The neodymium motored, 1-inch soft-dome tweeters use a very low mass, silk cloth diaphragm with a highloss rubber suspension to damp edge modes and resonances, and allow instantaneous, dynamic response. These tweeters are small enough to be mounted in most factory locations with little or no modification. The supplied accessories allow flush, surface, or angled mounting.
The C51-2 crossovers are of the 12dB, unity high and lowpass variety with a crossover point of 5,500Hz. They incorporate high-quality, lowtolerance, metallized polypropylene capacitors, air-core inductors, and low tolerance, non-inductive resistors. To adjust tweeter output, you select between different push terminals (a nice way to do this) labeled -3dB, 0dB, and +3dB, which eliminates the common selector switch that can degrade over time and affect the quality of the connection.
Listening
Vocal
Rebecca Pidgeon "Spanish Harlem"
This track might be familiar to many of you who've competed in SQ competitions in the past. Not only do the speakers have to convincingly reproduce strings, Latin percussion, piano, and a female vocal, but they should also impart a sense of space and air.
The selection starts with a plucked string bass and I can detect the initial contact of the musician's finger with the string. The attack sounds very realistic as does the decay of the resonating strings. It has a large sound even though these 5.25-inch speakers aren't capable of producing the full fundamentals of the tone. Other component sets I've auditioned employ a 6.5-inch low-frequency driver, so the fact that these diminutive speakers can hold their own against a larger driver is a feat in itself. A small subwoofer would be all that's required to make them really shine.
When Pidgeon's solo vocal starts it's as though she's in the room with me! The image is strong, at eye level, and perfectly centered with a lifelike tone. I can even detect the size of the room and there's a feeling of air around the vocalist. So far, very impressive. High-frequency response is smooth and shimmering without being sibilant. This is undoubtedly a product of the silk cloth and ultra low mass of the tweeter diaphragm. Also contributing to the precise placement of the center image is the fact that the crossover frequency between the mid and tweeter is a comparatively high 5,500Hz. This higher-than-normal crossover point allows the paper cone of the midrange driver to play the entire range of human vocals while the tweeter contributes the harmonics that give the vocals such a natural sound, creating a quasi-point source. The sound of the piano in the second verse is also very natural and uncommonly smooth. When the strings and Latin percussion join in it only gets better. There's a realistic, sweet sound to the strings and the Latin percussion, without a hint of harshness, and there's an airy spaciousness that I've rarely heard from even the most expensive component sets I've auditioned. Clearly, the price isn't necessarily the determining factor to the sound of a speaker.
Score: 9.5/10
Blues
B.B. King "Stormy Monday"
B.B. King, as those of you who've read my reviews before already know, is one of my favorite blues singers. He's been singing the blues for more than 50 years and still brings the house down every time he performs. I was very curious to see if the Clarus speakers sound as good on this track as they did on "Spanish Harlem."