Replacing my tweeters a good idea?

While i hope that nobody takes this personally, but "just inserting" a resistor into a speaker circuit is NOT a good idea. Outside of lowering the output level, it will alter the crossover frequency, change damping and tonal characteristics, etc... The ENGINEERS at Infinity didn't just throw parts into a box and hope that it worked out okay. Nonetheless, there is always room for improvement in any design though and this is especially true of mass market brands and speakers in specific. Your best bet is to look elsewhere in the chain to see what may be aggravating the problem. As someone mentioned, the use of low grade crossover components INSIDE the speaker may also be causing problems. You really have to look at the system AS A SYSTEM and NOT cast the blame on just one component. Unless you have changed things around enough and substituted other components in their places, you can't be sure exactly what is causing the problem. You might be surprised at what can cause "less than stellar" performance out of a system. My suggestion is to look at the source components and then work your way back. Is the problem only with one source ( cd's ) or when listening to any source ? This will give you an idea as to whether the problem is SYSTEM based or COMPONENT based. From there, the path to take will be much clearer. Sean >

I hate to have to say it again, but changing the impedance of the driver ( or the load that the passive crossover sees ) WILL affect crossover frequency. If you don't believe me, try asking on the Madisound board. Calculate the crossover for a 4 ohm driver and then substitute an 8 ohm driver in its place. BAD NEWS, guaranteed. Nothing will work as you expected. That's why most quality speakers use impedance compensated L-pads or factor in the attenuators in the first place. Otherwise the hinge points would change as you varied the level of attenuation by altering the impedance of the circuit. I think that either Parts Express or MCM even covers this with charts for the various impedance drivers in one of their catalogues. Wiring a resistor that matches the tweeters impedance in parallel and then placing one that was rated for half its impedance in series would reduce the output while maintaining the same load / crossover point. Another "side effect / benefit" to doing this would be increased power handling in the high frequency section. Sean >

I didn't say that it WOULD NOT attenuate the high frequency response. It's pretty obvious that it would do that. I simply stated that it could also effect other parameters of the speakers design. Making a suggestion to one's own beliefs without noting the possibility for known side effects is both reckless and irresponsible. Experimenting with ones' own equipment and wallet is one thing, but making "generic" recommendations can lead inexperienced tinkerers into bad situations. Just because something "works" when you put it back together doesn't mean that it's working optimally or what you did was necessarily good for the unit as a whole. It might achieve what you were looking to do, but at what expense ??? Do you find out that "it wasn't such a good idea" when the unit fails or develops problems ??? Keep in mind my comments pertain to ALL electronics, not just the conversation ( speakers ) at hand. I am an electronics tech by trade and get to deal with "homebrew remedies" and "mods" on a daily basis. The "right" way to "mod" something is the way that gives you what you were looking for with the least amount of side effects and minimal potential for damage to the unit on a long term basis. If a speaker ( for example ) had a tweeter or mid that was running very close to its' resonance, altering its' crossover point by just a bit could alter performance and reliability by a drastic margin. Depending on how / what was done would determine whether or not it was a "good" or "bad" modification. People doing internal mods should NOT take advice for granted because "it worked on brand XYZ" unless they know the specifics of what they are dealing with. While i am no Bud Fried, Israel Blume or Joe D'Appolitto when it comes to audio, i am well respected in my specific field of electronics. I think that Bud, Israel and Joe would agree with the cautions that i made mention of and that altering the impedance that the crossover sees WILL affect it's hinge frequency. Whether or not it is detrimental would be up to the specific situation and speakers in question. Sean > PS.... This was not meant as a personal attack on Trelja and i hope it was not construed as such. It was simply meant to defend and explain my original statements and point of view.

"To many, it shows a lack of REAL knowledge(not the kind that magazine readers espouse) and/or experience in working with loudspeakers." I beg your pardon. I have designed / built / modified dozens upon dozens of speakers systems with references available to support this. This includes both consumer and professional models, as i used to do Pro Sound for a living. If you searched around a little bit on various audio related websites ( Audio Asylum, Audio Review, Klipsch's home page, etc..), you'd find references to "mods" that i've developed on various speaker models and other individuals that have followed them with great success. I currently have over a half dozen different speaker pairs in my basement brought over by local audiophiles for repairs and modifications. These range from La Scala's & Heresy's to Genesis and some custom built pieces by Kinetic Audio. I even have some sound reinforcement cabinets originally made by Peavey that i'm re-doing. Besides that, my brothers' speaker system, which we designed and are still working on, consists of 14 drivers in a total of 12 "cabinets" with active crossovers and is quad-amped (appr. 850 wpc). My main system is tri-amped using speakers that we designed and built with some outside help from Jon Risch on the subwoofer design. It will soon be totally revamped with a total of 6 amplifiers running multiple banks of electrostatic tweeters, multiple mid's and a quartet of woofers per channel. Power output will be somewhere in the range of 1800 wpc. The speaker system that is in my bedroom consists of some small two way stamd mounted satellites (picture Sequerra's MET 7's and you'd be pretty close) and two sealed downloaded subs. I built and designed these also. For my HT system, i'm currently building a center channel speaker. It will consist of a 3/4" dome, a 1 1/2" dome, two eights and a 12" woofer. I purchased identical drivers to what the manufacturer used for my mains and surrounds. By the way, i modified / upgraded those too. The speakers in my computer room system have also been modified ( rewired, re-tuned, braced, upgraded components, etc..). The speakers in my basement system have been completely redesigned and bare little resemblance to the factory produced models, both internally and externally. Needless to say, I think your barking up the wrong tree. I like my music and my electronics. I also have enough knowledge to design and repair most of the equipment if need be. As to inserting a series resistor with a tweeter to reduce its output, yes, it will work. This does not mean that it is the best method to use. It is a quick and dirty approach used or suggested when know-how, skill and money are all at a minimum. Someone that finds themselves in that position would be better off NOT going into ANY piece of audio gear and looking for alternative methods to deal with the problem. An inexpensive ( below $20) set of well chosen interconnects would probably take care of the problem in this specific situation. This would require a lot less effort, no soldering and even less thought as to how to do it. Then again, knowing which interconnects to use would require experimentation and experience. This is something that someone giving advice as a "magazine reader" would probably never know. Sean >

The cables in question are marketed by a company called "MobileSpec" and come with a limited lifetime warranty. As to the specific model name or number, i don't have that handy. If someone was truly interested in these, they can email me and i will find out the specifics. I can also provide testimonials / references from people that have used them with great results in terms of "taming" a bright / sibilant system and converting it into something that is far more musical and enjoyable. As to your comments pertaining to me being a "magazine reader" and limited in my scope of things audio related, you might want to broaden your own horizons before throwing stones at others. Sean >

Drop me an email. I've got something that will take care of that problem at no risk to your wallet. Sean >

I don't come here to flame. Between what you posted about not visiting other audio sites and then looking at your Audiogon "feedback" file, it appeared that you were not an active tweaker / experimenter / gear-head. That's not a problem with me, as everybody has different priorities in life and their systems. If i jumped to conclusions, i appologize. As it is, I'm out of this thread. It has gone nowhere for quite a while now. Shabadoo will have some interconnects probably sometime late next week. We'll let him pass judgement as to whether or not it will take care of his problem. Hopefully, it will do what he's looking for. Best wishes and good listening. Sean >