Dayton PT2B-8 good tweeter for line array use?

[thadman]

Is there any better tweeter for a line array that doesnt cost very much money? I know there are much better tweeters out there, but none that are super small (CTC spacing has to be extremely minute to minimize combing), cheap, and can span a long distance. Can these possibly sound good if several of them are used? Would I be much better off building a DIY ribbon?

I will be using (4) RS390HFs/tower + (16) RS125-4s/tower + whichever tweeter

[augerpro]

My understanding is planars do not comb like a dome would in a line array. The taller the planar the better, assuming the cost is equal.

[cjd]

Not much of a good tweeter for much of anything at all.

Take a peek at the Neo3.

[Jim Holtz]

Not much of a good tweeter for much of anything at all.

Take a peek at the Neo3.

The Dayton planars are a better solution than the Neo3's. Long ribbons are excellent in a line array because you want reduced vertical dispersion rather than more. The tweeter array gives you the vertical height due to it's length. The Neo3 has pretty good vertical dispersion and would cause a lot more issues with combing.

The Dayton or Silver Flute planars are not the best driver for a high end line array but they are probably the best choice for a budget line array. Neo8's would be good if they didn't take a dump at 16K. A lot more expensive however.

The problem with the the Dayton planars is they need a crossover point no lower than 2.5K which causes spacing issues if you're using anything larger than a 5" driver.

My $.02 worth...

Jim

[Rick Craig]

My understanding is planars do not comb like a dome would in a line array. The taller the planar the better, assuming the cost is equal.

The planars have some comb filtering but not to the extent that a dome tweeter has. In this case the reduced vertical dispersion of the planar is an advantage.

[Rick Craig]

Not much of a good tweeter for much of anything at all.

Take a peek at the Neo3.

Actually it can sound fairly good with the right crossover and system application.

[Rick Craig]

Is there any better tweeter for a line array that doesnt cost very much money? I know there are much better tweeters out there, but none that are super small (CTC spacing has to be extremely minute to minimize combing), cheap, and can span a long distance. Can these possibly sound good if several of them are used? Would I be much better off building a DIY ribbon?

I will be using (4) RS390HFs/tower + (16) RS125-4s/tower + whichever tweeter

You can get good results with the Dayton tweeter but be careful about sensitivity matching with the woofers. Do you have measurement capability and crossover software?

[thadman]

Im going to be using a DCX2496 + DEQ2496 + ECM8000 + seperate amps for each set of speakers per tower (obviously)

[cotdt]

ECM8000? you mean you're going to be using the mic unit as your tweeter?

[Rick Craig]

Im going to be using a DCX2496 + DEQ2496 + ECM8000 + seperate amps for each set of speakers per tower (obviously)

Sounds like you're good to go.

[Mazeroth]

ECM8000? you mean you're going to be using the mic unit as your tweeter?

Were any drivers even mentioned in his reply? Nope. :T

[thadman]

Would I be better off building a diy ribbon or going with the dayton planars? Are the dayton planars *that* abyssmal when compared to true ribbon arrays?

[ThomasW]

With any of the low buck planar tweeters you get what you pay for. They're certainly not in the same league as a real ribbon.

One can build DIY ribbons, but that not a simple task.

[cobbpa]

This seems like a good place to ask...what's a minimum height to gain the benefits of an array? The Dayton planar is 6 5/8"..would 2 of these and a few RS125s or Peerless 832873's make a worthwhile mini-array, or would the small overall size create bad combing issues? I've heard line arrays once and loved them. In my scenario I can't take up all the space normal arrays do, but would like a slice of that sound. I may be way off track..just asking!

[augerpro]

Read this: http://www.audiodiycentral.com/resource/pdf/nflawp.pdf

Simple answer is the woofer array should be at least 70% of the ceiling height in your room. Tweeter height is mostly governed by coverage at the listening position.

[Rick Craig]

This seems like a good place to ask...what's a minimum height to gain the benefits of an array? The Dayton planar is 6 5/8"..would 2 of these and a few RS125s or Peerless 832873's make a worthwhile mini-array, or would the small overall size create bad combing issues? I've heard line arrays once and loved them. In my scenario I can't take up all the space normal arrays do, but would like a slice of that sound. I may be way off track..just asking!

There's really no such thing as a mini-array because it tends to be more like a poorly functioning point source.

[Rick Craig]

Would I be better off building a diy ribbon or going with the dayton planars? Are the dayton planars *that* abyssmal when compared to true ribbon arrays?

If you can wait and save your $ the true ribbons IMO are worth the extra money. The Behringer equipment will help quite a bit with the Dayton planars so I still think you can get pretty good results if you want to have a more modest budget.

[thadman]

I can get a lot of neodymium for next to nothing and I have a friend who owns a machine shop, so other than the design I shouldnt have any issues constructing them.

If I did go the DIY route, does anybody have any tips?

Would a 84" segmented ribbon be a good idea over a single line source? Im afraid the dipole bass array might disrupt the ribbon during low notes.

[Mazeroth]

he Behringer equipment will help quite a bit with the Dayton planars so I still think you can get pretty good results if you want to have a more modest budget.

Can you elaborate a little bit on this one, Rick?

[Rick Craig]

I can get a lot of neodymium for next to nothing and I have a friend who owns a machine shop, so other than the design I shouldnt have any issues constructing them.

If I did go the DIY route, does anybody have any tips?

Would a 84" segmented ribbon be a good idea over a single line source? Im afraid the dipole bass array might disrupt the ribbon during low notes.

I've never built my own ribbon but the challenge is to have enough sensitivity for matching the woofer line. Many of the homebrew designs I've seen fall short in that area.

I assume with the Behringer you can decrease the gain on the lowpass section so the sensitivtiy may not be a problem for you.

[Rick Craig]

Can you elaborate a little bit on this one, Rick?

With the DSP EQ and high order crossover slopes it gives you the best opportunity to maximize the Dayton planar's performance. With a passive crossover and no digital EQ it's much more difficult.