Non Lansing DIY

[Mr. Widget]

I have recently been playing around with these Aurum Cantus G2Si ribbon tweeters. They sound remarkable for a sub $100 tweeter... actually they simply sound quite remarkable. Their sensitivity is 96dB and since they are ribbons they have a ruler flat impedance "curve" so that incorporating them into a system is a breeze. If you need greater sensitivity, they do make larger more expensive models that rival horn tweeters' sensitivities.

I highly recommend anyone looking for a tweeter for their project to consider these... I'd even give them a shot in a JBL where the original tweeter is NLA or you just want to mess around a bit.


Widget

http://estore.websitepros.com/1736754/Detail.bok?no=108

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=276-400

[yggdrasil]

Interesting Widget. That impedance curve was definitely sick...

Is it to bold to ask what project(s) you used this little toy with?

[Ian Mackenzie]

Widget,

Pleased you posted this.

These newer ribbon tweeters have come along way in terms of quality/ control and are more affordable.

Here are some references to applications;

Locally some kits have been designed around the fountek JP3 which some designer say is similar to the Aurum Cantus G2Si ribbon tweeters.
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/JP3_G2Si.htm

http://www.stonessoundstudio.com.au/stone/ribbon_speaker_kit/ribbon_speaker_kit_r360_r260_freq_imp_graphs.htm
http://www.raalribbon.com/products.htm
http://www.fountek.com.au/
http://www.fountek.com.au/products/ss-kit/KIT260_Xover.jpg
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue15/selahaudio.htm
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/TJL_2W.htm

Distribution in Europe:
Fountek JP3 Fountek JP3
Fountek JP3
GM Sound - Produkt 2 (http://www.gmsound.dk/prod02.htm)

Aurum Cantus
http://www.hifisound.de (http://www.hifisound.de)

Fountek JP3
http://www.madisound.com/ (http://www.madisound.com/),

[Robh3606]

Hello Widget

What's the directivity like on them?? I didn't see anything in the specs unless I missed it.

Rob:)

[Ian Mackenzie]

Hi Rob,

If you looked at one of the reference the dome is compared to the ribbons.There maybe some measurements. I suspect they fall off in vertical dispersion.

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/TJL_2W.htm

[grumpy]

I suspect they fall off in vertical dispersion.


Yes, I'd suspect so, but probably less than some of the taller versions (for the same,
rather brief, explanation in the ref that the opening was similar in scale to a dome
radiator).

If I can un-bury my setup, I'll try some measurement runs this weekend. -grumpy

[Mr. Widget]

Is it to bold to ask what project(s) you used this little toy with?I built a pair of small two-ways for a client. I used a ScanSpeak Revelator woofer and the ribbon. The speaker was used as a built-in for their seriously over the top kitchen.... they loved them so much, they've asked for another pair to be built in in the music room. The wife is a former concert pianist and has an excellent and rather picky ear.


Hello Widget

What's the directivity like on them?? I didn't see anything in the specs unless I missed it.

Rob:)I have no idea in terms of numbers, but ribbons fall off like a rock vertically beyond the actual length of the ribbon... horizontally they are typically fairly wide... these actually cover a decent sized sweet spot, but since the design was for a live room as primarily "background listening" speakers, I wasn't too concerned about it. The results were quite acceptable and the blending with a rather unorthodox crossover to the 7" midbass driver was excellent.

Before delivering them I tested them and voiced them in my system and the image depth and soundstage were quite good. The dynamics were also very good though not quite as good as the Revel Performa M22s that we sell for the same price as these custom speakers. The Revels have a better bottom end, but the top isn't quite as good as these little ribbons.


Widget

[grumpy]

smooth vertical rolloff appears to start at ~10KHz reaching ~ -6dB at 20KHz,
symmetrical above and below.

Horizontal directivity is similar (most affected frequencies) but with ~ 1/2 the effect
(e.g., down ~ 6dB at 20KHz, but at 30 deg).

-grumpy

[TimG]

Since the topic is non JBL stuff I've been thinking about a ribbon alternative to use in place of an 045Be for years. To read more about some in-depth tests of a variety of ribbons and planar magnetics here is a report from the zaphaudio site
http://www.zaphaudio.com/nondomes/
The author concluded that the BG Neo3-PDR did the best in his comparison. It is a planar magnetic rather than a true ribbon, and the sensitivity is about 6dB lower than the Aurum Cantus. However, the Neo3 changes the amount of the radiator that is moving at higher frequencies to make it less beamy than most ribbons.

In terms of true ribbons, the manufacturer that currently seems to be getting the most positive press is RAAL. They use a technology with foam wedges in front of a portion of the ribbon to slow down parts of the wavefront and increase dispersion at higher frequencies. Think of it as a new way of making an acoustic lens. I haven't heard any of RAAL models.

If you want to read some discussion of what sounds like an interesting, large scale, dipole 4-way, using multiple 15" woofers for bass, a 12" midbass, an Altec CD midrange and a RAAL ribbon tweeter, there is a thread over at diyaudio that could keep you busy with reading for several days. Several people in the audio industry who's names you might recognize have contributed to the thread (e.g., Tom Danley, Ear Geddes, Lynn Olsen). Some members of this forum have contributed as well.

Already over 3000 posts
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1424607#post1424607

[grumpy]

The RAAL website goes a bit further with representative performance plots:

http://www.raalribbon.com/products_flatfoil_70-10.htm

(retail ~$315USD ?)

a similar rising response, as I measured with the G2Si (a bit more rising than
the factory curve indicates).

dispersion curves appear similar, but the "knees" seem to be about an octave
lower than what I measured for the G2Si.

(just pointed to this particular RAAL model for comparison's sake ... I think TimG and the referenced
diyaudio thread may be speaking of a larger, more expensive model with the foam blocks)

[grumpy]

Noticed G2Si and other Aurum Cantus ribbon tweeters back on sale at Parts
Express.

[gerard]

I already post a thread about the g2si some month ago .

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=19724

I changed my 035ti with aurum cantus g2si .

Result is remarkable .

Only one problem is you need some extra ribbon , I almost destroy one with my amp . Next time i will have a special device to avoid it .

Gerard