The audio world is rife with theories that are the source of endless discussion and debate. Some are based on sound priciples. Others, not so much. Here are a few oft-repeated statements we can easily subject to a little critical thinking.
You’ve probably heard or seen these before:
There is a grain of thruth here but, again, it ain’t necessarily so. read more
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The audio world is rife with theories. They are the source of endless discussion and debate. Some are based on sound priciples. Others, not so much. Here are a few oft-repeated statements we can easily subject to a little critical thinking.
You’ve probably heard or seen these before:
There is an element of truth to each of these statements. And therein lies problem. read more
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One of the most misunderstood topics in audio is the subject of diffraction. Diffraction, acoustic phase, and how listening rooms impact our reproduction of sound, based on what I see posted in many discussions on the internet, are subjects of much confusion. In this article I will attempt to clear some of the fog on the topic of cabinet diffraction, and hopefully, present it in such a way as to make it much easier to understand. read more
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The new Salk SoundScape 10 and 12 speakers use dual passive radiators. These are obviously more expensive than port tubes, more complex to tune and require more cabinet work to implement. So why use them?
As the designer of the bass section of these two new speakers, I thought I would explain why passive radiators are perfect for this application, and why SoundScape series speakers will out-perform most other high-end speaker systems, and even many subwoofers, in low bass extension and output while, at the same time, providing extremely low distortion bass. [read more…]
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The audio world is overflowing with broad and deeply felt
generalizations (religions?) about tubes, designer capacitors, inductors,
and resistors, bi-wiring, cables, metal drivers vs. paper drivers–not to mention the whole digital vs. analog thing. Few of these beliefs are rigorously substantiated, and many can max out your credit card very quickly.
But there is one generalization that can be substantiated, and believing it
won’t necessarily destroy your credit rating. And that would be: “No
matter how much money you throw at drivers, components, and cabinets,
you can’t hide the effects of a poorly designed crossover.” Here’s a
corollary: “A speaker with ordinary drivers and an extraordinary
crossover will sound better than extraordinary drivers mated to a
so-so crossover just about every time.” If you’ve ever visited an
upscale audio dealer and listened to megabuck speakers that didn’t sound
that great, chances are the problem was inside on the crossover board. read more
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Choosing the right model speaker can be a challenge. But even more trying for some people is choosing the right veneer. Sure, looking at pictures of speakers we’ve built over the years can be helpful. But there are even more options out there. So I thought that perhaps a few words about veneers and links to a few sites might be helpful.
When searching for a veneer, you need to recognize that wood is created by nature, not by man. With most woods, there is a lot of variation from log to log. I cannot tell you how often we receive emails requesting “a pair just like these on your web site – photo attached.” Sometimes it is not a problem. But we tend to search out very unique veneers and when the batch is gone, it is gone. So some of our speakers are simply impossible to duplicate. read more
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