Could glass displace (your fave) tweeter material?


I thought this was pretty interesting.  I do think we pay too much attention to tweeters and not enough to the mids but still I'm always fascinated by the innovation.  Seas has released a new tweeter using a glass dome, and incorporating new faceplate for very smooth off axis response, while maintaining the efficiency of a waveguide.  

I wouldn't be surprised if Joseph Audio was among the earliest adopters.  I understand the Kii range already uses them? 

https://audioxpress.com/article/test-bench-seas-t27gl001-dxt-glass-dome-tweeter

erik_squires

@audiokinesis  - AFAIK, the diaphragm itself is made by a 3rd party, so we could be on the verge of several makers producing glass dome drivers. 

Would also be really interested in seeing glass mids. :)  

A major reason I'm pro-glass is that it's not toxic and brittle the same way Be drivers are.  Also, perhaps with advanced molds/processing techniques distortion and ringing could be optimized?  

@erik_squires , I agree that this could end up being something big if glass diaphrgms make their way into midrange drivers.  Personally I'm hoping to see glass diaphragms in prosound compression drivers, which are sort of like midrange-sized domes with really strong motors.  If glass really is (or becomes) a viable alternative to Beryllium, imo that would be huge.

Mass, stiffness, self-damping. Tweeter designers struggle to find a balance between those qualities. I'm not sure glass has much to recommend itself over diamond, beryllium or doped fabric. But then, it depends on the composition of the glass since all glass in not created equal.

@erik_squires 

Come on Eric you are very knowledgeable about all things audio so I’m sure you know beryllium is only toxic when being machined , sanded or otherwise being physically worked with creating dust or fumes.