|
|
Post by monkumonku on Jan 2, 2010 1:16:56 GMT -5
I was looking at the Skiing Ninja site and ran across this product made by Jim Goulding of DiffractionBeGone.com - wool felt cutout surrounds for the tweeters to eliminate the effects of diffraction.
Does anyone have any experience with this product, or with the general principle or concepts behind it? I was wondering if this is something worthwhile.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nemesis.ie on Jan 2, 2010 8:35:50 GMT -5
I saw it too but the price looked a bit high for what it appears to be and it also looked like the Emotiva grilles might not fit on afterwards or at least the effect of the DBG would be removed as the grilles fit close around the tweeter (on the 6.3s anyway).
|
|
Mister L'fe
Emo VIPs 
There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on.
Posts: 417
|
Post by Mister L'fe on Jan 2, 2010 9:25:55 GMT -5
It's something that has been around for years. I believe I've seen speakers from the factory with similar felt or foam rings around the tweeters. A Google search will give you some reviews.
Seems like a simple experiment to make your own.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nemesis.ie on Jan 2, 2010 9:30:59 GMT -5
Wool carpet underlay might be the "DIY" solution?
|
|
|
|
Post by altpensacola on Jan 2, 2010 9:47:20 GMT -5
My JBL 4311 studio monitors (1979) had foam surrounds on the tweeters.
When they wore out I just replaced them.
Geez if ever there was a DIY project this would be it.
If you couldn't add felt or foam yourself, you better get someone else to wire your system!
I also read a topic once for adding felt to the horns on Klipschs.
I have the RF7's and have heard no reason I would do that.
|
|
|
|
Post by casey01 on Jan 2, 2010 12:24:30 GMT -5
You might want to check Andrew Marshall's "Audio Ideas Guide" on the Internet. He has sold these foam rings for years and they are quite reasonably inexpensive for what they accomplish.
He changed the design a few years ago from a round to oval shape to make them a little more effective. I have used them for years and they actually work. If you are wondering what the effect is, just remove the speaker grills and cup your fingers around the tweeter. It is essentially to remove diffraction in the 8-10,000 hz range.
.
|
|
|
|
Post by monkumonku on Jan 2, 2010 12:37:03 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your input! I was thinking that as lazy as I am, this still sounds like a DIY project that shouldn't be too difficult. I was just wondering if the materials or shape or whatever make a big difference in the results. $56 a pair does seem steep to me, which is why I started the thread. Thanks!
|
|
|
|
Post by casey01 on Jan 2, 2010 15:31:32 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your input! I was thinking that as lazy as I am, this still sounds like a DIY project that shouldn't be too difficult. I was just wondering if the materials or shape or whatever make a big difference in the results. $56 a pair does seem steep to me, which is why I started the thread. Thanks! Just an update on the Audio-Ideas.com diffraction rings which are officially called "Imagers". They are made of "neoprene" and before you start a DIY project you might want to look up this website and check under the "tweaks" section. It describes, in detail, how they function. They sell for 1 set of(2) $9.95 Can. 2 sets (4)$15.00 Can. 3 sets (6)$19.95 Can. Quite a bit less than whatever it is on the Skiing Ninja website and they DO work. |
|
|
|
Post by monkumonku on Jan 2, 2010 16:06:37 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your input! I was thinking that as lazy as I am, this still sounds like a DIY project that shouldn't be too difficult. I was just wondering if the materials or shape or whatever make a big difference in the results. $56 a pair does seem steep to me, which is why I started the thread. Thanks! Just an update on the Audio-Ideas.com diffraction rings which are officially called "Imagers". They are made of "neoprene" and before you start a DIY project you might want to look up this website and check under the "tweaks" section. It describes, in detail, how they function. They sell for 1 set of(2) $9.95 Can. 2 sets (4)$15.00 Can. 3 sets (6)$19.95 Can. Quite a bit less than whatever it is on the Skiing Ninja website and they DO work. Thanks, Casey. I did go look at the site after your first post and saw those rings (and a lower price). Also, FWIW, I had sent a picture of the 6.2 speaker layout to Jim and his reply was that I didn't need his product - here is what he wrote: You really don't need what I make because your tweeters are offset meaning that what diffraction there is, and there can't be much, is being spread out over time so it won't be cumulative.
I don't really understand what he meant, but I'll take his word for it. I guess those neoprene rings would be similar? Has anyone used these on the Emo speakers? |
|
|
|
Post by strindl on Jan 3, 2010 18:26:44 GMT -5
It's something that has been around for years. I believe I've seen speakers from the factory with similar felt or foam rings around the tweeters. A Google search will give you some reviews. Seems like a simple experiment to make your own. Yes.. Acoustic Research, back when they still made decent speakers and were based in Massachusetts, used to use a padded substance on the baffle around their tweeters. Their classic AR-9 for example had this. I owned a pair of their TSW series back in the mid 80's that had it as well. |
|
Mister L'fe
Emo VIPs
There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on.
Posts: 417
|
Post by Mister L'fe on Jan 4, 2010 8:58:11 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by monkumonku on Jan 4, 2010 10:21:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the link.. most of it went way over my head but I did understand his summary at the end - diffraction isn't as big a deal as many say it is (or at least that's how I understood it). Meanwhile since those neoprene rings mentioned by Casey01 were so cheap, I went ahead and ordered a set just to see if it makes any difference. |
|
|
|
Post by casey01 on Jan 4, 2010 12:10:55 GMT -5
In recent years, it was interesting to note how speaker manufacturers changed the design from large wide cabinets with large woofers to tall relatively narrow width cabinets that are quite deep. The width of the cabinet is not much wider than the speaker itself. This has essentially been done to eliminate diffraction so it is not much of a factor anymore in any relatively modern design except in some cases with tweeters.
What I found from the neoprene rings is that regardless of the manufacturer(and I tried them on several), it does bring out the higher frequencies(generally in the 8-10,000HZ range)that wouldn't be as noticeable without them so it will give a little "crisper" sound that perhaps not everyone may like. Essentially these are designed for tweeters that, according to the pundits, return sound at the higher frequencies, that is lost by diffraction over the front of the cabinet. I gave the example earlier of cupping yours hands in a circle around the tweeter and the effect will be similar. It is interesting to note that there is some validity to this since there are prominent speaker companies, such as Paradigm, that for years have integrated the front grills with the speakers for just this purpose so they pretty well insist that in usage, the owner doesn't remove them.
I use them in all my speakers EXCEPT the center channel since in this case the accentuation of those higher frequencies especially in speaking voices incurs a little too much "sibilance".
I suppose different brands of speakers will react differently with their usage.
|
|
Mister L'fe
Emo VIPs
There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on.
Posts: 417
|
Post by Mister L'fe on Jan 4, 2010 12:54:56 GMT -5
One of the biggest improvements to good sound is getting the speakers out into the room. I've noticed member's pictures of their set ups. Speakers against a back wall or next to adjacent walls and large cabinets is a "no no". Give them room to "breathe".
|
|
|
|
Post by mrmeng430 on Jan 4, 2010 13:57:03 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your input! I was thinking that as lazy as I am, this still sounds like a DIY project that shouldn't be too difficult. I was just wondering if the materials or shape or whatever make a big difference in the results. $56 a pair does seem steep to me, which is why I started the thread. Thanks! Just an update on the Audio-Ideas.com diffraction rings which are officially called "Imagers". They are made of "neoprene" and before you start a DIY project you might want to look up this website and check under the "tweaks" section. It describes, in detail, how they function. They sell for 1 set of(2) $9.95 Can. 2 sets (4)$15.00 Can. 3 sets (6)$19.95 Can. Quite a bit less than whatever it is on the Skiing Ninja website and they DO work. Would www.audiotweaks.com/tweaks/tweak_184.htm be the DIY version? |
|
