Question for any ZROB owners or listeners….I am debating whether it is worth the effort to add the Dayton tweeters and caps to my set up.  The top end on these drivers seem to be their strong point.  What do you gain by adding the tweeters?  Is it a very meaningful add?  It would double my investment😄

I would think that adding the tweeters would help in getting better spatial cues. They would probably image better and sound more open.

That's my guess and I'm sticking to it!

These speakers are really improving with break in hours.  Bass is just not there but a sub integrates well and makes these drivers sing.  Really nice room filling sound.  It takes some moving them around and playing with tilt angles to find the sweet spot.  I added some leftover 3/4” cherry wood ~4” trim which seems to improve the SQ as a bonus.  Ordered a couple tweeters to mount on top and 2 different cap sizes for tweeter protection.  No XO’s needed…should be fun to do some more tinkering.  

BH, Thanks for the input.  Yes , I have checked those Lii Super Tweeters out and they look great. Just difficult to set up with my DIY ZROB and more than I was willing to spend.   I am just now sitting and listening to my GRS RT2.0-8 Neo tweeters with the DIY ZROB’s that arrived today.  Wooooh these tweeters really bring extra life to a speaker that were already sounding very good. Just amazed what these add to my DIY ZROB. Should get better with some hours on them and the Caps.   My favorite set up is placing them on the floor next to the ZROB aligned with the Fast F15 driver, slightly toed in and set at the same angle up as the ZROB.  Once I build a better tweeter box I ‘ll post some pics.

Randy, Sure enough, there is always something better to suck us into an upgrade.  Yes, I love my AE 45’s.  I just have to rotate 3 amps into two systems…decisions…decisions. Currently, I am really enjoying my Taboo breaking in my DIY ZROB’s.   I’m just continually impressed at how well the Taboo sounds with these speakers.  Just a really good pairing as are the tweeters I added.  As Donnie suggested, the tweeters add “better spatial cues. They would probably image better and sound more open.” Tried two different Jantzen Z Cap sizes (5.6uf same as the Decware ZROB and 10uf) as tweeter protection to compare SQ.   With my set up and room the 10uf Cap provided another noticeable level of improvement over the 5.6uf.  I added a pic of my rough tweeter baffle prototype. I tried moving the tweeter to several locations including on the top of the ZROB.  My preferred location is pictured. Speakers disappear with the best soundstage and detailed clarity that fills the entire room.  I plan to make a finished tweeter baffle to mirror my ZROB.  The fun continues!  Tom

Note:  For the budget conscious my total costs for second hand new drivers $300, tweeters and parts $175 is under $500.  The wood was on hand from prior projects.


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Finished my DIY ZROB tweeters to match the full range drivers.  I really like having the tweeters separate from the Fast F-15’s.   The flexibility of set up and orientation of the tweeters has a significant impact on the sound.  I prefer mine set up toed in on the inside between the two main drivers.  They are  really sounding good.  Glad I gave it a go!

Just playing around with the tweeter locations…tweeters sound very good and are additive in all locations.  By moving them around I am able to adjust the soundstage to sound more like a full room live performance or a more direct detailed sound focused  more on my sitting position.  Yet another sound variable to add to the mix yikes!

Very nice job!
I figured that the tweeters would deliver you over the top.

That's okay Donnie, I can dislike what you play and do, and you can dislike jazz as you do, as long as you keep resting and recovering! Glad all went well, stay recuperating.

Geno,  I appreciate your comments👍.  I lam very happy the way they turned out.  I am not a fan at looking at those large 15” drivers all the time so I bucked the trend and did old school covers.  They blend in better and provide some protection as well. I refer to them as my “Stage Monitors” 🤣. The most surprising take away is just how good they sound with my Taboo which I bought primarily for headphone use…So much for headphones.  Just absolutely amazing speakers for south of $500!  (Second hand new Fast F-15 drivers $300, tweeters and caps etc..$160, wood leftover from other projects).

Hi Donnie, Love the input…these DIY ZROB’s now with more hours on the drivers are much improved.  The sound quality  that these simple speakers provide for their price is mind bending.  Music fills the entire room like you are in the first row of a concert with such clarity and detail.   As for the tweeter suggestion I have one installed on each speaker.  It’s rated 2300-40k and I made them self contained  in their own baffle where I can adjust their orientation.  I tried two different Caps one at ~6000 and another at ~2500.  I preferred the second one on my system and room.  Adding these tweeters made such a huge improvement that I could not live without them.   Being self contained tweeters in their own mini baffles I have tried them in many positions…straight ahead on top of ZROB baffles, on the floor straight ahead and angled  to the sides, behind the baffles, directly up toward the ceiling….all sounded good but each had strengths an weaknesses.  My favorite I keep coming back to is setting them on the floor angled inward slightly facing in the direction of the other speaker.  It’s been a fun project keeping me in trouble.  

Hearafter,

I was more suggesting adding yet another tweeter altogether.
Yes 2 tweeters per speaker, it adds more openness.
Pointing upward seems to add something special.

Just a suggestion, though it seemed to work for me.

Just curious - would you use differing cap values for the two pairs of tweeters to cover the spectrum better? Or am I misunderstanding, and you would use the same values in both pairs to reinforce/double a certain segment of the spectrum?

Randy