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

Hi
After replacing the silver dome with a used set of the the H1054 black dome tweeters in my DSP6000s,
newer version but with no idea of how much use they may or may not of had.
They made a small improvement but I still think they are lacking compared to new.
Noticed a pair on eBay selling as “new old stock never used just tested” which have 49/13 on them so 12 years old.
If these have never been used would you expect them to sound new or like 12 year old used or not?
I did price the current replacements from Meridian but at £450.00 each I am looking at other options first.
Graham

Hi Graham,

It's an interesting question, I would venture that it would largely depend on how/where these were stored, 'ferrofluid breakdown' accounts for the majority of problems with these types of tweeters, although the glue used to secure the surround to the voice coil can also be blamed and even the surround itself (after many years).

If a tweeter reduces it's output, the whole character of the associated loudspeaker's sound changes (largely due to the way we perceive audio) if this is very gradual, at what point do you notice it?

Many years ago I owned ATC speakers and they recommended (in studio usage) an annual replacement of the tweeters, imagine the cost of you doing that!! (especially with the well overpriced Meridians.....sorry M!)

If you are able to measure your speaker's output (REW is very good!) maybe you could compare old with new, after all it's the difference you are looking at NOT a definitive measurement, and see if you notice a 'trend'.

Good Luck

Paul.

Meridian dont supply the H1054 any more and the H1612 that they do supply has a different response over 10Khz , I have never heard them as a replacement to know what difference this will make.
The seller is on this forum

link to Stuart Payne's article on Meridian tweeters.
https://www.audiocomm.co.uk/The-Tweeter-and-The-Monkey-Man/

Rgds
Stuart

Stu (post above) has a good guide+video for replacing the ferro fluid. Did mine, fantastic improvement; for very minimal work. Emailed Seas this year; asking if the H1499 DXT was close to the H1054, Seas stated the H1212 was a better match (despite no waveguide). After rebuilding mine, the positive results curbed my interest in replacements, possibly a test of the SEAS Excel T25CF-001 if motivation returns.

I replaced the tweeters on a pair of DSP5000 speakers with a pair of Seas H1147 (27TBC/G), and I really enjoyed the result.

This model is basically the same as the H1212, but it does not use ferrofluid. The downside is that it supports less power: 55/150 W versus 90/220 W for the H1212.

The shop where I bought them in Italy did not have the H1212 in stock, so I had to improvise and ended up enjoying the final result.

To install them, some adaptation to the speaker mount is required, but it is easy to do with a drill. This is necessary because the connections are 180º apart and this tweeters uses 4 screws vs the 6 used by the original ones.

I also bought a Seas DXT to try on the DSP5000C that I use as a center channel in my home theater, with DSP7000 speakers as left and right channels. The final result was also very good, in my opinion: a very clear-sounding tweeter, with voices that are extremely clean.

My DSP7000 speakers use the original black dome tweeter and are still in good shape, with the exception of very cold days when temperatures drop close to 0°C. This is quite unusual in Brazil, and once the temperature rises, they sound good again. However, on cold days I believe the ferrofluid thickens slightly, so I measured them with REW and a drop in output was clearly noticeable.

If no physical adaptations were needed, it would be a good idea to try these new tweeters on the DSP7000 as well, but I will only do that once the original ones are no longer usable.

Best regards and happy new year.

Thanks for the replies
I got my sums wrong on the replacement price from Meridian, It was £360.00 each I was quoted a few months back not £450.00 but still an expensive option for older speakers.
After reading several posts I see that the Seas H1212s as an alternative has mixed opinions on the forum.
Has anybody bought these recently, if I was to buy these are they old stock or are they still a current product?.
Does anybody know of a reputable source for these?

This thread has me wondering what happens to the discarded tweeters when someone changes them. Can you folks thinking of replacing tell me what the plan is with the old ones?

Hi Graham,

You may have seen some of my posts on DSP6000s as I was looking around for tweeter replacements years ago. In short, H1212 will work- however, after a lot of listening and trying a few different non-M ones, there is no perfect substitute for the Meridian tweeter. I see how it is tough to justify the cost you were quoted for the M replacements, but I took away from that experience that the DSP in the speakers is highly tailored to the drivers M used.

Have you recapped your speakers? The reason I ask is that I had a pair of DSP5000s that sounded very 'soft' and I suspected the tweeters were shot. After a full recap of the amp boards, they were restored and swapping the original silver dome tweeter with a new Meridian tweeter made no audible difference, so I put the original silver dome ones back in. Every pair of DSPs that I have recapped made such a huge difference and it really is worth the effort if you haven't already done so.

Best of luck- the DSP6000s are really incredible speakers and were way ahead of their time!
-John

I normaly sell my old ones on eBay listed as spares or repairs,
I have one black and one silver one in my spares as well as a nos bass unit for the DSP6000's
My speakers have been recapped
Rgds
Stuart

One day I will have the courage and buy the tools needed for this service, but in don't think the sound of my 7k and 5k speakers are suffering from this problem, of course it might become even better after a recap, but for now they are sounding great.

Hi Graham,

There is another option, only if you're confident though, that is to obtain replacement diaphragms for this type of tweeter, 'SEAS H9909-06' will work and no woodworking will be required, as would be necessary with the H212's (where the + - terminals are spaced 180°apart)!

The diaphragms 'self-centre' on the fixing holes so no critical 'dome-alignment' is needed, but you may need to clean out and replace the ferro fluid, removal of the protection plate on the Meridians' to reach the securing screws is a little tricky, but it can be done.

Paul.

Hi John,

Yes I had them recapped by Steve about 2 years ago which made a noticeable difference.
I replaced one of the original silver dome tweeters in 2005 when it blew but noticed that the output from the other one was very soft compared to the new one so also replaced that one.

Both of these had been in storage for the past 20 years when I thought to myself those new tweeters I bought are now 20 years old.
I took the blown tweeter apart after watching the video mentioned on this forum as it was no good anyway to see if I could have a go at replacing the ferrofluid.
5 minutes later I had totally ruined it so knocked that idea on the head.

Bought 2 used black dome tweeters of eBay about 6 months ago and popped them in which didn’t give me the improvement I was hoping for.
I have several other sets of speakers setup in various systems that I don’t feel are lacking in the treble.

DSP5000.2 and DSP5000C all recently recapped with original silver dome tweeters sound ok,

Original DSP5000 upgraded 24/96 never recapped with original tweeters, A couple of sets of D600s now in storage, A500s with Meridian amplification
and a set of Beautiful M2s which is how my Meridian journey started. After hearing a set at Lintone Audio my local dealer 45 years ago I just had to have a pair.
Had them recapped by Steve about 2 years ago but still all the original drivers. If I could only have one set these would be the last to go.

Getting back to the tweeters, has anybody had success with repairing the old ones, does anybody on the forum offer the service or know of anybody who can change the ferrofluid as I could give it a try with the silver dome tweeters just taken out.

Graham