This weekend, as a thank you to our subscribers, we are offering 25% off Lowther Super Tweeters.

Use code 56E4A58F7HAC at checkout:

https://www.lowtherloudspeakers.com/collection/super-tweeter

If you have been thinking about trying super tweeters, Mike’s article below is a good place to start. He explains what they add, why magnet matching matters, and why the Lowther DXT made such a clear difference in his own system.

Offer ends after this weekend.

To get the best from this article I would recommend you read my original Magnetic Personalities article first, which is also on the Lowther Blog. This will allow you to have the background information which is relevant to what is written below.

I’ve been a fan of the use of super tweeters for a long time. My first pair was recommended by the reviewer Jimmy Hughes, who had (in the 1980’s) spent time listening to the benefits of an add on piezo electric tweeter in his own system. I thought the results he obtained were impressive, and so added a pair to my more humble horn speakers with similar positive results. My journey into this fascinating but odd world had begun!

You will rightly ask why when we have all paid good money for “full range speakers” do we need to mess around adding a further tweeter which, by its very nature, is designed to deal with only super high frequencies we supposedly can’t hear? Good question, which I have often asked myself!

The other end of the audio frequency spectrum is of course the sub woofer. That is perhaps easier to defend as small speakers (and unfortunately certain horn designs) can be a bit lacking in the lower end. A good sub woofer system seems, to my ears, to lift both the mid range and high end frequencies in any speaker system. If correctly used it also makes the musical listening experience much more enjoyable and revealing. We don’t therefore question sub woofers as much as the super tweeter. Well I’d argue that’s somewhat counter intuitive as, in my experience, tweaking both frequency extremes pays huge dividends.

The story goes that, with the advent of digital recordings (in the 1970s), the digital high frequencies, (including the ultra high ones we can’t hear), were substantially and deliberately increased compared to the previous “band width restricted” analog recordings. Although our hearing is supposedly not capable of hearing these super high frequencies, it is believed when we listen to these modern digital recordings, we somehow sense their presence partially due to the way the ear, and perhaps more importantly the brain, work in tandem on our individual hearing. It is believed both infra bass and very high frequencies are sensed by the brain even though the ear doesn’t hear them as sound.

Because I’m only a humble Audiophile, and not an Audiologist, I can’t confirm this completely. What I do understand and believe is that just as the brain compensates for defects in your sight, it does so also with your hearing. Therefore for full musical detail retrieval it’s considered important for those high frequencies to be on recordings in the first place, if that makes sense? Hence the use of a super tweeter in their reproduction. This argument is likewise also applicable to lower frequencies and sub woofer use.

Super tweeters should not be an excuse for the older listeners to not have their hearing tested. As you age high frequency hearing drops so be aware of this at all times. We also produce more ear wax with age and it’s important to treat this as well. Unfortunately I do find my “selective” deafness has increased with age, but that’s a physiological issue and not entirely linked to being hard of hearing. Ahh the joys of aging!!

Many years ago my own piezo electric super tweeters were replaced by the extremely impressive Max Townsend ribbon super tweeters. These are a delightful design and very well made. They are adjustable in output by virtue of an output control on the back. The first pair were sold on and were sadly missed but, some years ago, were replaced with my current matt chrome pair which neatly sit atop of my Howes Quarter Wave speakers large reflectors. Let’s just say they have contributed greatly to my listening experience. Good on you Max!

When I replaced my neodymium Voxativ full range drivers, with the Lowther Sinfonia PM7A alnico drivers, my ribbon tweeters stayed in place adding that little extra top end sound to the music. They work very well and for this reason I would not want to be without them. Great design, great sound but understandably a little on the pricy side, but not too excessive given the quality.

I’ve been aware of the Lowther Super Tweeter DXT since its inception. I have also heard them on many occasions and liked both their effectiveness and design. As well as hearing them, at the Lowther open days and shows, they are also part of the Lowther system (on demonstration) at the Lowther Museum in East Sussex. On my recent visit to see John Howes, the museum curator and fellow Lowther Advocate, he suggested I take home the DXT’s to try in my own system. He thought I might like them and I thought I’d give them a hearing as I noticed, the pair John had, were based on the delightful PM6 magnets. What’s not to like, but to be honest I thought that they would sound very similar to the Townsend ribbons I use and love. This was not the case.

It took a work around involving some spade connections to the DXT’s to get things up and running. Then after the warm up of the whole system serious listening and comparison could begin. I’ll get to the point. In my system the DXT’s sounded just awesome and I didn’t know why. The ribbon tweeters are fast and add loads of high frequency detail, to the sound I get, but the DXT’s have all this and more.

The first thing I noticed with them was how far back into the recording I could hear small details. The depth of the sound stage is phenomenal. The effect on the bass and mid range was also different to the ribbons. Hard to describe and put into words, but it sounded more natural and organic to me. With the DXT’s in place I was hearing more details in recordings I know very well. What I found was recordings, I thought I knew well, needed to be listened to again. One example I will give is the high frequency percussion to be found (on the left) at the beginning of the superb track Invocation on Dance of the Elders by Wolfgang Muthspeil (ECM label). It’s there on the ribbons even when turned up, but on the DXT’s, this high end percussion is more prominent and sparkles with a natural 3D effect. Magical.

I really thought I would not hear a difference between the Townsend ribbons and the DXT’s. My logic was that these super high frequencies are not going to be heard/perceived differently, or make any difference to the overall sound? For my sanity I needed an explanation and answer for the differences I was hearing.

After some thought the penny dropped. I believe I now know what was going on and therefore the answer. I really believe it is down to the magnet system synergy and that this goes back to the properties of the magnets used in each of the design of super tweeters. The DXT’s magnets are (as mentioned earlier) the magnets used in the lovely “Goldilocks” sounding Lowther PM6A full range driver I auditioned some time ago (see my previous article). What they have in common with my PM7A drivers is they are alnico magnets. The Townsend ribbons use a very powerful neodymium magnet which partnered very nicely with my previous neodymium Voxativ drivers.

As you know I love the delicate and detailed sound of alnico drivers, and I believe that for me, they provide a superior sound experience. I don’t believe neodymium drivers are inherently inferior. They are definitely not. They just provide the listener with a different and more powerful sound presentation. So no winners or losers just a case of enjoying what you like. I found I’m liking alnico drivers with alnico super tweeters. I believe there is a definite synergy going on.

I really believe that super tweeters can be an aid to all speaker systems for the reasons I setout above. I would say, if you are a Lowther user, you have a unique opportunity to match your driver magnets to the same type of magnet to be found in the well designed (and reasonably priced) Lowther DXT’s. Currently the choice of magnets is DX2 and DX3 neodymium and Alnico PM6. The DX2/6 choice will give more output as the magnets are more powerful so auditioning is advised as our hearing is individual to each of us. Listening conditions and room size are a factor in what magnet system will suit you.

If you’ve been thinking about trying the Lowther DXT’s now is the time to do so. Unfortunately all magnetic materials are becoming more and more expensive, so price increases are inevitable. Now is a good time to book your dem. We are profoundly lucky (as Lowther users) to have this option of magnet matching. I think it is a great plus point for the Lowther DXT’s as I’m fairly certain no other manufacturers offer the option of this magnetic matching. For them neodymium appears to be the only option. It’s a unique selling point for Lowther Loudspeakers.

So is what I found down to my peculiar sensitivity or do others hear this? I’d love to know if anyone else experiences this difference. Let us know?

Mike Blackmore
Lowther lover and connoisseur