Consistent 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.
Many loudspeaker manufacturerʼs 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.
Therefore, to obtain the best possible combination of drivers and crossovers, we have
developed a dynamic matching process. This ensures that each loudspeaker in a
stereo pair matches a ʻmaster curveʼ 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.
Another much overlooked area of loudspeaker design is the material choice for the
drivers.
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.
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 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.
In addition, it is vitally important that the sound and characteristics of an individual
drive unit are complimentary to those of its chosen partner, so that when an
instrument is reproduced by both drive units (which is almost always the case), the
upper range does not sound detached from the lower range and visa versa. This is an
aspect of performance that cannot be measured by even the most sophisticated test
equipment; it can ONLY be judged by listening.
We at Audio Note are keenly aware of this and have deliberately chosen drive units
whose sonic signatures are as closely matched as possible. This has led us to favour
good, old fashioned paper for the woofer cone and impregnated silk for the dome
tweeter. These materials, when matched correctly, marry the low and high
frequencies seamlessly, providing the best level of performance possible in the real
world of acoustics.
(14 pages)
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