Quartet treble not as sparkly as the KG 3.5

[gsgleason]

Hi, all.  I got a great deal on some KG3.5s a while back and have really been enjoying the sound.  When I A/B them against my more expensive Wharfedale EVO or Polk LSIM, the high end is just so must more airy and open on the KGs. 

 

I just picked up some Quartets for $400 from marketplace today.  The cabinets are a little rough, and they had no grilles, but these are for the basement listening area, not for show.

They basically have the same tweeters as the KG 3.5.  The horn looks identical and they have the same looking phenolic diaphragms. 

 

The Quartets just don't have the same open, airy high end that the KGs have, and I'm not sure why.

 

I don't know if anything has been done to these, but I'm planning on taking them apart for a good cleaning and seeing if the crossovers are stock.

 

Any thoughts?

[Peter P.]

If they "basically have the same tweeters" then I'd swap tweeters between speakers and see if the sound quality you enjoy follows the tweeter

or stays with the cabinet. That will tell you whether it's the driver or the crossover.

 

Could be it's not a component issue but just the way the speaker was designed.

 

Another thought; are the tweeters on the comparing speakers at the same listening height? High frequencies are more directional and you

could be influenced by the tweeter height of the two speakers.

[CWOReilly]

I’m with ^. Swap tweeters around and see, but only if they actually match. I’ve had Quartets and the top end was great. Otherwise it could be damaged diaphragm or aging crossovers. Do the Quartets sound equal from one to another? I have a tone generator app for just such occasions. 

[wuzzzer]

Play some music and stick your ear right next to the Quartet tweeters and see if they’re making sound.