1/13/2023 0 Comments Audionote demo![]() It may be less obvious and audible with some types of music, but ultimately the chosen material will always imprint some of its own signature on whatever sound is reproduced. ![]() The sad fact is none of these materials work as intended, as they all have their own distinct sonic signature, so no matter how the crossover is designed, this sonic signature will be present when the speaker reproduces music. It has become very fashionable to use all manner of exotic materials (beryllium, diamond, carbon fibre, ceramics etc.) as cone materials in modern drivers, mainly because it gives the impression that the manufacturer in question is making great strides in their research into better sounding speakers. This ensures that each loudspeaker in a stereo pair matches a ‘master curve’ and also its partner, to within 0.4dB to the best of our knowledge, no other loudspeaker manufacturer achieves such close matching and tests 100% of its production.Īnother much overlooked area of loudspeaker design is the material choice for the drivers. Therefore, to obtain the best possible combination of drivers and crossovers, we have developed a dynamic matching process. Many loudspeaker manufacturer’s will tell you that they provide “computer matched” crossovers, and whilst this may be true in one sense (each crossover may have been matched to have the exact same capacitance, inductance and resistance) this essentially “passive” method does not adequately take into consideration the mechanical and acoustic variance present in the drive units themselves, where minute differences in acoustic behaviour will result in quite substantial differences in performance and sound. (See specifications.)Ĭonsistent performance is a major issue in loudspeaker design and unfortunately all drive units vary slight from each other, even if they look the same and have the same basic specification. The crossover is simple, essentially first order, hardwired and incorporates air-cored chokes and selected bipolar and polypropylene capacitors (either copper foil or silver foil, depending on model.) The internal cabling consists of either 99.99% pure copper or 99.99% pure silver Audio Note (UK) wire, depending on the exact model. This provides the most undisturbed sound field with the widest and most even dispersion possible from a real world cabinet shape. In this position, it will outperform any similarly sized speaker regardless of origin, thanks in part to the shallow cabinet / wide baffle shape which gives the drivers the best possible operating conditions, allowing them to perform as if they are mounted in a virtual wall. ![]() The ported cabinet has been designed to be placed close to room boundaries, where the bass performance is augmented significantly by the additional reinforcement offered by the nearby walls. Bracing and internal damping is kept to a minimum and strategically applied to help, not hinder the drivers. Over the years, we have tried many different materials and combinations, a time consuming endeavour culminating in the current design, which utilises the highest quality Russian Birch ply for the entire cabinet. The material choice for the cabinet is an area where a great deal of research and development has taken place. Instead of trying to kill the resonances, we tailor the cabinet to place them in frequency bands where they aid and enhance the operation of the drive units, culminating in a loudspeaker system that makes the most of the preceding amplifier’s output. It calls for a cabinet that complements the chosen drive units, rather than fighting against them. ![]() The design of the AN-E Loudspeaker, by contrast, follows an altogether different philosophy. Sorry, they’re just not part of the “High Performance Audio” design brief. Their designers are blinded by the dogmatic quest for high sound pressure levels and flat response.īut what of the other factors which are essential for emotionally involving music reproduction? What about coherence, full natural micro – as well as macro – dynamics, inner detail? These designs usually consist of several less-than ideally-matched drivers and a very complex crossover, crammed into a cabinet that exhibits the tonal and textural qualities of reinforced concrete. The majority of the high-end audio marketplace is occupied by ill-conceived low efficiency loudspeaker systems.
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