the HT3 cabinet

the function

Ever hear comments that a certain speaker "sounds great?" In reality, speakers should not impart audible qualities to the sound being reproduced. To avoid coloration, the cabinet must be as sonically inert as possible. This requires certain attributes:

• Walls must be built with materials that are not easily induced to resonate. No material is perfect. Solid wood is poor in this regard. MDF and Baltic Birch plywood are quite good.
• The walls must be sufficiently massive (thick or multi-layered), again to limit cabinet resonance.
• The cabinet must be well-braced for the same reasons.

A well-built standard speaker cabinet is usually heavy—heavier than it might appear—because mass is required to absorb and neutralize sounds, especially at lower frequencies. But that is just the beginning...

the design

Notice the tapered top? This was not done for esthetic reasons. When sound emanates from a driver, it tends to travel in all directions - 360 degrees. In this case, when sound from the tweeter reaches the edge of the cabinet, turbulence is created. This is called "baffle diffraction" and can create unwanted sonic coloration.

By varying the distance from the tweeter to the cabinet edge (by tapering the top of the cabinet), you distribute this diffraction across a wider range of frequencies, thus diminishing its effect.

Another added benefit of the tapered top is that internal parallel surfaces are reduced, partially eliminating the "tuned cavity" effect they create.

A combination chamfer/round-over is also applied to the baffle edges for additional diffraction mitigation. The result is a cleaner, clearer and more transparent top end.

The cabinet size was determined by the internal volumes required for optimum operation of the W18EX mid-woofer and the TC Sounds 989. This size was then increased slightly to compensate for two internal full-length braces (and for the crossover circuitry) that minimize cabinet wall vibrations in both driver cavities.

To further minimize resonances, the front baffle is comprised of a double layer of 3/4" MDF when built with standard satin black lacquer baffles (shown above). For custom options, the outside layer can be replaced by a solid wood baffle to match or provide contrast with the wood finish.

Finally, advanced sound deadening and absorption materials are applied to all inner surfaces to cut down on standing waves within the cabinet interior.

the result

The result is a rock-solid cabinet optimized to allow the G2, W18EX and TC 989 drivers to perform at their highest potential.