I will not argue that Magnaplaner speakers are awful or not as good as those with dome tweeters, but the moronic logic behind Steve's argument against small dome tweeters demonstrates his lack of knowledge. If this is how he actually thinks, I suddenly get why I almost never agree with his reviews or articles.
He made a comparison to an actual instrument making the high frequency sound to a speaker reproducing it. With that logic, he would want a 42" speaker to reproduce the bass drum used in some classical recordings. Or, he would need a 24" tweeter to reproduce the treble from a high quality jazz drummer's ride cymbal. Have you ever heard a 24" tweeter?
Basically, what matters is the quality of the acoustic energy being sent into the room via the transducer. That's it. One of the finest performing and sounding tweeter designs ever demonstrated and nearly never used is the plasma tweeter which consists of an electrical arc, or plasma, being fluctuated by the audio signal. It is extremely efficient, omnidirectional, and almost completely distortion free. The problem with it is the arc creates ozone, so the few speakers which ever used the design came with a refillable nitrogen or helium tank which released the gas over the arc to ensure there was no oxygen near it. Not very practical. But, that arc was teeny-tiny and yet it was the best performing and for many the best sounding.
He likes planar speakers, which is fine. But I absolutely refuse to accept the notion that planar speakers are inherently better at treble than a good dome, or ribbon, or horn, or even some cone speakers. Everything about what he said is insanely wrong.
I am hoping, for goodness sake, that he is trying to stir controversy rather than expose his stupidity. I want to think that a guy who has successfully made a career out of being a journalist, reviewer, and opinionator on audio systems for as long as he has isn't this stupid.
