Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems New tweeters

I'm sure there was a note from his holiness Bob about tweeters. Something about selecting one with the most neutral presentation, smoothest off axis response and freedom from resonance & breakup.
Other manufacturers use carefully selected 'cheap' tweeters to great effect.

Well, he definitely found that in the H539 and H1212 to a large degree. No disagreement there. Though, I wonder what a set of beryllium tweeters would sound like in the 5k's? Added air and bite to brass instruments, or total brackish nonsense?

There's more to Meridian speakers than $50 tweeters - think about the technology in the 5500's - 4 drivers with an amp driving each, a built in pre-amp and DAC's - heavy duty cabs and a lighted display - all of it selected, R&D to work together in a cohesive presentation. You have to also build in manufacturer and dealer profit otherwise they would cease to exist - what it cost to also manufacture the parts? Seas is able to sell the tweeters at a reasonable price thru economies of scale.

Another big point is because of the internets ability to share information we are aware of replacements and issues that effect our gear - this info was not available for mass consumption when my 5500's were first built.

A Nautilus tweeter is about �50 for the B&W 802N (I blew one once). The diamond tweeter for the 802D is >�1000 IIRC. Most reviews seem to prefer the Diamonds because the treble is apparently "sweeter". Certainly, in my experience, the 802Ns could be a little harsh from time to time but still performed very well with the "cheap" tweeter.

I suspect Meridian put considerable effort into maximising their tweeter's performance by using DSP and digital cross-overs.

Absolutely, the "D" version is what I was referring to in my price comparison.

So my wife laughed at me when I shared what I was writing in this forum with her. She says, "You complained incessantly about the $2500 to replace one catalytic convertor in the BMW and then you are DISAPPOINTED when a tweeter only costs $50 to replace?" I guess she's right, there is no pleasing some people.

I'll stop second guessing Meridian now.

I am not sure it is the ferrofluid that goes bad, so the replacement fluid "experiment" will be very interesting.

The standard silver dome tweeter has a polymer around the dome, that I suspected goes bad over time.

A couple of years ago I decided to replace the tweeters in my 6ks and three 5.5ks. I made this decision as the 6ks and center 5.5 were purchased used, and the 5.5k I used at the rears were purchased in 1998. I assumed this had to be a good move as I had already decided to treat myself to a full day of Marc Koval coming up to NC from Atlanta and tweaking my stuff. I bought the tweeters from my Florida dealer at "dealer cost" in consideration of my prior purchase history.

Less than a year later, I purchased used 8ks and asked Marc if I needed to replace the tweeters to ensure that the output/performance was the same as the ones he had recently installed. I was informed that any output discrepancy would be taken care of by DSP adjustment, and the tweeters were identical up and down the line.

He said at the time that other than "blowing out" or physical abuse, that the other problem over time was the fluid would "dry up". The "new tweeters" are by the same maker(SEAS) and were selected based on their sonic match with the prior model.

This is a quote from an article interview with Bob Stuart on Duncan's site, by the Huffington Post. It is concerned with the (cheap) tweeter concern.
Chris

I wonder how the audio would have sounded in Apple products if Steve Jobs had been a Meridian fan?

OK, I got the ferrofluid from parts express and had time this morning to recharge the old tweeters - the first one I did was stuck when I pulled the tweeter face off from the magnet assembly I ruined the voice coil - the second two came apart very easily - I was also surprised that looking at the tweeters 2 of them are h715's and the other is a h539 so Meridian used different tweeters in the speakers (DSP5500's) -

One of the tweeters I pulled apart had very little fluid in it compared to the other - it was also thicker - the kit from parts express comes with blotters to take up the fluid in the magnetic gap - the ferrofluid goes in super easy - just cut the end and put it in the gap and it sucks right into the gap.

I've been playing my 5500's with the h1212 replacements in them and they sound amazing now, better than the other I speakers I have - I don't detect any abnormalities to the sound - the air, and transparently is there now.

I'm going to put the original tweeters back in the speakers later today to see if they now sound as good as the h1212

Looking at the tweeter upon taking it apart I don't see anything that is super special about it that would be different from a replacement (h1212) especially if the electrical plot is comparable - sound wise they are a ton better than the old originals...

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I, too am kinda shocked to see a $50 tweeter in such an expensive speaker. But seeing that I'm going to be looking out for used DSP5200s as I assemble my system, maybe that's a good thing.

But if you're still put off, just wait for the new SE speakers. The Beryllium tweeters will be $400-500 a pop... minimum. But something tells me people will be lining up to upgrade to them.

I just put the Seas speakers from Madisound in my three DSP5k fronts and it's a very noticeable improvement. The air is back! The front pair dates from the '90ies and is a upgraded from 18bit. The center is less noticeable after doing doing the front pair, but it's more recent, from about 2000 and was purchased as a 96/24.


I was able to cut a second slot for the second connector on the tweeter and they lay absolutely flat.

This would be a several thousand dollar upgrade in Meridian dollars. I think I'll order two more for the rears, even though they're even more recent.

Thanks everybody!