tdgesq
05-29-2006, 08:13 PM
I purchased a set of both several weeks ago to audition in my first diy setup. They were installed in a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the sail panels (at least that's what I call them) and powered by a Harmon Kardon CA-205 tweeter amplifier that is technically rated at 3 1/2 watts rms/channel. That rating by the way is a dirty lie. I have put it head to head on several occasions with an old sony xm series 35 X 2 @ 4 ohms, and the hk humiliates it in every conceivable way. Both sets of tweeters could be driven at painfully loud levels with no audible clipping of the amplifier. For those that are interested the mids are the seas ca18rnx. The headunit - sony pos 9000. It is the next piece of equipment scheduled to be replaced.
My method was to listen to the same music in the same order for both sets of tweeters. I started out with Josh Groban, John Mayer, and Pink Floyd. Next female vocals, Madonna, Sarah Brightman, Sarah McClaughlin, etc. Some classical, including the 1812 Overture. Next, Metallica, Slayer and She Wants Revenge. I also tried to listen to some Ministry, but their music is already so distorted that it's hard to tell whether it's the driver or that's just the way it was recorded. Anyway, at that point I knew I was finished.
This all took place over a nine day period. Five days for the lpg's and four days for the vifas. Since my headunit sucks I have no time delay and no equalization capability. I had both sets of tweeters directly on axis aimed at my ears though and crossed at 3250hz 18db/octave. Here are the results.
The LPG 25nfa is incredibly open and detailed on the top end, much more so than the Vifa. In fact, at first I would have described the lpgs as exaggerated in this respect. I had to mess with the gains for a long time to try to get them to satisfactorily match the mids, but when I did it was well worth it. Hi hats were very crisp and the female vocals really came alive with these little tweeters. They are so revealing, that I could hear the musicians shift in their chairs and accidently tap their instruments against things in the classical pieces. Plucked strings were also very nice to listen to. Sometimes though the lpgs would give too much information, including that one of my John Mayer cds (a burn from a questionable source) is a really lousy recording.
It did surprise me that the lpgs were not fatiguing to my ears like many tweeters I've owned that have given that type of detail. Nevertheless, I find myself every now and again having to adjust the gains for certain material where the lpgs are just too much. By the way, these tweeters are somewhat heavier than the vifa d26 even though the vifa is a larger tweeter. Now, on to the vifa d26-nc55.
If I had to describe the vifa in a word, it would be this: neutral. Not to be confused with laid back. It isn't that. It also has very nice detail in the higher frequencies, just not in the same quantity as the lpg. I liked this tweeter a lot more with the classical music than I did the lpg. It was never overpowering in one particular area of the music, and much easier to match with the mids imo. But here's the deal, I listen to way more pop, rock and metal than I do classical or jazz. And the lpg's just exploded on cymbals and guitar in songs like Tear You Apart and Angel of Death. I did however enjoy male voices with the vifa slightly more than the lpg. To me, the vifa clearly reproduced some of the lower frequencies around 3000 hz (guess) than the lpg, even though the xover point stayed the same for both.
Bottom line, I'm keeping the lpgs and giving the vifad26s along with that old sony amp to my brother as a graduation gift. Right now he is running two Jensen 5" coaxials as his front stage. He's going to spend all of his money on a sub, so I have to save him from himself. I would like to say that the lpgs walk a very fine line with me. If there was much more on the top end, I would have to say no. So those with sensitive ears beware.
Sorry the post ended up being so long!
My method was to listen to the same music in the same order for both sets of tweeters. I started out with Josh Groban, John Mayer, and Pink Floyd. Next female vocals, Madonna, Sarah Brightman, Sarah McClaughlin, etc. Some classical, including the 1812 Overture. Next, Metallica, Slayer and She Wants Revenge. I also tried to listen to some Ministry, but their music is already so distorted that it's hard to tell whether it's the driver or that's just the way it was recorded. Anyway, at that point I knew I was finished.
This all took place over a nine day period. Five days for the lpg's and four days for the vifas. Since my headunit sucks I have no time delay and no equalization capability. I had both sets of tweeters directly on axis aimed at my ears though and crossed at 3250hz 18db/octave. Here are the results.
The LPG 25nfa is incredibly open and detailed on the top end, much more so than the Vifa. In fact, at first I would have described the lpgs as exaggerated in this respect. I had to mess with the gains for a long time to try to get them to satisfactorily match the mids, but when I did it was well worth it. Hi hats were very crisp and the female vocals really came alive with these little tweeters. They are so revealing, that I could hear the musicians shift in their chairs and accidently tap their instruments against things in the classical pieces. Plucked strings were also very nice to listen to. Sometimes though the lpgs would give too much information, including that one of my John Mayer cds (a burn from a questionable source) is a really lousy recording.
It did surprise me that the lpgs were not fatiguing to my ears like many tweeters I've owned that have given that type of detail. Nevertheless, I find myself every now and again having to adjust the gains for certain material where the lpgs are just too much. By the way, these tweeters are somewhat heavier than the vifa d26 even though the vifa is a larger tweeter. Now, on to the vifa d26-nc55.
If I had to describe the vifa in a word, it would be this: neutral. Not to be confused with laid back. It isn't that. It also has very nice detail in the higher frequencies, just not in the same quantity as the lpg. I liked this tweeter a lot more with the classical music than I did the lpg. It was never overpowering in one particular area of the music, and much easier to match with the mids imo. But here's the deal, I listen to way more pop, rock and metal than I do classical or jazz. And the lpg's just exploded on cymbals and guitar in songs like Tear You Apart and Angel of Death. I did however enjoy male voices with the vifa slightly more than the lpg. To me, the vifa clearly reproduced some of the lower frequencies around 3000 hz (guess) than the lpg, even though the xover point stayed the same for both.
Bottom line, I'm keeping the lpgs and giving the vifad26s along with that old sony amp to my brother as a graduation gift. Right now he is running two Jensen 5" coaxials as his front stage. He's going to spend all of his money on a sub, so I have to save him from himself. I would like to say that the lpgs walk a very fine line with me. If there was much more on the top end, I would have to say no. So those with sensitive ears beware.
Sorry the post ended up being so long!