Is your sound system missing the ‘sparkle’? If so, then a tweeter speaker can help you. The best tweeters for home audio can reproduce the high-frequency range better than your existing speaker. Most of them can get very loud and can produce detailed treble regions.
If you know in-depth about tweeters and their material, then you can easily make a wise choice. While tweeters are often installed in cars, they can also be used in your home theater. The tweeter placement is also very simple and easy. You can place it above your loudspeaker or any table.
Some tweeters need to be connected to an amp; others have the flexibility that allows you to connect them directly to any loudspeaker. Most of them come in pairs but you can also buy odd numbers and decorate as per your need.
Among many, metal dome tweeters are most commonly used but you will also find ribbon or super tweeters. Different tweeter shape and material have their own pros and cons. Some of the best tweeters for home audio are produced by Pyle Pro, Aperion, and other brands.
Top pick: Pyle-Pro PAHT4 4 Way DJ Tweeter System
What is a tweeter and why do you need one?
A dedicated tweeter or tweeter speaker focuses only on the ultra-high frequencies and not on the full range. It creates a separation of frequencies so that it doesn’t feel like all frequencies are clustered together. They are electromechanical loudspeakers that often have magnets in them.
Tweeters work with the higher end of the frequency spectrum. It is often found to be in pair with a woofer or mid-range driver in a loudspeaker. However, dedicated tweeters for home audio are designed to reach a much higher frequency that exceeds the human hearing range of 20 kHz.
The stiffness and the damping (tweeter stops, when audio stops) need to be designed in a good way. They are responsible for sound staging and sound dispersion. It deals with high-frequency sounds like cymbals, synthetic keyboard sounds, drum effects, etc.
These tweeter speakers have an amplifier that allows them to convert electrical signals to sound waves. Since they will only work with the higher part of the frequency spectrum, it needs a high-pass crossover to block the low frequencies.
The purpose of the tweeter is manifold. It works with treble reproduction, stereo imaging, and soundstage. It is used to gain clarity, detailed, precise, and loud high-frequency.
Best tweeter for home audio: Top 5
Marine Tweeter Speaker 3.75” Pyramid TW28
- 2k 25kHz FREQUENCY RESPONSE: Pyramid’s 3.75” aluminum bullet horn with 1” titanium dome tweeter speaker has enhanced Ferrofluid and 2k 25kHz frequency response that will complete a sound system of a boat or any marine vehicle or woofer enclosure
- 300 WATT POWER: This bullet horn super tweeter speaker provides up to 300 watts peak power because it is equipped with 20 oz magnet structure. It's all housed in heavy duty aluminum with swivel housing
- 4 OHM IMPEDANCE: This marine speaker has 4 ohm impedance rating that compensates the undersized wire found in many of today’s marine vehicles. It ultimately reduces distortion so you can enjoy a crisp and clear sound
- STANDARD SIZE: Pyramid follows the standard size for most marine stereo systems and created this set with a 1” audio tweeter plus an aluminum frame. The heavy duty housing and structure provides a strong foundation
- COMES IN PAIR: This set of tweeters come in a pair in a gift box with all necessary hardware which is very easy to install with compensation capacitors. Additional feature includes 1”high temperature voice coil
- Frequency response: 2000-25kHz
- Peak Power: 300W
- RMS Power: 120W
- Impedance: 4ohms
- Sensitivity: 96dB
Features:
A great addition to your home audio is the Marine TW28 tweeter speaker that uses 1” high-temperature voice coil. It has 1” titanium tweeter and 3.75” aluminum bullet. It is ideally designed for marine vehicles, boat or to use in woofer enclosure.
The Pyramid bullet tweeter has a built-in capacitor in it. They also have built-in crossover and are magnetically shielded. However you can easily add these with your home theater to improve the high-frequency region of your system. With 20 oz magnet structure, it can deliver up to 300W peak power.
The lower impedance of 4ohms is ideal for marine transport and is known to reduce distortion. The tweeter has crisp, clear, and detailed highs. In your home theater, you can use a 14 gauge wire to connect them from floorstanding speakers.
You can directly connect these Pyramid tweeters to 8-ohm speakers. You can experience a drastic improvement if you add them to a 5.1 or 7.1 home theater. Tweeter placement is very simple. It can be mounted above your main speakers or you can place them beside your soundbar.
But you need to make sure the tweeters are directly at your ear level. The sound from these tiny speakers is very loud and harsh. However, the harsh sound can be fatiguing but if designed in the right way, a metal dome can also perform better.
Between metal dome tweeter vs soft dome tweeter, in general the first one is known to sound harsh and the soft dome is known to sound smooth and warm. In the end, the crossover and design matters more instead of using metal or soft dome.
Aluminium domes can be controlled better than Titanium tweeters. High-end tweeters are often made of Beryllium. It is one of the best tweeter for home audio because it is cheap, well-designed and produces detailed high-frequency.
Pros
- Affordable
- Loud and bright
- Improves stereo sound
- Can be used in both home audio or cars
Cons
- Doesn’t have Bluetooth
Pyle-Pro PAHT4 4 Way DJ Tweeter System
- 150 Watts RMS - 300 Watts Peak Power Handling - Carpeted MDF Enclosure
- 4x 3" Piezo Horn Tweeters
- Frequency Response: 4kHz~27kHz - 8 ohms
- Quick Connect Spring Lever Speaker Terminals
- Sensitivity(1w/1m): 97dB
- Frequency response: 4kHz~27kHz
- Peak Power: 300W
- RMS Power: 150W
- Impedance: 8ohms
- Sensitivity: 97dB
Pyle Pro PAHT4 is one of the best tweeters for home audio if you want a treble boost in your sound. This tweeter speaker has carpeted MDF enclosure and it is quite sturdy. Motorola Piezo horn tweeters are the main attraction of this speaker.
These Pyle tweeters are known to sound a bit too bright. You can use them in cars, but based on their size, it is fit for home theaters. The piezo horn tweeter system has “Quick Connect” terminals. They are spring-loaded and you can connect 14g cable to it.
It is recommended not to use shielded instrument wires. It has an integrated passive crossover network. The piezo tweeters can deliver crisp and precise highs. It is capable of dramatically enrich the overall sound quality of your existing system.
While connecting these tweeter speakers with an amplifier, you need to match the RMS and peak power of the speaker and the amplifier. In case the amp is overdriven, it will result in distortion. Also, these speakers can go very high SPL levels, so you need to be aware of it or use earplugs if needed.
The enclosure is compact and the tweeters are quite powerful. If you want to improve your muddy sounding system, these speakers will be life savior. Overall, you will get clear sounding and loud audio. you can also get tweeters by choosing the model, PAHT6 . It uses 6 2.5” piezo tweeters. You can set these in parallel with other speakers. Both these speakers will deliver distortion free sound.
Pros
- High-quality cabinet
- Classy design
- Well-built Quick Connect terminals
- Easy setup with any speaker
- Can be used for both home theater and car audio
Cons
- Piezo tweeter aren’t the best
Aperion Audio MKII Planar-Ribbon Super Tweeter Pair
- Frequency response 8 kHz – 40 kHz
- Crossover point 8K, 10K, 12K, 14K, 16K & off
- Crossover slope 6 dB/octave
- Impedance 6ohms
- Sensitivity 94dB
- Recommended power 10 – 100 Watts
- Direct power handling 20 Watts
Features
The Aperion audio super tweeter MKII has a ribbon tweeter which is basically a thin diagram made from aluminum vapor. It has a super tweeter which is well known to work better at very high frequencies, that is, more than 20 kHz. It produces a ‘realistic soundfield’ and performs better than the tweeters in our existing speakers.
The rear side of the Aperion audio super tweeter speaker has two adjustable knobs. You can adjust the crossover frequency at 5 different levels and can adjust the treble up to -5dB. It is recommended to use these planar magnetic super tweeters with speakers that have sensitivity between 85dB to 93dB.
These ribbon super tweeters have rubber feet that prevent them from slipping. You can easily place them above your speakers. This saves the space and hassle of placing them on separate stands. However, always make sure the speakers are at your ear level.
The rear side also has a similar binding post found in the back of the speakers. With these super tweeters for home audio, you don’t need to connect to an amplifier. Along with connecting them with tower or bookshelf speakers, you can use these as a center channel or surround speakers.
They are compatible with Bose 901 or Quad Electrostatic 2805. Make sure to check the frequency response and sensitivity of your speakers. Speaker sensitivity should not be higher than the tweeters. It is suggested to set the crossover frequency at 14 or 16 kHz to achieve the best treble sound.
You can use two or three speakers and a cable of 14 g is needed for these speakers. These super tweeters perform the best if you have the following sources: vinyl, SACD, FLAC, UHD Bluray, etc. you can choose white or black according to your room aesthetics.
Pros
- High-fidelity sound from super tweeter
- Deals with ultra-high frequencies
- Easy setup with any speaker
- Sturdy built
- Adjustable treble and crossover controls
Cons
- Doesn’t get extremely loud
Fostex T90A Super Tweeter
- Top Mount Horn super tweeter
- Alloy horn body
- Alnico magnet
- 106dB
- 60mm flange
- Frequency response 5 kHz – 35 kHz
- Cutoff frequency 3.6kHz
- Suggested crossover freq. more than 7kHz (12dB/Oct.)
- Impedance 8ohms
- Sensitivity 106dB
- Recommended power 10 – 100 Watts
- Direct power handling 20 Watts
Features
This Fostex has 60mm flange. The tweeter speaker uses a super tweeter and has an alloy horn body. Unlike other tweeter speakers, it doesn’t have built-in crossover. While other speakers have a sensitivity of around 96 or 97dB, these Fostex super tweeter speakers have a very high sensitivity of 106dB.
The super tweeter is made of 100g alnico magnet. The build quality is very good and they are made in Japan. These Fostex horn tweeters have a cylindrical shape that sit on a well-constructed wooden stand.
The wooden stand makes the placement easy. They aren’t sold in pairs so you need to buy two if you want two speakers in your home theater. You can easily place them above your existing floor-standing or bookshelf speakers.
This Fostex T90a horn super tweeter produces an ‘airiness’ sound and deals with frequency range beyond our audible level. A crossover point of 7 kHz or more is suggested for the tweeters to work optimally.
Since the sensitivity of the speakers is very high, you can use an L-pad attenuator to adjust the tweeter level with your speaker. If your existing speaker has a sensitivity of 95dB, then you need to adjust the tweeter by -9dB so that the 106dB matches your speaker.
To connect the L-pad to your tweeter, follow the diagram below. Connect the pin 1 and 2 to the tweeter and connect the pin 3 to a capacitor. The capacitor is used as a high pass filter. If you are using 13.3 kHz, then choose 1.5uF and if you use 20 kHz, use the 1.0uF. It is suggested to use capacitor within 0.47mfd to 1.5mfd range.
Pros
- Excellent treble representation
- Focuses on cymbal tones
- Can be adjusted with L-pad
- Simple placement without any hassle
- Works with all kind of speakers
Cons
- Using L-pad might be complicated to use for amateurs
Dayton Audio AMT Mini-8 Air Motion Transformer Tweeter 8 Ohm
- Advanced Air Motion Transformer design squeezes air
- Folded Kapton ribbon diaphragm delivers clean, detailed, and highly dynamic output
- Miniature design can be mounted virtually anywhere
- Powerful, lightweight neodymium magnet structure for low distortion and high efficiency
- Sonically similar to the best metal ribbon and planar tweeters
- Frequency response 3,500 to 40,000Hz
- Resonant frequency 3500Hz
- Power handling rms 15W
- Max. Power handling 30W
- Impedance 8ohms
- Sensitivity 88dB
Features
This tweeter is designed for cars but the question is, ‘can car tweeters be used in home audio’? Ideally car tweeters are designed for small spaces but you can definitely use one at your home. This requires you to have enough knowledge about speakers and DIY tweeter projects.
If you don’t like the hassle of recreating or rebuilding speakers, then this is not for you. While using car tweeter as home audio tweeter, you need to look at the impedance. Most car tweeters come with 4 ohm impedance.
This Dayton AMT tweeter uses featherweight neodymium magnet which is well-known to minimize distortion and improve efficiency. It has Advanced Air Motion Transformer or AMT design which helps to gush out air. This AMT is also found in ESS tweeters.
The Dayton ribbon tweeter produces pleasant treble with clarity. The compact housing makes it ideal to use with any loudspeaker. The image below shows how you can use it with your speaker in the home audio system.
The Dayton audio tweeters are mini tweeters with moderate sensitivity level of 88dB. You can improve the acoustics of any loudspeaker design with these speakers. You can also install the in cars. It comes with 2.25″ diameter faceplate that can be used for front mounting.
You can also use these to replace your existing tweeter or in a DIY boom box. This is one of the best AMT tweeters that can get loud and is capable or produce vibrant, smooth and detailed highs.
Pros
- Smooth and clear highs
- AMT tweeter has high efficiency
- Sounds like ribbon tweeter that has smooth sound
- Decent sensitivity
- Works for both vehicle and indoor use
Cons
- Requires DIY work which isn’t for amateurs.
Best tweeter for home audio: Buying guide
To choose the best tweeter for home audio, you need to know the factors to look for. The following section will help you know more about tweeters and its characteristics.
Types of tweeters
Cone
These are small and lightweight. Ceramic is often used for stiffness and paper or silk for damping. They are very cheap and are well-known for producing flat frequency response and lower distortion.
Dome
Domes tweeters of 25mm are often seen in hi-fi speakers. These tweeters consist of a voice coil and magnet which are attached to a front plate. Dome tweeters often fall into an old debate of soft vs hard dome. How well the tweeter will sound depends vastly on design along with dome material.
Horn
Horns tweeters have compression drivers. It controls the directivity and enhances the off-axis response. Horn tweeter can be radial or constant directivity.
Piezo
Piezo tweeters consist of piezoelectric crystal. It uses a polarized material to convert electrical energy to acoustic energy. These are not very widely used these days.
Ribbon
Ribbon tweeters are widely uses just like dome tweeters. They often use aluminium diaphragm along with planar coil. They can react quickly to vibrations and reproduce high-end treble sound.
Although ribbon tweeters are expensive, the can deal with treble region effectively and far better than other tweeters. You will hear the airiness in the audio with these.
Planar magnetic
These tweeters are also known as quasi-ribbon. It uses polymer or PET cones. The performance is quite decent.
Electrostatic
This tweeter uses plastic or PET film that has conductive coating. This is in turn placed between stators.
AMT
Air Motion Transformer has folded PET pleats. They have good efficiency and frequency response. They are known to produce high-end sound.
Super tweeter
Super tweeters are design to work beyond 20Hz. They can go as high as 35 kHz or 40 kHz. They can deliver lifelike soundstage and produces detailed treble response.
Impedance
Most tweeters have an impedance of 4 ohms whereas, the speakers in our home theater often has an 8 ohm rating. You need to make sure to correctly match tweeters to speakers or amplifiers. A receiver will correct power levels is required. You can choose a receiver with impedance switch.
Power rating
The power rating of the tweeter should also match your system. Generally, tweeters have a power rating between 25W to 50W. Some tweeter specs come with recommended amplifier power which will help you choose wisely. The RMS and peak power rating also helps.
Sensitivity
This is a measure of how loud the tweeter can get. Typically 90 dB or higher is considered better. But it depends on usage or listening area.
Crossover
This is needed for the tweeters to block the low-frequencies and to avoid distortion. Some tweeters have crossover selector and for others you need passive crossover.
Quality
The quality of the tweeter speakers should be sturdy so that they can last long. Quality also depends on tweeter material. You can choose among varieties of tweeter material:
- Silk, textile, or other cloths
- Metals: aluminum, titanium, and alloys
- Ceramics and ceramic-coated domes
- Kapton used in ribbon tweeters
Best tweeter for home audio: installation guide
In most cases the installation is straightforward where you need cables to connect the tweeter speakers to your main speaker. A tweeter along with its crossover can be connected to the amplifier. And it should be parallel to the main speaker not in series.
Best tweeter for home audio: placement guide
As mentioned above, tweeter speaker placement is very simple. Unlike other speaker placement procedure, it is not very complicated or you don’t need to measure angle or ‘toe-in’. Some speakers like the Fostex T90A comes with a wooden leg above which you need to place it.
Others come with rubber feet so that it doesn’t fall off. All you need to remember is that, the tweeter and the listener’s ear level must be on the same height. With that in mind, you can install 2, 4 or 5 tweeter speakers for home audio.
Parting words
Among many, Pyle-Pro PAHT4 Tweeter System is one of the best tweeters for home audio. It has high sensitivity and the connectivity is very simple. The design will easily blend in any home theater setup.
While shopping for the best tweeter, you need to look into crossover, sensitivity, frequency response and the type of tweeter. Some tweeters sound harsh whereas, others sound smooth and warm.
The best tweeter for home audio should be able to produce the missing ‘sparkle’ of the existing sound system. The tweeter should produce clean and crisp highs with high efficiency and minimum distortion.
With an ideal tweeter, your sound will be lively and lifelike. Tweeters will also help in stereo separation. Most tweeters are built for vehicle use and some allow you to use them in home audio or vehicle.
FAQ
This section of the article is going to answer some of the most asked questions on this subject. let’s find out more!
Why is capacitor added with tweeter?
if you add capacitor, you can control the crossover. It can help to lower the crossover by certain decibels. It also assists to reshape the tweeter response which is needed to work with midrange.
What should be the tweeter size?
generally, smaller the tweeter, higher the frequency it can produce. Tweeter sizes are commonly available from 0.25inches to up to 3 or 4”. A small tweeter will be lightweight and can move faster.
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