this is old news..

 

yet still no one has compared them to expensive ribbons, or other popular DIY dome tweeters though.

 

hope they have them in socal too!

 

ya $26 is definetly lower than what they were before

 

**** me! I bought a set for $50 months ago as well.
Stupid 1/2 price....

Oh, BTW, my set is available for testing by anybody here. I said that a while ago but maybe people forgot. Just pay shipping (I think I can flat-rate them anywhere) and let us know how they perform.

 

do they come with the crossover??? haha doubt it but thought i would just ask.

 

Yep. One crossover, two tweeters.

 

Product Features:

* 150 Watts of Maximum Power per Pair
* Kapton® Ribbons: 8 mm x 45 mm
* Dual Crossover network at 3,500 Hz–12 dB/Octave
* Frequency Response: 3,000 Hz–40,000 Hz
* Sensitivity: 90 dB 1W/1M
* Impedance: 4 Ω (Ohms)
* Power Output: 80 Watts RMS per Pair
* Crossover Frequency: 3,500 Hz–12 dB/Octaves

They put out 80w per pair according to these specs. Sweet, so you don't need an amp.

 

ROTF @ the power specs. Every power spec is "per pair". Check the 400W max subwoofer with a Fs of 70Hz. And 3-way component set with 10 ounce "Giga" magnet...not just any ordinary magnet.

 

The important thing is how they sound. I tested them for an hour or so before I began my real install, and I was impressed by how they sounded. I put one in each corner of my dash area, and it great.

They get loud. Really, really loud. I crossed them right at 3k, @24bB/oct, and they were definitely keeping up w/ the system.

Try them out, let me know how they do. Who's got the test equipment and the will to experiment?

 

They get loud. Really, really loud. I crossed them right at 3k, @24bB/oct, and they were definitely keeping up w/ the system.

That's probably because the passive network has an impedance-matching transformer that yields a net 4 ohm load. I bought a pair of these tonight for $26 and that little nugget is in the manual.

When I get a chance I'll measure the DCR of the raw driver. Until then, I hope you're running them active with an Orion HCCA or something like it <lol>, not sure just how low the impedance drops. I'm pretty impressed with what's in the package for twenty six bucks. And they're a lot smaller than I expected.

Most of my favorite mega-dollar speakers at last year's audio fest used ribbon tweets, so I am hopeful these have potential.

 

so.....are they good enough for your car? I see you are not using them? why?

 

Because I already have gaping holes in my doors for my ring radiators. I bought them not for installation in this vehicle, but perhaps another custom install for someone else, or just for experimentation.

The amp I used them with was a PPI DCX 300.4, and it did fine. I wouldn't ever run them with the passive box, if I could help it.

 

will these play down to 2k crossed @ 18db ?

 

I'd say that depends on which of my sampled tweets is representative of the norm. But even on the sample with the lower Fs of the two, that might be pushing it IMHO. On the sample with the higher Fs, it would be more like 4k or 5k.

 

Pretty much flying in the face of the manufacturer's literature, the impedance seems to be around 5 ohms minimum on the raw drivers.

I measured both tweets with the WT3 tester and I will say now that there appears to be a ridiculous amount of variance in Q/C. Like Fs being off by an order of magnitude (~1100 vs ~2000 Hz). Qts is also radically different between the samples. I ran multiple tests trying to cast doubt on the outcome, but the two drivers even sound markedly different with the short impedance sweep/tone burst from the WT3. I'm trying to decide if I want to return them for my $26, or buy a second set to try and match drivers before returning one of the sets.

Note the blue line is impedance, pink is phase.

 

I suspect that the tweet with the Fs of ~1100 Hz is not the norm. These are pretty small, the exposed ribbon is only about 2" x 1/4". I'm going to pick up another pair and see if I can match two of them up fairly well and return the two oddballs. If it gets even weirder and none of them match within ~15%, I'll take them all back as defective.

As far as tweeters go, my experience has been:

Cheap
Plays Low
Is Small

Pick two.

 

where have you found these in colorado? I cant find any in the Fort Collins walmart.

 

you want my set for testing ?

 

I found a pair of these for $26 and decided to try them in place of my Vifa domes. Crossed actively at 3k 24db/oct, paired with Audax Aerogel 6.5 mids. Surprisingly smooth response, easy on the ears with little distortion. Very delicate sound as compared to the Vifas, LPG aluminum domes, Focal TNs, Polk db tweets. Acoustic instruments sound amazing, no hint of harshness. RTA shows a smoother in-car response than the above listed. Main problem is limited dispersion. Vertical angle is very narrow...10khz and above drops quickly @ >20 degrees. Horizontal is OK, but not as good as other planars. (these are NOT true ribbons). However, once aimed properly, these VRT18 tweeters can be stunning, especially for the closeout pricing.

 

My second pair of these is much more closely matched and I will keep them. As of now, the Walmart just west of Yosemite on Hampden/Havana in Denver has one pair left. I struck out at Arapahoe/Dry Creek and the store in Castle Rock.

I'll post text to avoid flooding the thread with pix. Samples 3 and 4 are the new pair, 1 and 2 are the old pair that yielded the graphs above. Sample 2 is clearly the defective driver.

Sample 1:

f(s)= 1097.00 Hz
R(e)= 4.73 Ohms
Z(max)= 4.82 Ohms
Q(ms)= 0.055
Q(es)= 2.870
Q(ts)= 0.054

Sample 2:

f(s)= 2042.00 Hz
R(e)= 4.76 Ohms
Z(max)= 5.32 Ohms
Q(ms)= 3.358
Q(es)= 28.460
Q(ts)= 3.004

Sample 3:

f(s)= 833.70 Hz
R(e)= 4.87 Ohms
Z(max)= 4.88 Ohms
Q(ms)= 0.041
Q(es)= 15.890
Q(ts)= 0.041

Sample 4:

f(s)= 808.80 Hz
R(e)= 4.76 Ohms
Z(max)= 4.83 Ohms
Q(ms)= 0.040
Q(es)= 2.518
Q(ts)= 0.039


2K at a 24db/octave slope might be achievable with these if you don't get too aggressive with the output levels.

 

An addendum:

These VRT18 "ribbon" tweeters scale up nicely with additional power. I am running clean 50w RMS through them and they the output is clear at higher volumes. The many small neo car audio tweeters that I have owned seem to have excursion issues at higher volume and an increase in audible distortion (harshness). Pretty impressive! I recall my early audio days with a pair of Infinity Qa's at home with the amazing EMIT tweeter. This experience is similar.

The limited dispersion actually works well up high...I have them in sail panels. Even though the Fs is low, I would not run them below 3Khz ... the response seems weak below this.

If you can fit them (and find them), this is a great buy.

BTW, if you are running them active, place a 27uf - 33uf capacitor in series to protect them from low freq pops.

 

I just bought a set from my local Wal-Mart. If anyone is interested, my local Wal-Mart has one set left and I will pick up the set for the total with tax ($27.69), plus $5 for my trouble, and whatever shipping would be. This would probably bring it just under $40. If there's interest, I can also check the surrounding Wal-Marts. These are all 20-30+ minutes away, so my finder's fee would be a few dollars higher to account for fuel.

Anyway, I'm excited to try out these tweeters. I hope I'll be as blown away as I anticipate.

 

I honestly really like the ones I bought when they were $50. Been trying to find a use for them. I think they sound great and just need some attenuation.

 

Glad to see that these are actually useful. I'm assuming most of you guys are running them active? or has someone tested them with the passives?

peace...

Ro

 

I never tried the passive.

The passive doesnt have a lowpass for a woofer so it's not very useful imo.

 

Theoretically most off-axis 6.5" or larger mids would have a natural rolloff that is pretty complementary to a 3.5K 12db/octave slope for the high pass. So I don't know that it's a real deal breaker to not have the low pass for the mid.

Might be more of an issue with impedance if you're using passive mids and tweets with a 4-ohm stereo voltage amp, but even that is not really likely. Short of a modified LP or some old bizarre Hafler car stuff, how many amps can you think of that are not 2 ohm stable in stereo?

I bought the tweeters to use in a set of near-field monitors with some Vifa midbasses, so the directional issues don't concern me all that much. I'll be designing my own filters/compensation network based on measurements anyway. It's a long-term project but I will be sure to post my impressions.

 

Indeed. Already having an active capable setup I just didn't bother with the passive.

 

Just wanted to also add that I took my first defective set of tweets back tonight to a different store. Denver residents can note that as of Thursday eve (tonight) there are two pairs of these left (not including my return) at the Walmart off Quebec at C-470.

 

VR3 Car Stereo Speakers

Are the tweeters represented at this link or am I missing something?

What department are you finding these in? Car audio or home stereo? I couldnt find them last time I stopped by.

 

They are the VRT18 tweeters in the link you posted, they're in the car audio part of the store. Not all stores have them, or I should say some don't seem to stock them. In the stores where I have found only cheep Roadmaster dome tweeters, there were some VR3 products but not even a tag on the shelf for the ribbon tweeters. Seems like it's the higher volume metro-area stores that have them in Denver.