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Do active speakers interest you? Also, let's talk directivity

Hey all. Don't think I've ever made a thread here. This is a super interesting community for me. I'm an audio professional, a mastering engineer and music educator. I'm someone who differs from much of the pro community, in that I don't see a difference between "pro" systems and "high-end" systems. 

There is one way they often differ, and that is in terms of directivity. Home systems are more frequently omni, while and studio or live sound requires directivity.

This was definitely the case in the 70s, back when audiophiles still had parties :D 

It's very hard to set up a directional system to fill a large room evenly unless you use a line array.

But let's be honest. Aren't we mostly sitting and listening, and hoping for a good image? We aren't expecting every spot in a big room to sound exactly the same for every guest. Personally, my social life is 95% virtual now and I am generally listening in my mastering room. I have a high end system in every room in my house, but my wife uses the living room system more than me (and she has better taste in music, so it's nice to learn about some new artists when she decides to put something on from he collection).

Anyway, I'm designing an active system. Though the cabinet is not large, with a combination of Hoge's principles and active electronics, we will achieve accurate response through to 20hz.

The reason to choose an active crossover is very obvious. Sending power directly to each driver allows us to use a very low sensitivity woofer, which thus plays much deeper than expected. We are using a ported woofer and a sealed midrange/hi cabinet, which are not sold separately. An interesting feature is the the very low-crossed ribbon tweeter carrying all of the high midrange and treble

It's an 1800w system, aimed at both the professional and home market. I'm curious, does this sound interesting to anyone? We are intending to have a prototype ready by 2022, so it is a ways off.

Part of the directivity concept is also dealing with room issues. Cancelling the rear energy of the woofers can help. I am inspired by Bruno and Merjin (whatever  his name :P). a big part of our concept has to do with advanced acoustic materials, which I don't want to discuss too much, as I don't think anyone else has thought of it or connected with that maker, yet

Curious to hear people's thoughts!
128x128mehtayoungs
facten
2,723 posts
 
No interest; like tk21 I want options
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Keep at it the future is active less intrusive speakers that offer great sound. There are companies, mostly in Europe, doing this now. Some of the best sounding speakers anywhere are active. I would suggest DSP or the ability to load filters should be included. Good luck.
kenjit
1,771 posts
 
 I don't see a difference between "pro" systems and "high-end" systems
Studio monitors are designed to sound bad. They are a tool used for analysis. Hifi speakers need to sound good. They are for enjoyment. Directivity is a matter of preference. There is no correct choice, theres only PREFERENCE.



mehtayoungs's avatar
mehtayoungs OP
15 posts
 
I will respond to each of you (except kenjit who I recognize as a troll from other threads).

Tk21 & facten -  I agree that selecting components is a big part of the hi-fi journey. The user would still select their own DAC and source. Those are less exciting than amplifiers, true enough. My position is that selecting amplifiers will be similar to selecting drivers in the future, because the benefits of amp-per-driver is not insignificant.

djones, thanks for the vote of confidence. You are aware of the new active designs with surprising form factor, given their deep and powerful output. The company has a DSP department, but in my opinion, that technology is a little ways away yet. DSP sounds perfect, but unfortunately it still causes delays for us, particularly when we use strict linear phase, which is generally preferred. Yes, DSP is absolutely the future. Audio DSP code is all proprietary and it will take us some years to research and develop that aspect. 

As for loading filters, do you mean adjusting the crossover, or room mode filters? DSP is very useful, but I am old-school when it comes to room. You need to dampen the room. Really, you want your room to be either purpose-built for sound, or find one that is Pre-WW2. Construction methods went down the drain after that, acoustically speaking, in almost all residences. That's a pretty tall order, I know.

We will be reducing the rear boundary effect. If you are familiar with Joachim Kriesler, he has a special method of dampening the rear energy of his speakers. He is secretive about his method. It's a combination of internal cabinetry and special dampening materials. The other method is to use out-of-phase woofers in an isobaric system, a trick that is essential in outdoor pro audio & is now being applied in the best domestic systems to make placement easier.


brewmasterdon
68 posts
 
Aerogel for dampening perhaps?? probably too expensive for most companies to even consider but looks very positive, I just ordered some 8mm to try in a bass enclosure.
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