Seas introduced new drivers at CES

[TacoD]

I came across the following link at my local distributor:

http://www.clofis.nl/nl/seas/Seas%20CES%202005%20news.pdf

The preliminary data of the new drivers of Seas. Both for the Excel and the Basic range. Very interesting drivers if you ask me. For the Excel range they offer 3 new tweeters the Cresendo seems the replacement driver of the Milennium, the two others are high efficiency drivers one with a fabric dome the other with an Al/Mg dome. Both are moderately horn loaded according to the datasheet.

[JonMarsh]

You know, I was pretty excited when I heard they were bringing out this many new products, and a I got a copy of this PDF a couple of days ago, but had been too busy to take a look.

Now, I took a look, I have to say I'm left scratch my head a bit, sayin, huh? :huh:

The new big guy tweeters are larger than the Excels we know- that is, 29 mm domes, plus that new little guy. And they talk about having a bit of horn loading, partly to help the efficiency. But the curves just don't look that great to me- especially, since the frequency response starts dropping below 3 kHz as you move down in frequency. Even the very high end Crescendo shows this characterisitic, and I don't think it's just a measurement artefact, as they're measuring on baffles over half a meter in each direction.

The H1318 version in the Basics series actually looks better, flatter to 1 kHz, though without a rear chamber, it's resonance is right around 900 Hz. And the Xmax isn't as good. Still, a chambered version of this might be interesting for the budget oriented wanting a little more output capability from the larger dome. The H1322 looks pretty good, too, for a larger dome metal tweeter (aluminum/magnesium). Off axis upper end resonse does suffer with these larger domes.

The new paper W18 looks like it has some subtle cone issues right around or just below 1 kHz. The H1288 has it's first problem at 800 Hz- scratch that from consideration. The H1305 looks like it would struggle to compete against the RS270 - it's first big cone problelm is around 500 Hz. Depends on pricing, I guess.

Here's the Millenium Excel, measured on the M8ta baffle; the roll off above 15 kHz is a measurement artefact of using the B&K pressure zone mic in farfield measurements at 90 degree incidence.



The new tweeter will undoubtedly play louder, but it isn't as flat in the low end or the high end off axis. :rant: For me, this isn't an improvement overall- sheer volume is not my main criteria.

:duh:

[TacoD]

The excel tweeters are too expensive anyway, maybe the Cresendo can be used in a 3 way configuration. And I agree with you, the plots are not the best, but I want to listen first. At moment I am playing with LPG26 and Thiel & Partner C95 (borrowed from a friend), but I cannot say I can get used to stiff metal cone drivers. It is in the end the listeners preference not that of the mic.

[JonMarsh]

It is in the end the listeners preference not that of the mic.

That's very true. And voicing metal tweeters can be a little more tricky, as is the attention needed to the associated electronics.

I was commenting on the new Seas based on how they would fit into applications using my requirements, compared with their existing products, for example. Some choices surprise me, that's all.

best regards,

~Jon

[RavS]

Jon, I was thinking the exact same thing when I saw that PDF a few days ago. I'm also not rushing out to buy it or anything. I find the 25mm excels as good as any tweeters I've heard, and I think this size is a good compromise between dispersion and low crossing ability. I definately would not call it a replacement for the Milennium, more like a big brother. Could be useful for those that can't hear above 15k

[sbolin]

I find the new speakers very intriguing.

The woofers and mids are all coated papers cones (except for the coax unit). Are the basic line woofers and mids also Nextel? Or is that just the Excel units? It just says the basic line are 'hand coated', so I suppose that is not Nextel. I was hoping to see TPX cones, too. This is sort of a retro-upgrade, I guess.

I am a little disappointed in the direction the tweeters are going, too - the current 27mm units are just great, I don't see going to 29mm and higher efficiency really improves anything - tweeter efficiency is usually not an issue (normally they need to be padded down), and the larger diameter hurts high frequency dispersion, so...I just don't get it.

I am happy to see the new 22TFF and 22TAF/G tweeters though - finally, some competition (and cheap competition I guess) to the Hiquphons!

Any idea when these will be out?