Newer speaker technologies

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by dBel84, May 24, 2018.

  1. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    I wasn't sure where the appropriate place to start / post this type of discussion but as this is a speaker, I thought I would post a link to this "newer" speaker concept.

    This is a unique implementation but the idea of radial radiators is not new. It is one of the most interesting developments in the field I have read about for a while and thought I would share

    ..dB

    This is an editorial from audioXpress | Voice Coil

    The AirBlade Transducer : https://www.arya-audio.com/


    In Voice Coil's January 2016 issue, Vance Dickason wrote about a new major development in loudspeaker technology, highlighting a new transducer technology from
    [​IMG]
    Christensen Audio, which "has the potential to replace moving-coil driver types in many applications, both in terms of performance and cost." The article detailed "a wide-range, wide-angle, true point-source speaker driver" as described in US Patent 9,124,964 (granted, with others pending) and provided further details of this new technology, which represents a radical improvement of the basic and well-known Air Motion Transformer (AMT) technology, as originally developed by Dr. Oskar Heil and ESS Labs in the 1970s.
    [​IMG]
    Arya Audio Labs took the original Christensen Audio transducer concept and decided to make it commercially available as the AirBlade.

    As Vance pointed out at the time, "For compression driver use in pro sound products, this new technology also has an extremely beneficial combination of very low moving mass, very high moving surface area, large length of conductor in the magnetic field, and high magnetic field strength, which results in the mass-break frequency being several octaves higher than the typical 3.5 kHz exhibited by traditional moving-coil compression drivers." That article has since been posted online in its entirety and is available here.

    Fast forward to May 2018, at the High End show in Munich, I'm always on the watch for new technologies and designs - transducers in particular. During the second day of the show, in occasional chats with different friends on "what caught my eye," I learned that there was this "very exciting and promising" new driver being introduced at the show by a startup company and I was strongly advised to see it. Not knowing the exact location for the exhibit, it wasn't until the last day of the show, when on advice from our colleague Ward Maas, we decided to visit the "Newcomers" exhibits, where new companies pitch their new ideas, inventions and, sometimes, actual products.

    There, we were fortunate to meet British manufacturer Arya Audio Labs and we were pleased to find a longtime friend of audioXpress and Voice Coil, Arthur Marker, now in charge of this new company introducing AirBlade, a revolutionary loudspeaker driver!

    [​IMG]
    High End 2018 show in Munich. The audioXpress team - Ward Maas and J. Martins - meet Arthur Marker and his new venture, Arya Audio Labs.

    For some reason, this product introduction at the Munich High End show looked familiar, but our visit was on the last day of the show, we couldn't stay very long, Arthur also had a meeting, and it wasn't until we returned home that I was able to investigate further, rediscovered the Christensen article, and decided to get back to Arthur and ask further questions.

    Arthur kindly confirmed how, after having done extensive research on nonlinearities in loudspeakers and how to mitigate their drawbacks during his time at University of Southampton in the UK, a leading acoustic research institute, he decided to lead the Arya Audio Labs team. The company brings together the best expertise from different fields and with access to advanced prototyping tools including 3D printing, 5-axis CNC machines, and state-of-the-art measurement facilities.

    After graduating with a MSc in Engineering Acoustics from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research/ISVR in UK (1st class honors) and with BEng in Electrical Engineering from DHBW University Stuttgart (1st class honors), Arthur Marker's professional experience already includes working for Apple (California, USA), Cirrus Logic (Southampton, UK), and Valeo (Stuttgart, Germany) on audio hardware design, FPGA development, Acoustic Validation, Acoustic Echo Cancellation, and DSP Design/Tuning.
    Through his work, he also came across scientist and inventor E.J. Christensen who suggested the before-mentioned transducer concept based on the AMT principle that had the potential to solve all major issues of the dynamic loudspeaker. The two scientists initiated contact in 2016 and the common interest in overcoming the limitations of current driver technologies led to a partnership between them. What followed were extensive R&D activities to bring this transducer concept into commercial products, resulting in the company Arya Audio Labs being officially established in 2017.

    In May 2018, the first AirBlade driver based on this new approach was finally presented to the public at the Munich High End show and was met with great interest from the audio industry as, according to Arthur, "it represents a significant technological leap forward compared to existing transducer technologies and offers unique features."

    [​IMG]
    The clever diaphragm construction, in which adjacent layers always have opposite current flow, leads to a cancellation of inductive effects making the driver behave almost perfectly, electrically and acoustically with no significant resonance peaks.

    AirBlade is a broadband (<1 kHz to >20 kHz), low distortion, high power, linear phase and linear impedance loudspeaker driver that does not become directional toward higher frequencies. Unlike traditional drivers that are using a single heavy diaphragm with separate voice coil attached to it, AirBlade utilizes very light ring-shaped foil elements as diaphragm, where conductive traces are directly laminated onto it. By distributing the diaphragm area over several layers and implementing a curved shape, AirBlade avoids several drawbacks of traditional drivers like beaming (sweet-spot problem). The effective diaphragm surface area in the AirBlade driver, measuring 19,200 mm2, is more than 37 times bigger compared to that of a traditional 1" driver while having similar outer dimensions. That results in improved air coupling, sensitivity and power handling and, at the same time, reduced distortion.
    The company plans to offer its first batch of drivers for the high-end market starting August 2018, at a suggested retail price of around £1000 per unit (approx. 1300 USD). Products for Pro Audio and automotive market will follow at a later stage. Apart from the AirBlade driver project, Arya Audio Labs is also working on several other projects, such as the RevOpod damper or a range of Kappa cables for state-of-the-art high-end applications.


    The original development article was published in Voice-coil in 2016

    New Transducer Technology from Christensen Audio
    October 26 2016, 08:00
    Christensen Audio has recently introduced an interesting and reportedly cost-effective new transducer. According to E.J. Christensen, the inventor of this technology, this is the first loudspeaker driver technology to come along in many decades that has the potential to replace moving-coil driver types in many applications, both in terms of performance and cost.

    [​IMG]
    Photo 1: This new loudspeaker driver technology is purported to have several advantages over other types of loudspeaker drivers.

    As described in the recently granted US Patent 9,124,964 (others pending), this new technology represents a radical improvement of the basic and well-known Air Motion Transformer (AMT) technology as originally developed by Dr. Oskar Heil and ESS Labs in the 1970s.

    This new wide-range, wide-angle loudspeaker driver technology (see Photo 1) is purported to have the following advantages over all other types of loudspeaker drivers, including moving coil drivers, electrostatic panels, planar-magnetic panels, plasma-ion tweeters, magneto-strictive drivers, ribbon drivers, piezo-electric tweeters and traditional square or rectangular AMT drivers. Other advantages include:
    • Much wider frequency bandwidth: Mid-tweeters based on this new technology can be used from several hundred hertz up to 20 kHz or more, while dedicated midranges can cover approximately 100 Hz to 5 kHz at very high power levels and with much lower distortion than moving coil drivers.
    • Wider horizontal angular coverage at all frequencies: This technology can uniformly cover any desired horizontal coverage angle, from 90° or less all the way up to 360°, using a single driver, with zero beaming or lobing at any audio frequency.
    • Extremely wide vertical angular coverage: Essentially the same as that for a typical 0.75” to 1” moving coil, dome tweeter at high frequencies.
    • Extremely high power handling and very low distortion: Much better than typical moving-coil drivers due to improved cooling of the conductive elements.
    • Superb time domain performance: This technology provides lightning-quick and nearly ideal transient response, with none of the diaphragm break-up issues and other time domain response-smearing behavior exhibited by traditional drivers based on moving coil & cone/dome technology.
    The novel, curved diaphragm geometry of this new technology enable a loudspeaker driver to be built with a much larger moving surface area than a traditional AMT driver, without any of the beaming or lobing problems associated with traditional, non-curved, AMT drivers.

    [​IMG]
    Figure 1: This small, low-cost version of the driver can be used as a 360° mid-tweeter.
    [​IMG]
    Figure 2: Here is one possible home audio incarnation of this technology.

    This new driver technology is comparable in cost, or in many cases is lower in cost, than other types of existing drivers in the mid to upper performance categories such as high-end moving coils, traditional AMT drivers, or other high-end driver types. Figure 1 shows an example of a small, low-cost version of the driver that can be used as a 360° mid-tweeter.

    The form factor of this new driver is compact and attractive. It is scalable from the very small to the very large, without having any of the serious drawbacks (e.g., high voltages, excessive heat, expensive materials, high size and/or weight, etc.) that are required by alternative technologies.

    Appropriate audio applications include:
    • Home and Commercial Sound: Vastly improved horizontal and vertical coverage area of high-quality sound, and not just in the traditional, tiny “sweet spot” that is usually only located directly in front of the loudspeakers. Figure 2 shows a possible home audio incarnation of this technology.
    • Headphones: Enables the creation of high-quality headphones, with much better clarity and loudness than any other current technology, along with extremely low levels of distortion.
    • Pro Sound: Has the potential to create compression drivers, for pro sound applications, which have lower distortion, louder sound capability and smoother frequency response than any other driver technology.
    • Autosound: Can be used to create high-quality, in-vehicle loudspeaker drivers that cover much wider frequency ranges and much wider coverage angles than any other driver technology, and which also have more flexible placement options for various vehicle locations.

    [​IMG]
    Figure 3: This new technology offers a combination of low moving mass, high moving surface area, large length of conductor in the magnetic field, and high magnetic field strength, which results in the mass-break frequency being several octaves higher than the typical 3.5 kHz exhibited by traditional moving-coil compression drivers.
    [​IMG]
    Figure 4: Power compression comparison.

    For compression driver use in pro sound products, this new technology also has an extremely beneficial combination of very low moving mass, very high moving surface area, large length of conductor in the magnetic field, and high magnetic field strength, which results in the mass-break frequency being several octaves higher than the typical 3.5 kHz exhibited by traditional moving-coil compression drivers (see Figure 3).

    The initial, non-exclusive manufacturing licensee for this technology has already been signed, and products based on the technology are expected to be available during 2016. There are other licensing opportunities available on this technology, which currently has patents pending in the US, Europe, Japan, Canada, and China.

    More information is available at www.christensenaudioip.com

    This article was originally published in Voice Coil, January 2016








     
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  2. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Looks extremely interesting, thanks for posting this!

    My main issue is: can it do bass? For example, a bass driver with the same tech that reaches 20hz.
    In isolation, I like some ribbon and electrostatic tweeters, but could never like hybrid speakers (think, for example, a Martin Logan, with a cone woofer for bass and electrostatic panel for mids and highs)...it's really easy to tell where the woofer plays, it just sounds disjointed because it can't keep with the super speed and transient response of the panel.

    On the other hand, a sealed box dynamic speaker like the ATC SCM7 sounds very coherent to me, it just doesn't distract, despite the tweeter/midrange being "inferior" in isolation, the whole package is more appealing to me.

    I'm all ears for new tech, but for me the real advancement would be something that could move some air apart from being hyper fast and free of distortion, so one can make, for example, a full range, 3 way speaker using the same driver tech for everything, without getting a disjointed sound from a super mid/tweeter unit and whatever is available at Seas for the bass driver.
     
  3. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    "My main issue is: can it do bass?"

    Simple answer, no. Designed as a mid high frequency driver.

    But if it is fast bass you want, some newer bass driver concepts

    Powersoft Introduces New M-Force Design at 2018 Prolight+Sound
    April 4 2018, 03:00
    With virtually every single professional audio manufacturer in the world considering or already shipping subwoofer solutions based on Powersoft revolutionary M-Force linear motor technology, introduced to the market in 2013, the Italian company will now demonstrate a new generation M-Force at Prolight+Sound 2018, with a simpler implementation, better thermal dissipation, improved magnetic spring action, and high voltage and current connectors.

    [​IMG]

    Switching mode amplification is still a relatively untapped source of unexploited potentials, one of which is its ability to drive rather peculiar loads, such as the M-Force: a transducer that behaves in a completely different manner when compared to traditional speakers.

    M-Force redefines the notion of a traditional transducer, with its parallel moving magnets generating linear movement, surpassing all the limitations brought by the need of purposely wasting power in order to move the mass of a moving coil.

    This linear movement is achieved without the aid of any rotary to linear converter, making the M-Force a native push-pull device, capable of delivering perfectly symmetrical performances. The sheer force alone allows to drastically reduce cabinet’s volume to SPL ratio, whilst retaining outstanding sound performances, allowing for extremely deep and defined low ends.

    Capable of handling forces up to 20 times greater than its conventional counterparts, when compared to traditional transducers M-Force unleashes a whole new spectrum of application possibilities that is not necessarily limited to the audio realm. Powersoft's new M-Force comprises a series of new added solutions aimed to simplify the workload of OEM manufacturers.

    [​IMG]

    Embraced by many leading audio brands who recognized the solution's unmatched power and versatility, M-Force currently enhances subwoofer designs from companies such as MAG Audio, FunktionOne, EAW, ATK, Aura Audio, D.A.S. Audio, PK Sound and Equaphon to name a few. The technology is already at the heart of major applications, including the world’s largest sub installation at the Avalon nightclub (Los Angeles, USA), and has been instrumental to a number of concerts and tours (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Caparezza), music festivals (Ultra Miami, Raumarock, Helsinki Pride), as well as global events such as the Super Bowl and the Grammy Awards. Its versatility is such that it is also used in cinema applications while in Iceland, M-Force recreates earthquake movements in the LAVA Centre.

    According to Powersoft, the new M-Force design will allow a simpler implementation, with the motor matched to the finest of tolerances to a purpose-built diaphragm, through a newly designed coupling and a lightweight chassis, thus also improving thermal dissipation. The work of OEM manufacturers implementing the technology will also benefit from the improved magnetic spring action, where the motor and the magnets alone are now tasked with delivering a linear movement without the need for an external spring. The new design also features high voltage connectors, integrated within the motor itself.

    [​IMG]

    System Details
    Announced as M-force 301P01, the unique and innovative transducer has been updated and is now available as the M-force 01 long throw linear motor for infra sub applications and the M-force 02 short throw linear motor for high acceleration applications. With longer linear displacement, M-Force 01 is the perfect tool for direct radiation and bandpass applications, enabling manufacturers to keep cabinet sizes to a minimum whilst allowing for flawless infra-bass reproduction. M-Force 02 is designed to grant reliability under extreme loads, such as bandpass applications and loaded horn configurations.

    Visitors to Prolight+Sound 2018 will appreciate the developments to M-Force 301P01 which is engineered in a robust, factory assembled package, to simplify implementation. As Claudio Lastrucci, Powersoft’s R&D Director, states “I’ve always considered power amplification, signal processing, and transducer design in loudspeaker to be one single entity in the pursuit of performance. There’s no division between one domain and another because this would limit the evolution of the products to small changes that don’t add up.”

    M-Force is configurable as a full system, comprised of M-Drive which fully exploits the potential of M-force to squeeze all of the available power granted by switching mode amplifiers. The most powerful amp module ever built, M-Drive is uniquely conceived to drive reactive loads. M-Drive can be equipped with any Powersoft or third-party DSP solution, and integrates Differential Pressure Control Sensor technology (DPC) used in both IPAL and M-Force systems.

    Powersoft’s patented DPC allows a differential pressure signal, acoustically obtained from the two sides of the moving loudspeaker membrane, to be fed to the amplifier just as any other electrical feedback signal, thus overcoming one of the greatest limitations to the achievement of outstanding acoustical performance. In turn, Powersoft’s Zero Latency DSP provides an innovative architecture that ensures an astonishing 10μs latency on the critical feedback paths allows analogue type feedback approach with the flexibility of a DSP core.

    Each element of the M-Force system, as every OEM product from Powersoft, is configurable with Armonía ProManager, Powersoft’s dedicated software tool. With Armonía Pro Manager, OEM manufacturers can initialize the system so that it shows proprietary brand information in Armonía, including series and model name, image and the serial number of the product.


    The original release showed a 2m diameter bass driver, was quite the image.

    . dB[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]
     
  4. uncola

    uncola Friend

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    That airblade driver looks neat... the same Munich high end exhibit also featured another new exotic transducer, the acoustic wing.. I don’t have the knowledge to evaluate its technical merits but I love the looks of all these exotic driver types.. the bending wave transducer.. all these crazy omnidirectional drivers like mbl, ohm Walsh, German physiks.
     
  5. uncola

    uncola Friend

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  6. sodacose

    sodacose MOT: WTFAmps

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  7. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    Thanks. Ended up being swamped at work, so just reading through the thread. I would love to hear them sometime.

    I also stumbled upon another not so new planar - looks more like a wave guided dual ring radiator

    [​IMG]

    CODA DDP

    ..dB
     
  8. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    One more to keep an eye out for - an acoustic wing which looks more like a flipper to me

    [​IMG]

    They are making headphones and speakers

    ..dB
     
  9. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    Have no real reason to doubt their products or skills, but frankly the Wing Acoustics website and videos made me think they were an Indiegogo campaign or something! Filled with lots of self-praise and vaguely-quoted hype, but incredibly lacking in any details or pictures of the products. One of the only other web-sites I can see talking about it is an angel-investing group that summarizes some of the $ that the company has raised. Again, shivers and flashbacks from Kickstarter/Indiegogo hype trains.

    However, then dove deeper and found a DIY Audio thread discussing it (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/326482-wing-acoustics-revolution.html) which then led to the patent application and all the details. Seems to be a well detailed out patent, and finally a ton of pictures! Here's the patent - https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/00/03/24/bf56411d97ac8d/US9800980.pdf

    Still skeptical, but now at least feel somewhat better that they've done some decent research, or at least hired a good patent filing expert!

    Any real primary experience with these out there?
     
  10. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    I actually consider cardiod radiation loudspeakers like kii three and Dutch&Dutch 8c to be the future.
     
  11. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    The name Airblade made me think of something else. I read about these a long time ago. I've never actually seen (or heard) one in real life, but they still appear to be a thing.

    http://www.rotarywoofer.com/

    Of course this is not a new speaker technology and apologies for going off on a tangent.......
     
  12. mitochondrium

    mitochondrium Friend

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    I agree but this is nothing new all k models from Geithain have a cardoid radiation pattern, they do it without DSP, they use a resistance to modify the airflow at the back of the speaker, if I am not mistaken the result exceeds the Kii's performance in that respect. They started marketing this in the early noughties.
     
  13. Toolkit

    Toolkit New

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    This topic is wild. I want to see some of these crazy designs available for purchase!
     
  14. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    This thread is old.

    And I'm glad you brought it back to the surface. All new stuff to me :)
     
  15. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    necro bumping for another interesting approach to developing drivers

    http://dinaburgtech.com/technical.html


    the images don't seem to be linking - essentially a standard driver fitted into a larger passive decoupled driver , they also have a headphone driver prototype

    ..dB

    From AudioXpress


    Dinaburg Speaker with Dual Diffuser
    Innovative Coaxial Driver Design with a Passive Ring Radiator


    Recently, Dinaburg Technology, based in Dallas, TX, was issued its first US patent for an electro-dynamic loudspeaker with an integrated coaxial passive ring radiator. Coaxial drivers have been around from the early studio monitor days, and so have passive radiators.

    More than 70 years ago, Dr. Harry Olson at RCA Labs did the first work on passive radiators. His LCA-1a broadcast studio monitor coax combined the innovative acoustic suspension tweeter (which cost Edgar Villchur his patent a few years on). Over time, there have been quite a few innovative coaxial innovations, including some Technics flat diaphragm coaxial speakers, Earthquake Sound's compliant mounting of drivers using the entire driver as the coaxial passive radiator, and even some three-way (and more) unique designs such as the Quad ESL-63 electrostatic and Cabasse’s La Sphère, which employed four concentric ring (active) elements. Those who drill deep and have their own patents know well that innovative work and vision builds from “standing on the shoulders of giants.” This snarky remark alludes to the metaphor usually attributed to Isaac Newton, which can be traced even further back to the 12th century, to Bernard of Chartres.

    Mikhail Dinaburg, noted physicist and the patent inventor, uncovered some missing elements in previous coax and passive radiator work and set out to prove it. Dinaburg’s patent discloses techniques for higher performance sound reproduction based upon Boyle’s Law. The design techniques enable lower distortion, extended frequency range, higher efficiency, and improved speech intelligibility. The invention has wide applications and scales from an earphone driver to near-field studio monitors, ceiling speakers, and under-couch subwoofers to the largest concert subwoofers.
    [​IMG]

    Dinaburg Technology, based in Dallas, TX, was issued its first US patent (10,812,912 B2) for an enhanced electro-dynamic loudspeaker design. Dinaburg’s innovation consists of an active speaker constructed concentrically with a stabilizing ring radiator. This passive ring is compliantly held in place by surrounds on both the inner and outer periphery.

    While the Dinaburg analysis takes into consideration factors not commonly considered in electro-acoustic modeling, we can provide some insights with a basic overview. The typical speaker radiates as much sound energy from the rear of the diaphragm as the front. In most loudspeaker systems, the back energy is either dissipated as heat through shearing action of the box stuffing or constructively through a bass reflex port, which is tuned to reinforce the bottom half-octave of the loudspeaker’s response. The inverted phase of the rear radiation within the enclosure becomes in phase with the front radiation through the port. In the Dinaburg technique, a port substitute is used and, in a simplistic characterization, the Dinaburg invention is a passive ring radiator. Essentially an active speaker constructed concentrically with a peripheral passive ring radiator. This ring is compliantly held in place by a surround on both the inner and outer periphery. There are a number of benefits, some not as obvious as others.

    Bass reflex, as provided by Thiele-Small simulations and supported by the acceptance of the audio engineering community, confers a combination of reduced active driver cone excursion for a given acoustic output (in the range of the vent or passive radiator turning), higher sensitivity in this range, and/or extended low-end response.

    The passive radiator’s diaphragm (compared to a simple vent) blocks mid-range sound energy from within the enclosure. Two related anomalies are minimized from the passive radiator instead of a vent. First, avoiding comb filtering interference that can result with larger vents. And second, with vented systems, as the frequency rises the phase relationship of the vent and the active driver, the composite output phase differential goes from in phase to out of phase resulting in a dip in the mid-bass response. As a result of the passive radiator’s response attenuating this upper bass output, the cancelation is reduced.

    The passive ring radiator also provides for tighter constructive coupling to the active speaker (and to the room) compared to an open bass reflex port. From the measured data, it can be seen that the Dinaburg topology (alignment) results in more output than what would be predicted by modeling simulations. Actually, these simulations assume the on-axis response in the range of where the passive ring provides a larger effective radiating area and tighter coupling of the bass to the room. This is in the bottom end response, with the added benefit of avoiding beaming in the midrange that would have resulted from an active speaker of the same overall size as the outer diameter (OD) of the ring radiator.

    This out-of-the-box thinking provided the “loop-hole” in the usual design rules, providing for the measurement results being better than the predictions from Thiele-Small box simulations.
    [​IMG]

    The stabilizing radiator (instead of a simple vent) blocks midrange sound energy from the enclosure, avoiding comb filtering interference that can result with larger vents. The measured data shows that the Dinaburg topology also provides for tighter constructive coupling to the active speaker (and to the room) compared to a bass reflex port.

    Use Cases for the Dinaburg Technology
    An obvious application is mobile audio. AirPods and other “leaky” earphones, because of the front vent, lose significant bass output thereby requiring higher volume velocity (excursion x piston area). Practical earphone drivers for these designs are typically 10mm to 12mm in diameter, and top-end response suffers. A Dinaburg earphone driver of 8mm in a 12mm frame with passive ring radiator can deliver comparable low-end volume velocity of 10mm to 12mm drivers, yet maintain the response of an 8mm driver. Preliminary work indicated exceptional performance in active noise cancellation (ANC) applications.

    Prototyping of 40mm active drivers in a 50mm diameter frame enables the low-end acoustic output of a 50mm driver with the smooth mid and top-end response retained of the 40mm active driver. This would immediately be an advantage in gaming headphones.

    For Bluetooth and similar battery devices, the test date indicates higher sensitivity (an area to be discussed in more detail in future articles) and of course this has implications for battery operation time.

    An immediate and easier to implement opportunity are installation speakers. A standard 8” driver ceiling speaker “high-hat” housing can hold a 4” active driver and passive ring radiator with superior bass response, extended top-end, but also the wider coverage. Yet, retaining pattern control throughout the voice range enables wider spacing of the speakers in the ceiling reducing both equipment costs as well as faster system installation. Additionally, by the composite frame for the active drive and passive ring without housing windows, a self-contained module is achieved.
    [​IMG]

    Power consumption of a conventional speaker vs. integral coaxial speaker cone speaker

    For automotive, the typical factory install car door speaker is challenged in producing adequate bass response with shallow depth. The Dinaburg approach enables reduced depth with increased and extended bass response with higher sensitivity. Additionally, a self-contained module is achieved with the combined frame/back chamber as with the ceiling speaker.

    The same applies to soundbars, which have dominated the audio-video market as they have the ideal form-factor to fit flat screen televisions – except for the bulky subwoofer. Design teams have wished for a practical under-couch subwoofer. A Dinaburg 8” flat diaphragm active subwoofer in a 10” frame with an integrated ring radiator is the same depth of a shallow 8” woofer. With an enclosure height of about 3” with the driver/ring passive facing upward, the impact is immersive as the couch will provide both the bass and a strong tactile component.

    Dinaburg Technology is currently focused on inviting collaboration with brands to offer its design innovations and technical support for a wide range of applications. If you need advance insights, send me a message.
    [​IMG]

    The patented Dinaburg Loudspeaker Alignment opens up an entirely new class of opportunities for small form factor design. The photo shows a prototype for a headphone driver.
    [​IMG]
     
  16. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    So another method to reduce distortion in coaxials.

    Looks like they're looking for a partner to develop an actual product. Smart of them to focus on portables and power saving: It doesn't have to sound good, just increase your battery life.
     
  17. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    Here is a new take on the flat KEF driver of old - although this is more "ribbon-like" and touted as a bass driver

    [​IMG]

    audioexpress article here with lots of measurements.
     
  18. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    Not a new technology , but oh so cool - go Audeze :)

    Audeze Announces Filter Planar Magnetic Speakerphone On Indiegogo
    November 17 2021, 00:45
    Audeze continues to surprise with new cutting-edge development efforts, having in common the use of planar magnetic technology. Following a very successful entry in gaming and spatial audio, followed by an advanced medical noise-cancelling product, Audeze now unveiled Filter, a portable conference speakerphone equipped with intelligent voice processing that connects to virtually any digital source device over Bluetooth or USB and can be used with all conferencing software.

    [​IMG]

    While Audeze is mainly recognized globally as a premium headphone manufacturer, its continuous investments in audio signal processing seem to be paying off with the Californian company entering new markets and new applications at an impressive pace. Now, Audeze announced its first ever non-headphone product, the Filter portable personal conference speaker that features advanced Neural Network noise cancellation and beam-forming technology to enable users to communicate with perfect clarity in any environment.

    The design was inspired by everyone's challenges with working and studying from home or remotely and the need to communicate efficiently using available conferencing software. Many users frustrated with the experience have invested in better quality microphones - but even the best microphones in the world are not able to filter unwanted surrounding sounds. In fact, some microphones even make matters worse for communication. With users struggling with dogs barking, babies crying, and appliances' noise in the background during important calls, the solution is to optimize the microphone pattern, combined with intelligent processing.

    The new Audeze Filter is a portable design with the size of a smartphone, that uses beamforming and Neural Network (AI) noise cancellation technology in combination with a planar magnetic speaker - Audeze's area of expertise - to deliver perfect calls in any environment. Filter is aimed to be the ultimate work at home or on-the-go solution for those who don't have one of Apple's latest generation Macs.


    The device's Deep Neural Network (DNN) based noise cancellation eliminates most office or household sounds and presents only the voice signal. This advanced Intelligent Zero-Noise processing algorithm has been trained on over 500,000 noise samples, so it can accurately and effectively detect background noise and eliminate it. Solo or group calls are no problem for Filter, which also features 70 to 360 degrees variable microphone beamforming capture, picking up all voices within 10 feet/ 3 meters.

    Of course, one of the strong points in Filter is the built-in speaker. Based on technology Audeze first designed for the military, the proprietary planar magnetic speaker features high SPL and low distortion for unrivaled call clarity. Even before Audeze developed their award-winning headphones, the company's first product was a very large planar magnetic speaker array made specifically for military use. It was designed to communicate intelligible audio to civilians and soldiers in war zones. Audeze performed an intelligibility test of this planar array at Edwards Air Force Base, and listeners were able to clearly understand 100% of the words up to one full mile away!

    [​IMG]

    And Audeze's patented planar magnetic technology allowed for a speaker that is also flat and convenient in a portable solution. Almost every conference speaker on the market is cylindrical or amoeba shaped, very bulky and uncomfortably heavy. Audeze wanted a compact, sleek design that would be beautiful to look at and comfortable to hold while offering all the performance, control, and durability that a mobile user needs.

    The 70mm X 105mm speaker also features Audeze's Patented Fluxor magnets for high efficiency and Uniforce Diaphragm for distortion free sound, with a frequency response between 300Hz to 20kHz. The result, the company says, is "the best sound reproduction and pick up in the industry." For portability, the speakerphone features a built-in 1100mAH lithium-polymer battery, which provides up to 15 hours of listening at normal level.

    "Filter was designed to be portable and features a folding design that allows the speaker to be set upright. The small form factor is about the size of a smartphone and comes with an adjustable touch control panel, yet Filter has greater output than many speakerphones three times its size. With USB and Bluetooth 5.0, Filter can connect to your computer, mobile phone or tablet," the company states.

    [​IMG]

    "This is a product designed for the hybrid workforce. You can use it at home to take your online meetings, but it's small enough to slip into your backpack for your conference call or huddle rooms at work," says Sankar Thiagasamudram, CEO of Audeze.

    To help spread the message for the new concept, Audeze decided once again to use the crowdfunding platforms and is offering Filter on Indiegogo with shipments estimated to begin in February 2022.
     
  19. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    something cool from CES

    upload_2022-1-13_15-18-32.png

    a MEMs array tweeter
     
  20. Beefy

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    Oh, that is very cool. The tuning possibilities for MEMs devices like that are incredible. Probably easier to implement, more robust, and easier to drive than piezoelectric devices (piezo has stupidly complex capacitances, from memory).
     

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