Soft dome tweeter
Encyclopedia
The soft dome tweeter is a particular type of tweeter
invented and patent
ed in 1967 by Bill Hecht, the founder and current chairman of Phase Technology.
Hecht states that he was confronted with what seemed a mundane problem: When showing speakers at various audio shows, onlookers often poked at the two-inch dome tweeter
s of the display models, sometimes cracking them. He set out to make a soft, mock tweeter that wouldn’t crack when prodded.
In those days, the belief was that only a rigid tweeter was capable of producing high frequencies.
After it was patented, the soft dome tweeter became an industry standard, licensed almost immediately by manufacturers such as McIntosh, JVC, Yamaha, Pioneer, Kenwood and Shure.
Tweeter
A tweeter is a loudspeaker designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically from around 2,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz . Some tweeters can manage response up to 65 kHz...
invented and patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed in 1967 by Bill Hecht, the founder and current chairman of Phase Technology.
Hecht states that he was confronted with what seemed a mundane problem: When showing speakers at various audio shows, onlookers often poked at the two-inch dome tweeter
Tweeter
A tweeter is a loudspeaker designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically from around 2,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz . Some tweeters can manage response up to 65 kHz...
s of the display models, sometimes cracking them. He set out to make a soft, mock tweeter that wouldn’t crack when prodded.
“I brought it back to the lab, and I thought it might possibly make a good mid-range if I coated it,” Hecht recalls. “So I coated it with a thin rubber coating and put noise through it with a signal generatorSignal generatorSignal generators, also known variously as function generators, RF and microwave signal generators, pitch generators, arbitrary waveform generators, digital pattern generators or frequency generators are electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals...
. To my absolute surprise, it went beyond 12K; that was quite a shock.”
In those days, the belief was that only a rigid tweeter was capable of producing high frequencies.
After it was patented, the soft dome tweeter became an industry standard, licensed almost immediately by manufacturers such as McIntosh, JVC, Yamaha, Pioneer, Kenwood and Shure.