Price, blilliance, soft tones

Severely lack power peaks.

I'm not a super audio buff but I do like my music and sometimes on the louder side. I have the LX5s with a Radio Shack 10 inch passive sub, with the LX5s satellited from the sub so the whole 120 watts per channel form the Kenwood Xcvr are somewhat attenuated. Unfortunately, I have managed to smoke (literally; smell of electronics and puff of smoke) these tweeters for the second time now. This time it was Rush "Natural Science" from the Permanent Waves CD. They are nice but do not seem to handle the power.

Similar Products Used:

Older Radio Shcak ferrofluid soft domes never damaged until mother nature caused a flood.

Good sound stage and clairty. Easily mounted.

none to speak of.

I purchased a pair of these tweeters for the refurbishment of a pair of Epicure 3.0 tower speakers. They had been water damaged so original restoration would not be cost efficient. I mounted the Tweeters in the same place as the factory originals(also external) and was pleasntly suprised by the quality of the sound from these relativly inexpensive tweeters. Their presence was open and airy and seemed to match the epicures other drivers well. Overall I like these tweeters and recommend them highly.

Similar Products Used:

none

Outboard add-on tweeter needs no tools or skill to install.

comes with a 50v capacitor that cuts off around 2.5Khz, cap could be up-graded to 100v and perhaps at a higher x-over frequency. Low x-over freq @ 6db is too harsh sounding.

Its been almost a year since my first post. Since then, my Polk Audio SDA-CRS+'s experienced a blown tweeter. (I suspect a faulty DMX unit or rap music) I did not wish to speand around $80 for the replacement tweeter from Polk and a couple of other tweets just didn't sound right. Then I caught what may have been the last two Linaeum Tweeter mods on clearence for $14.97 at Ratshack. I tried them with my Polks for a week and was not impressed. I decided that I would wire them directly to the speakers own 18db x-over w/ cut off around 3Khz. Much, much better. More detail and less coloration. However, these tweeters are placement sensative. If placed too close to the rear wall they sound congealed. Still, At $29 they were a great buy, but at $15, they're a steal. Get some. Overall rating is based on other tweeters that retail between $35-$60 ea. People who are in the market for an add-on tweeter mod can't go wrong. People who are replacing blown tweets in Hi-end speakers might spend the extra bucks and consider tweeters from mcmelectronis.com or partsexpress.com

IMPORTANT: If you use a separate x-over, you must by-pass (or remove) the 50v cap thats provided. This will require soldering skills as its close to the tweeter ribbon!

These tweeters are available from Radio Shack Unlimited. The mail order version of radio shack.. Just tell them you need a replacement tweeter for the LX-5 speaker!

They are reasonably priced and have cheap shipping charges!
The monopole version is 14.99 each plus 3$ shipping!

An excellent tweeter for an excellent price. I suggested an idea similar to the one below as a "mod" to the OPTIMUS STS-800 (see that review site) but with a "switch" (talk about a generic clone for the NHT VT towers though not as clean) to each tweeter for movies and music. This is the cheapest modification you can do to all low to most mid and even some high end speakers if your high extension isn't there. If you own the 201-501 (maybe some of the others I haven't heard) series BOSE speakers adding this on them will improve them almost as much as a sub (heck buy the PRO-LX 5/8/10 and replace them with a superior sounding product and you won't even need to buy a crossover). I also heard that they make for a very good car tweeters as well (though I never heard them in one). Remember if you use these to keep the back and sides of the speaker about a 1-1 1/2' from walls, bookshelves, and entertainment centers so that they can breathe (radiate) properly or you'll get sound compression. I find it best if you cross this higher than what RS does (2.2Khz on the PRO-LX series and 2.5Khz on the tweeter when you buy it) especially if you use a Vifa or Scanspeak drives for mids (you can make an awesome and improved version of below or and of the PRO-LX series speakers and can buy these drivers and cross-overs at Meniscusaudio.com). Unless you want to spend 5X the price of this tweeter, you really won't get a noticible improvement over this. If you are a fan of Di-pole (Infinity Overture 2-3, Definitive Bi-pole, Mirage OM, etc...) and are on a very tight budget you can buy these and get a similar sound. Remember these are used in the Aura-Linesource series and Linaeum tower-10 (high-end and the maker of these tweeters) which costs approximately $400/pair on their low-end and praised for performance by most audio magazines (most didn't care for the cosmetic of the RS version or the other drivers but the spaciousness, transparencies, and cleanliness of these tweets are awesome). My advice is go out and buy these quick because I read somewhere (sorry can't remember from where but did read this about a month or two ago) that Aura bought out Lineaum and now will most likely control the distribution of these tweeters (I also don't know if they still have or extended a contract with RS, but the way they discontinued all but the PRO-LX5 II makes me think they most likely didn't want competition for their own home loudspeakers). I personally own 4 PRO-LX8s (main room) and 2 PRO-LX5s (for rear effects in the bedroom) because of the wide "sweet spot" these will project and the clarity (sounds even better when cranked compared to the way others sound harsh when driven). The only bad part is that their Monopole tweeter with similar specs doesn't match tonally perfect for a seemless sound stage (though it is very very hard to detect and only on very limited scenes driven hard and loud). These are to me very excellent products for a great price and you must hear these at home to really experience them as RS has a very poor setup.

I used this with a Optimus STS-800 (STS tweeter disconnected) and it was better sounding than the Pro LX-10. I would recommend this as an add-on or any DIY'er looking for a good tweeter for an excellent price. I'd try it w/ a good mid-range in a three-way set up, maybe crossed over higher than 2.5k hz. I know of no catalog offering a tweeter w/ the Linaeum's capabilities for $29, but Aura may change that. If it goes on clearence at R/S, I'll race you. I'll buy as many as my budget, or my wife will allow.

Accuracy, detail, COST!!

None.

Excellent tweeter for an excellent price. Tweeter has been produced with both mylar and polypropylene film as distributed by Radio Shack on different speaker systems. Silk version available from aurasound.

When mated with a good mid driver in a good cabinent, positioned for a relatively close zero degree plane at listening position and given a decent crossover is a very good drive indeed IMO. Will perform as well as some tweeters costing almost $200 IF incorporated correctly. Unfortunately this is not as simple as one would like by simply putting on a box that contains a midwoofer. Because of near flat constant impedance makes an excellent 1st order suitable driver when crossed at MINIMUM of 3.5k, any lower will result in significant IM distortion at moderate and higher volume levels. Steeper rate will be required for lower cross point if you care for quality sound. Very few midwoofers available that can be crossed that high and have high res midrange and minimum off-axis problems and most of those that can go that hi will require correction circuits to rid cone resonance problems.

Have been totally impressed with this driver. Have used on numerous projects. Actually it's too easy to use and a fear I will not use it anymore simply because I've used it too often. Currently trying to find a source for Gallo Acoustics CDT tweeter, now that is likely the finest dipole tweeter that is available.

Let me just say that it is a shame that Lineaum designed such a high quality tweeter technology and then failed to produce loudspeaker systems that met it's potential. Their were other Lineaum tweeter designs, such as a 8" tall dipole that could be crossed as low as 1k that are not available anywhere other than on the speaker is was used on. Now Radio Shack abuses this cool technology and matches it with poor cabinetry, crossover and mid drivers? Geez.

Picked up a couple of these for £10 each at Tandy/Radio Shack a couple of months back, in an end-of-line sale. I've experimented with a couple of different mid/bass units. They're a bit of a mixed bag. Very smooth- but to the point of dullness, and there's a certain 'soft' character to them too. Good detail and a less 'speakerish' sound than most, but maybe better on the decay of treble sounds than on the attack. Quite sensitive to the distance from, and angle to the wall behind them, as you'd expect from the dipole design, which also confers a spacious sound. Overall a nice unit, but sensitivity is low at around 82dB/Watt, which is either going to mean bi-amping or wasting sensitivity in the partnering drivers. As Stereophile suggested in their review of the complete LX5 speaker a few years back, they're probably a bit too polite. On rock music anyway...