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Design Parameters and Trade-Offs in Large Diameter Transducers

In the design of high level large format transducers, a variety of interactive parameters define how a loudspeaker will sound at different power levels; voice oil diameter, former and wire material; cone material, geometry and mass; magnet size and material; magnetic gap geometry; dome geometry and material; cone surround linearity and damping; spider linearity; and the mechanical integrity of the entire moving system. These factors define; inductance; hysteresis and eddy current losses; spectral response and high frequency extension; cone break-up and modal behavior; power compression; flux modulation; low frequency linearity; and of course, sensitivity. This paper will investigate the trade-offs and design elements that influence the sound of modern high level transducers by evaluating current designs. The purpose of the paper is to shed light into some commonly held preconceptions as to why a given engineer may have made the design choices he or she has made.

Author: Button, Doug J.
Affiliation: JBL / Harman Speaker Manufacturing, Northridge, CA
AES Convention:91 (October 1991) Paper Number:3192 Import into BibTeX
Subject:Loudspeakers

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