gold-titanium alloy tweeter properties?

[kenshone]

With the understood caveat that it depends on the driver designer, what are the expected properties of a gold-titanium alloy tweeter? What advantages/disadvantages might it have vs. a pure titanium, magnesium or aluminum dome?

 

[DJBonoBobo]

 

[3125b]

Gold-Titanium alloy does actually exist and somewhat make sense up to 20% Au due to incresed hardness of the alloy over titanium.
I would expect it to be generally suited as a material for a metal dome tweeter - still, doesn't seem to make too much sense in a practical manufacturing context.
The exotic material wouldn't be worth the hassle of sourcing it because it probably wouldn't be better in rigidity vs. density consideration compared to other much more easily available materials.

 

[ryanosaur]

If I were to pay for exotic or rare metals/elements in a Driver, I would put my money into a good Be Tweeter and perhaps drivers with Neo magnets where it makes sense (small, powerful, not needing to absorb lots of heat).

 

[xaviescacs]

what are the expected properties of a gold-titanium alloy tweeter?

More expensive.

What advantages/disadvantages might it have vs. a pure titanium, magnesium or aluminum dome?

More money on their pocket.

 

[kenshone]

If I were to pay for exotic or rare metals/elements in a Driver, I would put my money into a good Be Tweeter and perhaps drivers with Neo magnets where it makes sense (small, powerful, not needing to absorb lots of heat).

If I were to pay for exotic or rare metals/elements in a Driver, I would put my money into a good Be Tweeter and perhaps drivers with Neo magnets where it makes sense (small, powerful, not needing to absorb lots of heat).

The toxicity of Be is off-putting. I understand that the risk is very small, but I'm the kind of person who prefers 0 risk of that kind in my home. YMMV

 

[ryanosaur]

The toxicity of Be is off-putting. I understand that the risk is very small, but I'm the kind of person who prefers 0 risk of that kind in my home. YMMV

Just don't beat it with a hammer, grind it up and snort it.
*shrugs

Be is also a very strong material and would require something much more than than a gentle tap to make it break apart.

More than anything about specific materials, when you are planning your project and looking at Drivers, you need to pick not exclusively by material but how it will perform in conjunction with your Cabinet design and the other Drivers you will be implementing. Cost does come into play as a measure of performance to a certain extent. $50 Tweeters are definitely shorter in areas than $100 Tweets. Like all other things, there is a point of diminishing returns and you have to decide if a Au-Ti alloy actually performs better than a pure Ti or Ceramic Tweet of comparable value. (Of course, you may well find a better Ceramic Tweet at half the value of something with Au in it.

Is this what you are talking about:

Audax TW025A28 1" Gold Dome Tweeter

Audax TW025A28 25mm Gold Plated Titanium Dome Tweeter; Neodymium magnet with heat sinks

www.madisoundspeakerstore.com

In the description they say gold-plate.

 

[xaviescacs]

The toxicity of Be is off-putting. I understand that the risk is very small, but I'm the kind of person who prefers 0 risk of that kind in my home. YMMV

Gold is better in that respect. It seems that this alloy is harder than titanium itself, not sure if harder means harder or stiffer though.

 

[3125b]

You can see the manufacture of beryllium tweeters at Focal here:

In the form of sheet metal it's not problematic. Generally inadvisable are dust inhalation and especially contact with organometallic compounds containig it, but that applies to many metals.

 

[kenshone]

You can see the manufacture of beryllium tweeters at Focal here:

In the form of sheet metal it's not problematic. Generally inadvisable are dust inhalation and especially contact with organometallic compounds containig it, but that applies to many metals.

Like I said, I'm sure the chances are very low. But if there's any accidental damage to a Be tweeter/driver, the consequences can be much worse than with other metals.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Like I said, I'm sure the chances are very low. But if there's any accidental damage to a Be tweeter/driver, the consequences can be much worse than with other metals.

I would not worry about it at home (you can’t break it, unless you put some serious machines to it). If you are however environmentally conscious, the whole production process is more concerning.

But of course if you feel uncomfortable at home - there is no need for it anyhow. Engineering and implementation matters and plenty other good speakers without exotic materials to choose from.

 

[Juhazi]

Quicksilver is toxic too, but my mother just died because of covid, not because of dental amalgam fillings that she had for some 80 years.

But ok, pick your poison!

 

[kenshone]

Interesting example, as several respectable governing bodies have banned the use of quicksilver in dental fillings...

If you think certain applications of toxins should only banned if they outright kill people, you're on a very extreme part of the spectrum.

And to be fair, I'm probably on the opposite extreme. But as was stated earlier in this thread, there are plenty of great speakers without Be.