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Thread: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

  1. #21
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    Nov 2010
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    120

    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    So Dave, what am I supposed to do with my 340's 27mm soft dome tweets with all that mass that has to be moved 12+ windings and the energy it takes to do so now that you convinced me of the superiority of the RAAL at 0.039 g's and radiating area of 13.6 sq cm.???
    Take care my friend, Jeff Nordi

  2. #22
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    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Thanks for the link to Zaph, some neat stuff over there. Some serious time invested for all those measurements.

    Quote Originally Posted by GirgleMirt View Post
    Hehe I don't want to sound like a broken record, but what is so special about Be tweeters? Is there really an advantage to 'Be' besides for marketing? Wilson use Titanium, Dynaudio soft dome, Thiel aluminum, etc... I don't think 'Be' is really that special for tweeter material... Some of the top 'high end' and very highly regarded tweeters are 'plain' soft dome!
    Personally, I don't really care what the tweeters are made out of. I believe that proper implementation is usually more important than the diaphragm composition. What I do care about is that they sound good, measure well, and don't fatigue my ears.

    When I was shopping for loudspeakers, I found that the majority of metal domes gave me ear fatigue, while the majority of soft domes did not. So naturally, I tended to avoid those designs with metal tweeters. Ironically, this appears to conflict with my earlier statement about ignoring diaphragm material. My previous speakers were from Yamaha and had aluminum domes. Here's the kicker: they did not fatigue my ears like other speakers with metal domes I'd tried.

    I agree that some folks can get hung up on the material used in the tweeter. My guess is that Be tweeters are uncommon, so perhaps someone could see that as desirable (e.g. I have a rare design, therefore it is good). If Dave could make a tweeter using Unobtainium, and if it sounded good and measured well, I wouldn't have any problem with that.
    -Jacob

  3. #23
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    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff52 View Post
    I'm real close to being able to upgrade to the ST's but undecided with my old ears if they deserve the RAAL's over the NrT's.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff52 View Post
    So Dave, what am I supposed to do with my 340's 27mm soft dome tweets with all that mass that has to be moved 12+ windings and the energy it takes to do so now that you convinced me of the superiority of the RAAL at 0.039 g's and radiating area of 13.6 sq cm.???
    This is definitely the most important decision you'll ever make.

    I haven't heard the 340s yet, but if they're like Ascend's other products, they perform well above their price point. The RAALs are in a completely different class, though. Kinda like the difference between a fast and agile sports car compared to a Formula 1 car.
    -Jacob

  4. #24
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    Nov 2010
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    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Quote Originally Posted by Dark Ranger View Post
    This is definitely the most important decision you'll ever make.

    I haven't heard the 340s yet, but if they're like Ascend's other products, they perform well above their price point. The RAALs are in a completely different class, though. Kinda like the difference between a fast and agile sports car compared to a Formula 1 car.
    I hear you
    I love the 340's, and yes they do perform well above their price point, they replaced Athena F2's and I never looked back, I actually gave the F2's to friend. I used the 170 as mains for awhile to compare with the 340's, very similar sound but just a lot more of it and they dig deep for their size. The only problem is now I want a faster more agile machine, sports car or formula 1 ?

  5. #25
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    Aug 2003
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    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Keep in mind, that at one point, the CMT-340SE was Ascend's top of the line speaker.
    -curtis

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    248

    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    Keep in mind, that at one point, the CMT-340SE was Ascend's top of the line speaker.
    Yes, I agree that it's no slouch and in my opinion best bang for the buck in the Ascend lineup.

  7. #27
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    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff52 View Post
    So Dave, what am I supposed to do with my 340's 27mm soft dome tweets with all that mass that has to be moved 12+ windings and the energy it takes to do so now that you convinced me of the superiority of the RAAL at 0.039 g's and radiating area of 13.6 sq cm.???
    Take care my friend, Jeff Nordi
    -- Hi Jeff,

    No worries... and I should make this clear to everyone. Without question, the RAAL ribbons are technically superior transducers when it comes to accuracy. However, this does not mean that they will sound better to you.

    For example, a good customer of ours came by with his lovely wife this afternoon to audition both the ribbon towers and the NrT towers. He already owns Sierra-1 NrT.

    He liked the ribbons and spent perhaps an hour listening to them. We then swapped out the ribbon towers with the NrT towers and they listened for 2 1/2 hours, goosebumps and everything. They went home with a pair of black bamboo NrT towers as this was a sound they were more familiar with and preferred compared to the ribbon versions.

    Even with the technical superiority of our ribbons, it still comes down to what sounds best to you, and your 340's use an exceptional dome tweeter
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  8. #28
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    USA
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    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam1000 View Post
    Yes, I agree that it's no slouch and in my opinion best bang for the buck in the Ascend lineup.
    I agree, I think best bang for buck in the industry
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    291

    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    I agree, I think best bang for buck in the industry
    Dave, sorry but OT, i made a post on the tower thread, could you give your technical post about it. Thank you

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    120

    Default Re: RAAL vs. Beryllium Dome

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    -- Hi Jeff,

    No worries... and I should make this clear to everyone. Without question, the RAAL ribbons are technically superior transducers when it comes to accuracy. However, this does not mean that they will sound better to you.

    For example, a good customer of ours came by with his lovely wife this afternoon to audition both the ribbon towers and the NrT towers. He already owns Sierra-1 NrT.

    He liked the ribbons and spent perhaps an hour listening to them. We then swapped out the ribbon towers with the NrT towers and they listened for 2 1/2 hours, goosebumps and everything. They went home with a pair of black bamboo NrT towers as this was a sound they were more familiar with and preferred compared to the ribbon versions.

    Even with the technical superiority of our ribbons, it still comes down to what sounds best to you, and your 340's use an exceptional dome tweeter
    Thanks Dave, I needed to hear that, and yes the 340 tweeter is excellent even below and above ear level. I've never heard a pure ribbon and I know I will be very happy when the time comes to order the NrT ST's.
    Cheers Jeff

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