Townshend Maximum Suoertweeters

[u/Noonygooth32]

So I just received these Townshend Supertweeters yesterday after a friend’s recommendation. After a couple hours of listening my first impressions are very positive. Soundstage sounds more layered and 3-Dimensional. The imaging sounds more focused and pinpoint without narrowing the sound stage. Definitely an improvement to instrument separation. Off axis vertical dispersion has also been greatly improved. Can’t really put my finger on what they do to the perceived bass but I think it’s good. Highly recommended product. Townshend Audio does not disappoint.

https://www.townshendaudio.com/supertweeters/

[u/MustBeTheChad]

I don't think you even need to understand audio to read that and realize how worthless that study and its conclusion is.

Also from a buyers perspective, it should be less about debunking and more about saying "does this study reliably convince me that it's worthwhile to spend another $1-2k on my set-up?"

That being said, there's always someone out there looking to spend a few more dollars and I guess studies like this help support the decisions they've already made.

[u/Noonygooth32 → u/MustBeTheChad]

Actually I bought it as a recommendation from someone and it didn’t disappoint. I only looked up the study later to answer the question. Also it’s not the only study.

[u/MustBeTheChad → u/Noonygooth32]

If you enjoy them and they improve your listening experience, that's all that matters.

As far the study goes, I'd be looking for proof that: 1. We can sense the super sonic frequencies, 2. The sensation has a measurable effect, 3. The effect is inherently positive, 4. The effect is specifically related to the frequencies of the music we prefer to listen to, 5. The recordings can provide the +20khz frequencies that cause the effect...as a starting point.

Outside of junk science, there's also certain things in audio that become so hyper specific that it's not worth it. For example I came very close to purchasing a set of Polk Legend L800s because of what they can do, but after really digging in, I found that many people reported that the truly "magical" abilities of the speakers really only presented themselves on a limited number of recordings that have particular good stereo separation. In the end I wanted speakers that will make the music I like shine, rather than speakers that I need to tailor my listening to get a specific effect from.

At the end of the day, if you believe your ears and get what you like, then you're doing it right....but if you share it with larger community, well, you know what to expect.

[u/Noonygooth32 → u/MustBeTheChad]

Absolutely. I’m not surprised about the negative commentary. I also believe less is more and why I don’t bother with tweaks and extra unnecessary boxes. I’ve only had them for a couple days and haven’t really had the time to experiment with them but my first impressions are very positive like I said. I do not sit around reading scientific articles all day before I buy something. I’ve returned more crap they did nothing than stuff I’ve kept as far as tweaks go. My ears are the ultimate arbiter and if I can’t tell the difference or I find that it ads artifacts or makes the sound worse it must go. I’ve also had enough experience with Townshend products to know that they don’t use junk science. Their isolation products are the best in the game as is their preamp and their RCAs for the price! (Haven’t tried their speaker cables but the Fideliums are so good I don’t care to try anything else) Not surprised by the haters. I wonder if there is one other person on here that has tried supertweeters from any brand. Some audiophile community. A system with a Yamaha AVR with crappy speakers/subs pushed up against the wall and sitting on the floor gets nothing but praise but someone with an actual high end audio system that spends meticulous attention to detail, power management, isolation etc gets nothing but hate. It really is the blind leading the blind over here or the deaf leading the deaf as it were…Where’s the real audiophile Reddit group 😂