters are pretty harsh so I want to replace them. I have not been a fan of aluminum or mylar tweeters in the past. My favorite I have personally used where a set of Dynaudio silk domes circa 1994 ish.
So basically what i'm looking for is something that sounds good, and not harsh like the factory units. My wish list is as follows.
1 High power handling / dynamic range
2 high sensitivity probably 91-92db ??
3 square, rectangular faceplate prefered.
4 8 ohms, I'm fine playing with the crossover a little bit but it would be less complicated to me If it was kept 8 like the current tweeters.
5 Inexpensive, hopefully under $30ea
Thanks
Attachments
Hi,
This might work well (at least it should fit the cutout well) :
Dayton Audio DC28FT-8 1-1/8" Silk Dome Truncated Tweeter
rgds, sreten.
This might work well (at least it should fit the cutout well) :
Dayton Audio DC28FT-8 1-1/8" Silk Dome Truncated Tweeter
rgds, sreten.
Thanks sreten,
I was actually looking at that one. It looks to be inspired by Dynaudio. My only concern is with the sensitivity. The Vega's are supposed to be quite efficient, however i'm not sure in real world terms how important it is.
I was actually looking at that one. It looks to be inspired by Dynaudio. My only concern is with the sensitivity. The Vega's are supposed to be quite efficient, however i'm not sure in real world terms how important it is.
if this unit has a poly switch on the tweeter I would remove that for starters. If you have not upgraded the caps to decent poly and foil you should stacked sound nice but are costly. I have found most phenolic diaphragm compression drivers sound very good smooth so I would guess you issue is elsewhere. Why don' you disconnect the tweeters and play at a moderate level and see if the issue you hear remains or if it has vanished. I bet it is not the fault of the tweeter. Just ny nickel on the subject. Best regards Moray James.
Thanks James, yes they do have the polyswitches. Do they color the sound? I have never worked with them before. I also noticed it has a notch filter on the tweeter and has iron core inductors. I'm not sure if it would be worthwhile replacing them also.
I got the capacitors today, hopefully I get some tome to start soldering!
I got the capacitors today, hopefully I get some tome to start soldering!
I personally do not like what the poly switch sounds like others will tell you it is invisible. so again ymmv find out for your self they are easy to bypass and simply have a listen without. As I said before I don't think your tweeter is the problem and I would leave the notch filter alone they put it there for a reason after all they spent valuable funds only because they felt it needed to be there. Best regards Moray James.
Cough up some more dough and buy a pair of these:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/ring-radiator-tweeters/sb-acoustics-sb29rdc-c000-4-ring-dome-tweeter/
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/ring-radiator-tweeters/sb-acoustics-sb29rdc-c000-4-ring-dome-tweeter/
I replaced all the caps and removed the polyswitch. I'm really impressed with the improvement. No more tweeter harshness, the bass is not overly pronounced as I expected. The mid range is nice but lacks some detail and seems kind of laid back, for what they are I'm very happy...
I think a soft dome would really help balance the sound. I ordered a couple sets. I figure if they don't work out i'll use them in other projects.
Monacor Hi-Fi Dome Tweeter 1" | DT-100 (DT100) | Monacor
and these
https://www.parts-express.com/goldwood-gt-520-1-soft-dome-horn-tweeter--270-180
I think a soft dome would really help balance the sound. I ordered a couple sets. I figure if they don't work out i'll use them in other projects.
Monacor Hi-Fi Dome Tweeter 1" | DT-100 (DT100) | Monacor
and these
https://www.parts-express.com/goldwood-gt-520-1-soft-dome-horn-tweeter--270-180
Wouldn't the dispersion pattern of any dome alter the directivity of the system - not to mention the likely need to modify the XO's HP section? There's often more going on in commercial multiways than just simple band-pass filtering.
So I ended up getting both the tweeters today and have played around with them a little bit....
The main problem appears to be the sensitivity. The original bullet tweeters appear to be about 100 db 1w 1m the aftermarket ones at about 92 db 1w 1m isnt going to cut it.
I guess the rated sensitivity of the Cerwin Vega speakers is not as over rated as some have suggested (not from this site)
I threw the goldwoods in to see how they would sound and it wasn't good, even with the pots turned all the way up it was way too laid back. With and without the notch filter. I did'nt see the frequency response graph till after I bought them, they measured pretty bad according to my meter and sweep. I think I can still use them in an old no name set of 10" 3 ways with paper tweeters.
After the capacitor, damping and bracing upgrades they sound good to me. I think moray james was right on. Thanks for the help everyone. Now I need to do some upgrading of other speakers 😉
The main problem appears to be the sensitivity. The original bullet tweeters appear to be about 100 db 1w 1m the aftermarket ones at about 92 db 1w 1m isnt going to cut it.
I guess the rated sensitivity of the Cerwin Vega speakers is not as over rated as some have suggested (not from this site)
I threw the goldwoods in to see how they would sound and it wasn't good, even with the pots turned all the way up it was way too laid back. With and without the notch filter. I did'nt see the frequency response graph till after I bought them, they measured pretty bad according to my meter and sweep. I think I can still use them in an old no name set of 10" 3 ways with paper tweeters.
After the capacitor, damping and bracing upgrades they sound good to me. I think moray james was right on. Thanks for the help everyone. Now I need to do some upgrading of other speakers 😉
Don't forget to seal everything. I used Mortite caulking cord to seal all the drivers to baffle, the crossover panel and the speaker terminal on back. My CV's were a bit older, so I don't know if yours are sealed better. I have the D7's which have dual midranges which were not sealed well to the cabinet, and the woofer had no seal to baffle at all.When I was breaking in the newly re-coned woofers with some sine waves, there was a lot of chuffing which I thought was the port at first. After sealing everything, the bass has improved a bit... I have not done the bracing as you did, or any crossover improvements (next on the list).
Re-foamedSE-300's
Hello! I just re-foamed my cerwin vega SE-300's and read your post about new capacitors on crossovers. Are you replacing worn caps, just upgrading,or both? I know they are not known for the clearest highs but they do seem harsher than I remember. Also, if I push the woofer in and out ,with no load on the speaker of course, I hear can hear a light amount of static through the tweeter.
Hello! I just re-foamed my cerwin vega SE-300's and read your post about new capacitors on crossovers. Are you replacing worn caps, just upgrading,or both? I know they are not known for the clearest highs but they do seem harsher than I remember. Also, if I push the woofer in and out ,with no load on the speaker of course, I hear can hear a light amount of static through the tweeter.
I was just upgrading and doing preventive maintenance since I had it all apart. All the caps measured within spec (capacitance wise at least). I also removed the polyswitch. I have to say they are some of my favorite tweeters now. They have excellent tone but you may need to pad them down a bit.
I'm not sure what the static through the tweeter is. You may want to start another thread to get more views.
I'm not sure what the static through the tweeter is. You may want to start another thread to get more views.
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