Hi Stewart,
I wonder if you have any accurate measurements, made anechoically at
the normal 10 ft. listening distance, that might confirm your
listening impressions of the superior accuracy of the ribbon tweeter?
If so, I would certainly appreciate receiving a copy of them.
Thus far, the anechoic measurements we have made of ribbon tweeters
at a distance of 10 feet have revealed relatively high levels of
non-linear distortion, very poor impulse and step responses, and a
narrow vertical radiation pattern above about 10 kHz.
I suspect the poor impulse and step responses might be attributed to
reflections from the top and bottom "pinned edges" of the ribbon,
creating standing waves and multiple modes along the membrane's
surface at several frequencies.
The soft, 1" diameter dome tweeter I have chosen to use exhibits near
perfect impulse and step responses, a very flat modulus of amplitude
Vs frequency, very low levels of non-linear distortion and excellent
radiation patterns in both horizontal and vertical planes.
These properties are evident by examining the measurements of several
models of DAL's loudspeakers that can be found at
www.dunlavyaudio.com.
John D.