Percy

Photo of a brand new pair of the one legendary T330D Dynaudio tweeters. But the real question is ... are they still good in todays technology and application? Let's put it this way, they were considered "state of the art" when they were released in 1987. Almost nobody else had a large magnet structure nor a huge back chamber to absorb the backwave. The domes themselves were made from a thinner silk and coated with basically a "white glue" mixture with some secret recipe. The ferrorfluid is 100% SYNTHETIC and will NOT gum up, unlike the other speaker manufacturers.

If you've read any of the the audio reviews, they always have very flowery language and tons of buzzwords to elevate the tweeter to "legendary" status. If you know vacuum tubes, the Western Electric 300B, the T330D are often placed in the same level. That doesn't mean it's accurate, nor does it mean that the tweeter will handle transients with high resolution. Treble is often "rounded off" and not meant for any detail. The weaknesses of the tweeter? For one thing, strontium magnets. Sure, they're huge but they do NOT have the same magnetic flux density as high grade NEO magnets. NEO magnets have around 10x the flux density and will allow for better control / transients of the voice coil. Second weakness is that the big T330D is NOT externally vented, that is, no vent holes for the back pressure to escape. This also ruins the transient response and the tweeter dome never fully "resets" before the next note. Third weakness is the overall size of the T330D tweeter and they will NOT fit in many applications.

Now if you listened to the T330D by itself, it sounds quite nice with a good crossover capacitor. (V-Cap ODAM) Don't use the Mundorf, they sound quite "dark" in applications and save yourself the bucks from the marketing oil filled cardboard with resin / tar filling of the allegedly "high end" denmark dinner plate sized capacitors. The dinner plate sized capacitor company will never provide any real measurements (inductance over frequency / capacitance over freq) and will rely on pretty marketing and less than credible audio magazine writeups.

Once when you start comparing and level matching the T330D to a newer generation tweeter, say a Dynaudio e110 with the NEO magnet and externally VENTED structure, you will hear far more details with the e110 than the T330D. Transients are far more quick, decays of notes are very obvious and there is far more control over the voice coil than the aged T330D design.

Where things get very interesting is if you cruise around the big audio supply driver website. Plenty of high end tweeters with greater availability than the T330D. And yes, due to their updated magnet structure and updated tech, the T330D is pretty much dead.

When did Dynaudio screw up? 2017 and recent. Bought out by the far east and the QC has been quite lacking, especially on the tweeter drivers / replacements. I've already seen fresh out of the factory boxes of MATCHED PAIR T330D with crinkles on the dome. Very slight crinkles, very slight creases but you already know QC has taken a HUGE hit. Prior to 2017, I've never seen ANY defects on the big T330D matched pair that were new from factory. Yes, you can still order them directly from Dyn, but they'll only sell you maybe ONE or TWO pairs, THAT'S IT. You could pick them up brand new for about $600 per matched pair. I don't blame Dynaudio for regulating the sales of their has been legendary tweeter, but imo, not worth the bucks, especially when there are better and newer tweeters out there. Just dont buy them from online dealers that will mark up their price hugely, nor from the big auction site. Your bucks are better spent elsewhere.

So when did the T330D officially DIE? The gravestone reads.. "Dynaudio Esotar T330D...1987 to 2001". In 2002 Dynaudio released their ESOTAR² series with the then new Confidence C2 / C4. That was the ground breaker that nailed the coffin shut for the T330D.

If you're in the market for the T330D, you might want to contact Dynaudio directly. They MIGHT sell you a pair, but if you get "attitude" from them, look elsewhere. There are far better alternatives, especially with the modern technology.

RIP Dynaudio T330D, 1987 - 2001.