ClaudeJ1 Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 Has anyone here ever compared the two sonically? If so, is there a huge difference in the midrange and treble?? If so, what is that difference? Better imaging? Brighter? Read too many places/aritles over the years about the superiority of 1st order networks and this group seems to have some tweaking expericence and good ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 I'm not sure if the A and AA differ by anything more than the diodes that constitue the tweeter protection circut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 The AA also has a steeper slope on the tweeter. That steeper slope and the zener diodes were both put in to help protect the delicate K-77 tweeter. The sound is not much different between the two but I slightly prefer the simpler type A. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 As previously stated, the major difference is the tweeter circuit. That does make a noticable sonic difference. I run Type AAs with Hovland Musicap capacitors. My brother runs a variation of the Type A (with a squawker bandpass called Type DHA2 here) with Solen and Hovland caps. The Type A is brighter. The tweeter output is 2 to 3 dB higher with a Type A because the Type AA tweeter circuit is designed to be "lossy" cutting the tweeter's output. I don't notice a difference in imaging, but the greater tweeter level sounds like "detail" on simple, acoustic music and a dentist drill on much rock music. The difference is not large, more on the order of "flavor" most of the time, but it is enough to be obnoxious when cranked up, to me. The tweeter's efficiency rating is 105 dB/w/m. It doesn't hurt anything to knock off 2 and as much as 3 dB in it's lower range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted November 11, 2006 Author Share Posted November 11, 2006 The AA also has a steeper slope on the tweeter. That steeper slope and the zener diodes were both put in to help protect the delicate K-77 tweeter. The sound is not much different between the two but I slightly prefer the simpler type A. Bob I recall reading in the "Dope From Hope" that PWK did the Zeners to protect the tweeters from the stupid RCA plugs between pre-amps and power amps, expecially for the solid state ones. The issue was, upon disconnect that the ground opened up so that the signal went to the full supply rain, causing a full (70+ volts on high power amps) that would open up the voice coils in one big hurry. They were there to prevent that type of accident. I'm sure having an 3rd order slope at 6k dropped the lower frequencies out much more quickly and they didn't care about the phase too much at that point since the drivers are about 21" apart anyhow. Thanks for the input, no pun intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted November 11, 2006 Author Share Posted November 11, 2006 OK, so I googled (modern verb) it and found 11 pages of a prior thread on this, so that takes care of my question. I enjoyed the heated discussions and viewpoints, but you're all wrong............just kidding. This is a great group of enthusiasts with a diverse background. My only comment is the room is probably more important than the crossover. Claude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 the room is more important than the crossover. Quite possibly true. Probably not in every case, but could be true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 My only comment is the room is probably more important than the crossover. If you're using a crappy set of networks, it'll sound crappy and I don't care how acoustically perfect your room is. Bob might say it's like driving your car on pavement as smooth as glass -- with fouled plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudret Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 ... but the greater tweeter level sounds like "detail" on simple, acoustic music and a dentist drill on much rock music. I taltally agree with John that Type As sound more detailed on simple, acoustic music. Hence they are my favorite among the others (DHA2 and AA). I've never experienced the "dentist drill" part though due to type of amplification I use and type of music I listen to. Kudret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I feel the same. I liked the 'A' more for it's greater clarity overall, but found the character of different recordings to be the cause of that unpleasant bite rather than the network. Guess it depends on how one looks at the problem, though. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 There's also Bob Crites' type A crossover modification with the mid/tweeter rolloff at 4500 hz (using the CT-125's instead of the K-77's)? I've received a couple of great remarks from forum members about this method, and am planning to do this in a few weeks to a pair of 89' Klipschorns, and I'd like to hear more about how that works from others in different applications, particularly with LaScala's and also other Heritage series. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me Loves Khorns Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 I have put that exact set up in my Khorns and Lascala's. They sound great. Just about to put some of his tweets in my Cornwalls too. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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