Tweeters are pretty super in their own right, but a supertweeter is meant to go where no tweeter has gone before.
The Fyne SuperTrax Supertweeter operates from 16 kHz–60 kHz (typical in-room response, +/-6 dB ) while promising “360-degree omnidirectional dispersion” and can be paired with speakers up to 98 dB sensitivity according to Fyne. The SuperTrax also includes a +/-3 dB control so you can blend to taste.
I reviewed a few supertweeters way back in 2005 during my 6moons days, I’ve heard some since, and these days it’s not uncommon to find tweeters extending into super range. While Fyne asks and offers an answer to the question Why Use A Supertweeter? in the press release below, my experience has this to say—because they can improve the sound of music.
The Fyne SuperTrax Supertweeter, a fine retro-looking specimen, will start shipping in April with a price tag of $4,799 per pair.
Here’s the complete press release:
SuperTrax: A Newly Patented Radial Dispersion System
February 23, 2024. Harmonia Distribution is proud to announce Fyne Audio’s new SuperTrax supertweeter, available in the US from April this year. With the SuperTrax, Fyne brings revolutionary audio design to a product that is tastefully crafted to match the real wood veneers, metalwork, and sumptuous grain of retro-styled loudspeakers.
The SuperTrax eliminates the narrowly focused beam of traditional supertweeters with a patented design that offers 360-degree omnidirectional dispersion. A thin-ply carbon diaphragm (TPCD) ultra-HF driver fires downwards onto a precision-engineered tractrix-profile diffuser cone that has been forged through Fyne’s expertise with its patented BassTrax porting system. The SuperTrax cone transforms the beam-like output of the HF driver into a radial dispersion, delivering super high-frequency sound in a way that preserves the harmonics and phase response of the point source IsoFlare drivers found on Fyne loudspeakers. This design received a patent in January this year.
The 25 mm (1”) driver has a typical in-room response from 16 kHz–60 kHz (+/-6 dB) and can be paired with speakers up to 98 dB sensitivity. There is a +/-3 dB control to blend perfectly with the main speaker.
Why Use a Supertweeter?
Though we can’t hear sounds above 20,000 Hz (and lower as we age), demonstrations with supertweeters clearly show we can sense auditory information well above this physical limit. As a result, by extending the frequency range of your loudspeakers several octaves above the usual limit of human hearing, the SuperTrax transcends the traditional audio experience. Just as a subwoofer affects the entire audible spectrum, a supertweeter enriches your music with increased tonal accuracy, a more pronounced transient response, and a breathing sense of air and space, enhancing even the lowest frequencies.
Fyne Audio’s technical director Dr Paul Mills says, “Musical instruments emit energy well above 50 kHz , once thought to be beyond our perception. Yet, studies by researchers such as Oohashi and Lenhardt have shown that these ultrasonic tones do influence our auditory experience, even if they’re not directly audible. The SuperTrax captures this spectrum and radiates the HF energy through 360 degrees, ensuring you’re not just listening to music, you are feeling it, perceiving it, and sensing it as well.”
The SuperTrax is placed on the top of each loudspeaker, and positioning instructions are supplied to ensure listeners attain perfect time-coherent acoustic integration. While aesthetically designed to be a perfect match for Fyne Audio’s Vintage and Vintage Classic speakers, the Supertrax will work with any loudspeaker under 98 dB sensitivity that has a flat top on which to position the device.
The Fyne Audio SuperTrax supertweeter is manufactured, tested, and hand-finished in Fyne’s Glasgow factory. The first production units will ship from April 2024 and will cost $4,799 per pair.
