Hello all,

Any plans to replace the hybrid tweeter in the QS4's with the same ones found in the VP100, M22i etc?

Not everyone has a large room to fill and I think that using the same tweeter for all speakers would be the way to go.

Yes, I know I'm old and I probably can't hear the highs anymore but at least I could fool myself into thinking that there would be an improvement.

Or isn't this critical on surrounds?

Also, if you did change the tweeter would you offer a retro-fit kit for people with the hybrids?

Now please excuse me, it's far too nice an afternoon to be spending at the computer.

I am curious about this also. Alan, do you have any knowledge of this, that you can talk about of course? Maybe that is why this has not got a response. Marketing issue maybe.

Hello FordPrefect,

No, there are no plans to replace the hybrid tweeter on the QS4s. It's a matter of having two distinct QS surround models, one for medium to small rooms, the other for larger rooms. The voice coil on the QS8s is 1 inch, compared to a 1/2-inch voice coil on the QS4 tweeters, so it's just a matter of improved power handling at high volumes in bigger rooms.

The actual frequency response differences between the two tweeters would be insignificant. The same applies to the larger woofers on the QS8s vs the smaller ones on the QS4s, but the QS8s pump more air into bigger rooms with lowered distortion. They are two different models for different applications at different prices.

By the way, as you get older, you do lose extreme high-frequency hearing but the good news is that it doesn't matter--there's little musical content of importance between 12 kHz and 20 kHz. Although audiophiles cringe when I tell them this, all of the important energy and content of most instruments lies in the midrange and upper mids, to about 10 kHz. That's why a speaker's performance through the midrange is crucial. It's also where our hearing is by far the most sensitive, and where we largely make judgments on good or bad qualitites of speaker performance. So don't worry about a few harmonics of cymbals or violin at 18 kHz. You'll never miss 'em. Besides, most males over 40 have little or no hearing left above 14 kHz, no matter what they claim.

Regards,

Thanks for the reply Alan, very interesting in terms of tweeters and my hearing .

That's what I like about this place, informative and entertaining.

In reply to:

---

By the way, as you get older, you do lose extreme high-frequency hearing but the good news is that it doesn't matter--there's little musical content of importance between 12 kHz and 20 kHz.

---

Well, those World's Meastro conductors often fully bloom to his peak at the age of 70's and 80's. They probably cannot hear much in the top octave of "audio" frequencies, but they do know and tell how his orchestra and its instruments should sound!

Cheers!

Alan, thanks for the info

I'm curios as to why the tweeter was upgraded on the m2i but not the qs4. Is there a big sound difference between these tweeters? I remember reading a review that said the new tweeter improved the m2i's.

It actually has been upgraded on the QS4. Now all of the speakers in Axioms current lineup use the same (excellent) tweeters.

Evidence that I've been living under a rock for a long time. Do the pictures show the new or old tweeter? I had always held back on getting qs4's because of the tweeter....guess I'll have to find a summer job now.

The pictures are incorrect, I believe.