What are tweeters and why are tweeters used ?
What are tweeters?
Tweeters are small drivers and speakers that usually produce frequencies between 2000 Hz and 20 000 Hz. The tweets of birds, the treble of singers, the high frequencies of instruments such as flute or violin: this is what tweeters do.
Tweeters can be found in many places where they represent a vital part of the sound system, such as Hi-Fi home speaker systems, car audio systems, etc.
They can also be much more complex than it looks like to be. For example, tweeters used in studio monitors are designed to reproduce all frequencies up to 20 kHz with no distortion at loud volumes.
This kind of speaker, however, still falls into the tweeters category since its main purpose is to reproduce high frequencies accurately without causing any distortions or bad sound rendering.
How to wire tweeters?
Tweeters are not very difficult to wire. Usually, tweeters have only one connection which is for the negative side of the speaker system. So when hooking it up to an amplifier or a head unit, you use this connector.
If you can’t find any information about your tweeter’s connection, you can simply try to short the positive and negative terminals. With pliers or an insulated wire just in order to see where the sound comes from when playing music. The other possible polarity may be black = ground, red = +battery/positive.
There are also some tweeters that have two connections. However, they are wired in parallel, so all speakers work together (a little bit like old-fashioned factory horns). This kind of wiring configuration is sometimes called “co-axial” since you actually have two tweeters mounted right next to each other.
If the polarity is not correct, even in this case, you can always try to switch the positive and negative terminals or to solder them together if they are connected directly.
How much power does a tweeter need?
Tweeters don’t require as much power as woofers. Because they usually handle much higher frequencies which are easier to control without causing unwanted distortions (damage) on the sound system.
To achieve high volume levels with tweeters, it’s enough to use about 50 watts of RMS power per speaker. In addition, it still depends on what type of speaker you’re actually using (its design, size, etc.). But generally, that would be a good power handling number.
What are the best tweeters?
When choosing speakers, it’s important to pay attention mainly to their design and build quality besides performance aspects.
The most important thing with tweeters is the tweeter type they have since this will determine how accurate they will sound in your vehicle. There are many types of tweeters.
But two major groups are soft dome and hard dome. Soft dome tweeters have a fabric stretched over their front face, so they produce softer high frequencies that aren’t very clear or loud.
However, this is what many people prefer when looking for a more pleasant sound with lesser treble contents. Hard dome tweeters use a metal diaphragm which creates sharper, clearer high frequencies that can’t be distorted easily.
How to wire tweeters without crossover?
Tweeters can be connected to your head unit or amplifier without using a crossover. This is usually done with tweeters that have only one connection (for the negative side) and two wires for positive and ground.
However, if you’re using high-quality speakers, they might require additional components in order to work properly.
These are called crossovers, and they filter out unwanted frequencies, so the quality of your sound gets better. Tweeters should never be connected directly to an amplifier since this will result in burning down the power supply system of these components.
If you don’t want to connect tweeters through crossovers, it’s best to choose ones that already come with them installed (since sometimes the price/ ratio gets much worse).
How to install tweeters?
Tweeters can be installed either on the door, dashboard, or in the A-pillar of your vehicle. In order to install speakers on doors, you have to remove the panel first and then drill a hole for tweeters’ cables.
Be careful when using power tools because you might scratch paint from your car’s panels. So it’s best to use some protective coating before starting this process. After this is done, simply connect cables from tweeters to a head unit or a separate crossover that has been placed somewhere close by (for example, under seats).
How much space does a tweeter need?
The amount of space needed for tweeters varies depending on their design since they come in many shapes and sizes. Some examples include cone shape, ring shape, and horn type. Most tweeters should be placed at the same distance as their diameters and shouldn’t be covered or blocked by other objects.
How to test tweeters?
After wiring the speakers, it’s always good to test them first since some of them might need more power than others (they can vary depending on their design).
In order to test tweeters, you should use a multimeter and place one probe on each terminal or wire of your speaker.
If you get any reading besides zero for resistance, this means that they are shorted, so you have to try different combinations until you find out what actually happened.
Note: don’t hold probes against each other while testing them since this will make the needle move randomly.
How to wire tweeters to speakers?
Tweeters can be connected to your speakers in two different ways. The first method is by connecting them directly to a head unit or an amplifier that has enough wattage to power them properly.
This is usually done with tweeters that have only one connection (for the negative side) and two wires for positive and ground. If you’re using high-quality speakers, however, they might require additional components in order to work properly. These are called crossovers, and they filter out unwanted frequencies.
So the quality of your sound gets better. Tweeters should never be connected directly to an amplifier since this will result in burning down the power supply system of these components.
If you don’t want to connect tweeters through crossovers, it’s best to choose ones that already come with them installed (since sometimes the price/ ratio gets much worse).
Conclusion
Tweeters are small speakers that have to be connected to bigger ones. In order to produce overall better sound. They come in many shapes and sizes, but they should always be installed on doors or inside crossovers because this way, they don’t get burned down by an amplifier when connected directly.
Crossovers are also very important because they filter out unwanted frequencies so tweeters can work properly without getting blown out by an amplifier. If you don’t want to use crossovers, make sure that tweeters already come with built-in ones (if not, they’re probably low-quality units).
After everything is done and all speakers are installed on your vehicle, it’s always a good idea to test them and see how good they sound. This way you’ll know if everything is done properly or not.
