SongTower QWT overview
"If I were shopping for speakers, I'd take a look at this
shootout and read carefully through the comments. I'd look at the pictures of
the speakers. I'd think about how my room matches the shootout room. I'd
re-read the original reviews. I'd try to keep in mind my personal sound
preferences and view the descriptors in that light. Most of all, I'd go out
there and listen to everything I could. And then I'd buy the Salks. But that's
just me."
- Tom Andry, Audioholics.com
the story
Normally we approach speaker design as a collaborative
process. But in this case, Dennis Murphy approached us with a design he worked
up and asked us if we would be interested in bringing it to market. Since
Dennis is a consummate crossover artist, we knew it would be a fabulous
speaker. Given the fact that it was a small-footprint, quarter-wave
transmission line design, our interest was really piqued!
Here is Dennis' description of the design...
The SongTower QWT is an MTM design using a mass-loaded
quarter wave transmission line cabinet designed by Paul Kittinger and based on
the pioneering work of Martin King. This transmission line cabinet allows the
floor-standing speaker to exhibit greater bass extension than a ported design
would normally allow.
This design is the end result of a year-long
project to develop a very affordable (under $2000) speaker that
- 1) is
wide range, with useful bass response to at least 40 Hz;
- 2) has a small
enough footprint to allow cabinet dimensions with high SAF; and,
- 3) is
sensitive enough to be compatible with a wide range of amplifiers.
Traditional 3-ways would almost certainly fail at least one of the last
two requirements. Traditional 2-way bookshelf designs would require a large
woofer that might not produce the best possible performance in the upper
midrange, and would also require stand-mounting (low SAF).
The solution
was to use two high quality 5" drivers optimally suited to Martin King's MLQW
transmission line cabinet design, mated to a high quality tweeter. The Seas
CA15 woofers were an obvious choice to perform bass duties, due to their
appropriate electrical and mechanical parameters and extremely smooth and
extended response at higher frequencies. The Hiquphon 0WII was perfectly suited
for the design, since it is sensitive enough to keep up with twin CA15 woofers
and provides almost ruler-flat response and extremely broad dispersion. In
addition, this tweeter is rugged enough to allow a fairly low crossover
frequency with room to spare.
The sensitivity of the MTM is
conservatively rated at 88 dB, and can play a 38 Hz tone at high enough drive
levels to set off rattles from loose objects in a typical room.
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