FinkTeam Kim and Wolf von Langa SON are both outstanding examples, in my experience.
Are there any current production great speakers using AMT tweeters?
Back in the day, I had fallen in love with the ESS Heil AMT speakers, which were always too large and too expensive. Now that I am looking for a new speaker, I am wondering if there are any current high end monitors that use these tweeters? Or have good ribbons made the AMT tweeters less desirable?
My budget is in the $5k to $15k range, new or used, so don’t tell me about some of the $1k speakers that I know are out there, no matter how good they might be.
Stand mount is preferable, but a floor standing with a small footprint might be workable in my smallish room.
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"Many decades ago, I had a pair of ESS speakers with AMT tweeters that were initially dramatic but ultimately disappointing. These turned out to produce sound that was mostly "boom and sizzle," with poor integration of the tweeter and woofer. I was very happy to move on to more satisfying speakers, and I lived fairly happily for many years with the metal dome tweeters in a pair of Thiel floor stander."
Agreed..., until I stumbled upon the cure for this that takes the Heils to a whole nother level. There is nothing like these now! https://audiokarma.org/forums/threads/im-fixing-a-hole-heil.1025205/ |
Many times I’ve asked AI to compare two models of speaker that I own/owned. In approximately 2/3rds of these queries, it suggested a preference for the speaker that I determined was inferior in real-world experience. For the most part, LLMs only make predictions based on info they gather from the web, and they often miss critical details in exchange for a speedy answer. For example, AI will tend to conclude a larger diameter woofer can move more air simply for the fact it’s larger, without considering each woofer’s excursion capabilities, sensitivity etc. They also have a tendency to treat subjective forum opinions as fact. This is especially the case with Gemini and Chat GPT LLMs. Both of those particular AIs are practically useless for choosing HiFi gear unless you merely want to compare basic specs. Of course, when you call them out on their idiosyncrasies or contradictions, they tend to backpedal and have an excuse for their misleading suggestions. It’s scary how human-like they are in that regard.
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Interesting link regarding tweaks to make the AMT drivers sound better and blend more smoothly with woofers and mids. Paul McGowan at PS Audio says he has a long history with the AMT, dating back to its original release. He also reports that he tried to make an AMT work well for the Aspen line of speakers, but the planar tweeter and midrange developed by Chris Brunhaver proved to sound better than the AMT. |
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