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Developing the Convergent Synergy Tweeter
Tweeter technology evolved in the first decade of the new century, with new designs using exotic materials such as diamond
and beryllium. Proponents of these designs extolled their ultra-wide bandwidth, in some cases extending to beyond 50 kHz.
The engineering rationale was that pushing the tweeter's resonant frequency (or break-up mode) well above the audible
spectrum would produce greater linearity within the audible range.
Dave Wilson and his engineering team began a three-year process of testing and evaluating new designs coming on the market.
To match the demands of its standard-setting midrange, Wilson had already redesigned its titanium tweeter with great
gains made in lowering the high-frequency noise floor. This was achieved primarily through enhanced control of back-wave
reflections. At the same time, work on an all-new design began, borne of the desire to follow any path that would potentially
lead to technologies that enhanced the consanguinity of Dave's speakers to the live event.
Their testing quickly revealed that tweeters able to play to 50kHz frequently did so by lowering the mass of their drivers.
This, in turn, imposed at least two limitations on their performance. They failed to achieve the dynamic contrast required
of a Wilson loudspeaker. Second, they couldn.t play low enough to cross over at the 1.2 kHz point demanded by the Wilson
midrange driver. Most interestingly, none of the new exotic designs matched the dynamic contrast and harmonic expression
of Wilson's existing titanium design.
Dave's frustration with off-the-shelf units led to the decision to design his own tweeter. The result of that effort is the Convergent
Synergy tweeter. It maintains all the strengths of the existing Wilson driver: great dynamic contrast, harmonic expression,
exceptional power handling, and low distortion. The Convergent Synergy is much flatter in its frequency response and
has exemplary off-axis dispersion characteristics. With somewhat lower moving mass, it adds frequency extension to 33 kHz.
As the name implies, these qualities converge with the advantages of the ultra-wide-bandwidth designs, with none of their
sonic or technical disadvantages. It is an extremely synergistic companion to the Wilson midrange driver.
Dave said about the Alexandria XLF project: "If there was going to be any improvement, it had to come at no compromise
to any other performance area." The Convergent Synergy tweeter is a tangible result of that dictum, and an important part
of the XLF's audible advance toward the ideal.
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