Ribbon tweeters

[Covenant]

I am shamelessly lifting this subject from a thread on PFM in which there has been a lot of discussion about the inherent faults of ribbon tweeters. The problems mentioned are impedance mismatching, high distortion, lag to name but a few. My own limited experience of the Fountek neo 3.0 is that they are superb and don't have any faults as described.
What is your experience of them?

[YNWaN]

Well the pfm thread you are lifting isn't a critique of ribbon tweeters as such as more a discussion of issues relating to their implementation.

Also, 'lag' isn't described as being a ribbon issue but an issue with MC drivers mated to them - a relative difference in rise time and speed of response.

[awkwardbydesign]

I like ribbon and planar tweeters. I find their faults tend not to bother me too much, and their virtues suit my hearing. Usually a flat non reactive impedance, lack of resonance just where it would annoy me, speed, extended HF. I have a rising response in my hearing, (hearing tests generally only go up to 8kHz, and I have a peak there) so sibilance and resonance issues matter more to me than to some others. Matching them to paper or plastic cones is hard, but something like Jordan metal cone drivers might suit. I also have a pair of Shackman electrostatic MF/HF units, and their speed and lack of cabinet resonance appeal to me. But even harder to match!

[Covenant]

Hi Mark, there seems to be an almost subjectivists point of view that for technical reasons they cannot be any good.

Richard, sibilance is my pet hate, perhaps thats why I like them!

[awkwardbydesign]

It might be worth asking your doctor to refer you for a hearing test. I simply told mine I make acoustic products so I need to know how my hearing is.
Old test (9 years ago)-
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m604/awkwardbydesign/Image_zpspshxcz5c.jpg (http://s1134.photobucket.com/user/awkwardbydesign/media/Image_zpspshxcz5c.jpg.html)
New test (this year) - they are on different equipment, so are not directly comparable, but you get the idea.
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m604/awkwardbydesign/Image_zpsvkuhldyw.jpg (http://s1134.photobucket.com/user/awkwardbydesign/media/Image_zpsvkuhldyw.jpg.html)
My wife has the normal HF droop; she simply cannot hear the things that would drive me mad! So sibilance is not her problem, but she has a mid range resonance problem that doesn't affect me. So when someone tells you that product XYZ sounds a certain way, ask them for their audiogram. I've tried that, and funnily enough no-one has ever responded!
Trust your own experiences.

[Haselsh1]

My only experience was with a pair of Dali ribbon supertweeters on a pair of their Ikon loudspeakers. I thought they gave a gorgeous sparkly treble which I loved at the time. The only reason I got rid was their almost total lack of low bass.

[agk]

My only experience would be those in Leak 3090's. They dont stand out above the other drivers and contribute to a great sound.