"Beryllium bite"

AudioExplorations

New Member
Apr 5, 2012
653
5
0
Have always heard of this term, however never been able to identify it.

What exactly does this sound like, and can anyone suggest some specific music pieces where it becomes apparent and easily identifiable? Thanks.
 

still-one

VIP/Donor
Aug 6, 2012
1,632
150
1,220
Milford, Michigan
It is a catchy phrase for those who like to take shots at speakers other than what they own or wish they owned.
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
I have speakers with beryllium tweeters and they can get fatiguing after a few hours of listening. They can also exacerbate sibilance and anything real tizzy or zingy (if those are words)!
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
I have speakers with beryllium tweeters and they can get fatiguing after a few hours of listening. They can also exacerbate sibilance and anything real tizzy or zingy (if those are words)!

But is it the material or design/engineering of the driver/crossover/etc.
My own experience; I have heard good and bad from all material types myself, latest Magico I would say is one of the least exacerbating for sibilance, but I am not keen on a few other speakers using same material (in fact could say the high frequency behaviour is not same of latest Magico to much earlier ones).
Appreciate you have heard latest Magico (specifically the S range) as well and possibly take something else away from it subjectively to me, joys of audio :)
Same goes with aluminium/soft dome as well with the good and ones that exacerbate traits.

Cheers
Orb
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
But is it the material or design/engineering of the driver/crossover/etc.
My own experience; I have heard good and bad from all material types myself, latest Magico I would say is one of the least exacerbating for sibilance, but I am not keen on a few other speakers using same material (in fact could say the high frequency behaviour is not same of latest Magico to much earlier ones).
Appreciate you have heard latest Magico (specifically the S range) as well and possibly take something else away from it subjectively to me, joys of audio :)
Same goes with aluminium/soft dome as well with the good and ones that exacerbate traits.

Cheers
Orb

The other speakers I've heard from this manufacturer I feel exhibit the same characteristic. I have not spent hours listen to the Magico speakers, though I felt I could listen to the S5 for an extended period of time.
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
The other speakers I've heard from this manufacturer I feel exhibit the same characteristic. I have not spent hours listen to the Magico speakers, though I felt I could listen to the S5 for an extended period of time.
Yeah it is the S range I was being more specific about, definitely interesting from a design perspective and sound between the S and Q/M (earlier) models, where like you I feel the S is the more fatigue free and I do not know if you agree but does not suffer with sibilance IMO.

Cheers
Orb
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
I also liked the Magico S5's treble...as well as the Rockport Arrakis 2 and Altair 2 which also use Beryllium tweeters.
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
6,129
181
458
La Jolla, Calif USA
I have speakers with beryllium tweeters and they can get fatiguing after a few hours of listening. They can also exacerbate sibilance and anything real tizzy or zingy (if those are words)!

+1
Sums up my experience with most (not all) speakers that use Beryllium tweeters.
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
What makes the discussion interesting (and I agree there are plenty of speakers that exacerbate sibilance and other traits), what about Beryllium midrange drivers, or even diamond ( or aluminium midrange drivers).
Mentioning these three specific types as there are speakers known to suffer sibilance using these materials for tweeters (although could include some soft domes as well), but interesting if ever notice any anomalies using said material for the mid driver - just to add there are also speakers/models using these materials that do not suffer sibilance-fatigue-etc.
Cheers
Orb
 

AudioExplorations

New Member
Apr 5, 2012
653
5
0
I would love to get some examples of music where the beryllium bite becomes apparent so that we can hear it for ourselves. Would like to compare the sound on my beryllium tweeter fitted speakers vs soft dome or headphones to get a good idea of what the effect actually sounds like.
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
I would love to get some examples of music where the beryllium bite becomes apparent so that we can hear it for ourselves. Would like to compare the sound on my beryllium tweeter fitted speakers vs soft dome or headphones to get a good idea of what the effect actually sounds like.

My personal view is that bite can also exists for other material types, same goes with other sound traits.
Problem is even the same manufacturer may have a subtle difference in perceived nature/trait of sibilance-etc between models using the same material.
Look how many dislike B&W tweeters (Diamond or aluminium), some soft dome speaker tweeters (bah cannot think of any examples :) ).
I would say if more posted we would find a broad spectrum involving more examples.

Sort of reminds me a bit with the thoughts on silver cables and their sound traits, some may sound "hot" but other examples sound superb.
But I do tend to agree that there are at times multiple examples that can give the indication of a generic trait (might be an aspect-specification-nature of material-technology that needs further engineering and design-implementation to remove such subtle behaviour *shrug*).
And so why it is not consistent for all using said material.

Cheers
Orb
 

Ronm1

Member Sponsor
Feb 21, 2011
1,745
4
0
wtOMitMutb NH
Metal in some form does seem to have more of a negative effect. The etchiness, bite, fatigue appears more prevalent there, but its not a given IMHO. We spend beau coup $$'s for detail then do the same with added time&effort and more $$'s to tame them so its a listenable preference.
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
I have other speakers that have a metal woof/mid's and they are quite musical. The tweeter is a soft dome though. I can listen to these for days. I haven't had too many bad experiences with metal drivers below 1k, but above 1k, they drive me batty.
 

still-one

VIP/Donor
Aug 6, 2012
1,632
150
1,220
Milford, Michigan
I also liked the Magico S5's treble...as well as the Rockport Arrakis 2 and Altair 2 which also use Beryllium tweeters.

+1 Focal Utopia's with Beryllium tweeters are some of my favorite speakers. In my mind the best tweeter is still MBL's.
 

Jazzhead

VIP/Donor
Aug 26, 2012
1,466
108
985
Used to run the Focal Mini Utopia , the Be tweeter if not fed correctly can easily veer into white light brightness , inherently a hot tweet ,definitely not of the mild variety .
 

Sammy T

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2012
241
26
933
Old Yamaha NS 1000 speakers used Beryllium dome tweets and mid range drivers. Killer sounding garage system, listen for hours.. The trick is my Sony TA 5650 V-Fet integrated amp.
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
Old Yamaha NS 1000 speakers used Beryllium dome tweets and mid range drivers. Killer sounding garage system, listen for hours.. The trick is my Sony TA 5650 V-Fet integrated amp.

yeah Kudos to Yamaha using Beryllium in that speaker for both tweeter and mid range driver.
TAD do the same I think (or did with earlier studio monitor focused speakers), while manufacturers do the same (but not necessarily with Beryllium) by using same materials for both drivers.

And that is what makes this discussion interesting about materials, because same material can be used for both mid and tweeter drivers, and therefore the generic sound trait might be applicable to both; which makes me think this is why it is not consistent between models and manufacturers due to the design-implementation to "control" (probably too strong a word) said traits-behaviours, and also possibly influenced by the crossover design-implementation as well IMO.

Cheers
Orb
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
yeah Kudos to Yamaha using Beryllium in that speaker for both tweeter and mid range driver.
TAD do the same I think (or did with earlier studio monitor focused speakers), while manufacturers do the same (but not necessarily with Beryllium) by using same materials for both drivers.

And that is what makes this discussion interesting about materials, because same material can be used for both mid and tweeter drivers, and therefore the generic sound trait might be applicable to both; which makes me think this is why it is not consistent between models and manufacturers due to the design-implementation to "control" (probably too strong a word) said traits-behaviours, and also possibly influenced by the crossover design-implementation as well IMO.

Cheers
Orb

Many do. Most typical methods to kill the ring at resonant peaks is either with a doping layer or electronically with parallel circuits in the XO. In the case of the latter, that's something you give up if you go active. Good luck finding a place to do the proper measurements to perform driver correction. :(
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
+1 Focal Utopia's with Beryllium tweeters are some of my favorite speakers. In my mind the best tweeter is still MBL's.

What is your view on your X2 treble vs the Focal Grande or XLF or MBL?
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing