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About Vance Dickason

Vance Dickason has been working as a professional in the loudspeaker industry since 1974. A contributing editor to Speaker Builder magazine (now audioXpress) since 1986, in November 1987 he became editor of Voice Coil, the monthly Periodical for the Loudspeaker Industry, today published by KCK Media Corp. His globally acclaimed book Loudspeaker Design Cookbook is now in its 8th Edition, published by KCK Media. A life member of the Audio Engineering Society, Vance received the 1995 AES Citation Award for his long term contribution to audio education, and the 2013 Beryllium Award, Lifetime achievement from ALMA (Associating of Loudspeaker Manufacturers and Acoustics, now ALTI Association). Since 2001, he also does business as Vance Dickason Consultancy based out of Portland, Oregon, working as an independent engineering consultant to loudspeaker manufacturers.

All items written by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Trueanalog TAFE28 Silk Dome Tweeter

December 26, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Trueanalog TAFE28 Silk Dome Tweeter

For this edition of Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the TAFE28, a 28 mm silk dome tweeter from Trueanalog. This is the first time Test Bench has characterized any product from Trueanalog, and the company sent Voice Coil its new 28 mm diameter silk dome tweeter, intended for high end hi-fi and recording studio applications. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, October 2019.

Test Bench: B&C Speakers DCX464 High Power Coaxial Compression Driver and Horn

December 19, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: B&C Speakers DCX464 High Power Coaxial Compression Driver and Horn

The driver to be characterized in this Test Bench is from B&C Speakers and is the DCX464, a pretty unusual ring radiator compression driver. First, because it’s a coaxial compression driver - a rare category of compression driver, and second because the DCX464 compression driver and the accompanying horn measure down to an honest 300 Hz, which is quite a low frequency considering only a few OEM horns on the market go even as low as 400 Hz. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, October 2019.

Test Bench: Morel SCW 636 Woofer from The Fat Lady Speaker

December 12, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Morel SCW 636 Woofer from The Fat Lady Speaker

This month’s Test Bench includes a very high-end 6″ home audio driver, coming from Morel. This is a hybrid neodymium/ferrite motor, the 6.0″ carbon fiber/Nextel sandwich cone SCW 636, a by-product of the Fat Lady project, Morel’s flagship loudspeaker. Similar to the cabinet utilized in the Fat Lady, the Morel SCW 636 uses a three-layer composite cone and dust cap that combines carbon fiber/Rohacell/carbon fiber that is both lightweight and very stiff. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2010.

Zero Phase In Studio Monitors

December 4, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Zero Phase In Studio Monitors

This Voice Coil’s Spotlight, written by Vance Dickason with commentary from Floyd Toole, Wolfgang Klippel, Andrew Jones, and James Croft, focuses on Zero Phase in Studio Monitors. As Dickason explains, "the implication of using FIR filters to zero out the phase of a loudspeaker to improve its subjective performance seems inherently flawed given all the research done over years that concluded that the human ear is not very sensitive to phase or group delay." This article was originally published in Voice Coil, October 2019.

Test Bench: Eastech’s Punktkilde FSA044010-0802 1” Titanium Dome Tweeter

November 27, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Eastech’s Punktkilde FSA044010-0802 1” Titanium Dome Tweeter

The transducer characterized in this Test Bench is from Eastech's Punktkilde line of home hi-fi drivers built in China and designed in Denmark by Scan-Speak engineers. The FSA044010-0802 is a recently released Punktkilde tweeter, featuring a 1” damped titanium dome diaphragm, dual magnet neodymium motor, a cast-aluminum anodized red faceplate (other colors are available), and an 8 ohm voice coil. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, September 2019.

Test Bench: The PD.124NR1 High Power 12” Neodymium Midbass Driver from Precision Devices

November 21, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The PD.124NR1 High Power 12” Neodymium Midbass Driver from Precision Devices

For this Test Bench, Dickason characterizes the PD.124NR1, a new high power 12” neodymium driver from Precision Devices. The PD.124NR1 finds applications as a midbass driver in multiway systems or as a dedicated woofer bass reflex or horn-loaded designs. Its feature set is like most high performance pro sound drivers, fairly substantial. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, September 2019.

Test Bench: The Wavecor WF152BD03-04 Paper Cone Midbass Woofer

November 13, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The Wavecor WF152BD03-04 Paper Cone Midbass Woofer

This month’s driver on Test Bench, from high-end OEM manufacturer Wavecor is the WF152BD03/04 6″ midwoofer. This is another characterization from the Voice Coil archives. This 6″ paper cone midbass woofer, like the previously reviewed Wavecor WF120, highlights Wavecor Balanced Drive system design, a proprietary distortion reducing motor technology, which results in a more symmetrical Bl curve. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2010.

Test Bench: Airborne HR124B8-10L Wood Cone Midrange

November 6, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Airborne HR124B8-10L Wood Cone Midrange

The driver we tested is from Airborne, produced in China by long-time OEM manufacturer and high-end audio catalog retailer, Solen Electronique, Canada. The HR124B8-10L 4.5" midrange is intended for home hi-fi applications. This driver is built on a 6-spoke cast frame and the cone assembly consists of a curvilinear wood grain fiber cone and dust cap, suspended by an NBR rubber surround and a 2.75" diameter flat cloth spider. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, August 2010.

Test Bench: SEAS Excel Graphene W18EX003 6.5” Midbass Driver

October 31, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: SEAS Excel Graphene W18EX003 6.5” Midbass Driver

On this edition of Test Bench, Vance Dickason continues to measure one of the most anticipated driver designs launched in the market in 2019, from SEAS's new Excel Graphene line. Following the previous Test Bench on the W16NX003 5.25” midbass woofer, this one focuses on the W18EX003 6.5” midbass driver. This article was published in Voice Coil, August 2019.

Test Bench: SEAS Excel Graphene W16NX003 5.25” Midbass Driver

October 23, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: SEAS Excel Graphene W16NX003 5.25” Midbass Driver

In this Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the SEAS W16NX003 5.25” midbass driver, one of the new graphene-coated magnesium cone drivers from the brand's Excel Graphene range. This product line has been an ongoing project for more than two years, combining the already highly prized magnesium cone with the desirable acoustic properties of Graphene, which also works to provide corrosion protection to magnesium. This article was published in Voice Coil, August 2019.

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