Page description
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: B&C Speakers DE110-8 Compression Driver
September 23, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: B&C Speakers DE110-8 Compression Driver

The driver I examined this month was Italian Pro Sound OEM manufacturer B&C Speakers’ new high temperature polymer diaphragm DE110-8 compression driver coupled with B&C Speakers’ ME10 90° × 60° hyperbolic cosine flare horn (see Photo 1). The ultra compact DE110-8 joins B&C Speakers’ extensive series of 1” throat compression drivers. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2015.
Read more...
Test Bench: Wavecor SW146WA01-02 5.75-inch Subwoofers
September 22, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Wavecor SW146WA01-02 5.75-inch Subwoofers

This month I examined two new 5.75” subwoofers from Wavecor, both the 4-Ω SW146WA01 and the 8-Ω SW146WA02 version. Wavecor’s SW146WA, in both the 8-Ω and 4-Ω versions, have a well-conceived feature set that includes a proprietary four-spoke stamped steel frame that incorporates an eight-spoke/eight-window configuration below the spider mounting shelf. This open eight-spoke region, along with a 13-mm diameter pole vent, provides substantial cooling for the SW146WA. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2015.
Read more...
Test Bench: Scan-Speak 32W/4878T00 Subwoofer
September 15, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Scan-Speak 32W/4878T00 Subwoofer

This Test bench examines the 32W/4878T00 12” subwoofer from high-end driver manufacturer Scan-Speak. Over the years, Scan-Speak has become known for its midwoofers and tweeters, which is to say that its products can be found in a large percentage of the high-end loudspeakers on the market in the last 40 years. Having used Scan-Speak’s drivers in designs for some of my consulting business customers, I found it also makes some excellent subwoofers. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, March 2013.
Read more...
Test Bench: Tang Band T1-1942S Full-Range Passive Radiator Module
September 4, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Tang Band T1-1942S Full-Range Passive Radiator Module

Tang Band was founded in 1996 in Taiwan with the goal of manufacturing innovative, high-quality drivers. The transducer Tang Band sent to Voice Coil to review certainly lives up to that goal. The T1-1942S is a seriously creative new transducer, and it immediately caught my eye when I saw it on Tang Band’s website. I mean, when was the last time you saw a 1” dome in its own cabinet with a passive radiator? Me neither. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, March 2013.
Read more...
Test Bench: Scan-Speak D2908/714000 Revelator Beryllium 30-mm Dome Tweeter
August 30, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Scan-Speak D2908/714000 Revelator Beryllium 30-mm Dome Tweeter

Founded in 1970, Scan-Speak continues to offer the same “no compromise” philosophy that has always been a part of its mission. Scan-Speak sent its D2908/714000, which is the company’s second 30-mm beryllium dome tweeter. Basically, the new D2098 utilizes the Revelator D29 dome’s wide surround concept, but with a 99% pure beryllium dome (sourced from Truextent) coupled to the highly effective and patented Symmetrical Drive (SD-2) neodymium motor system. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2013.
Read more...
Test Bench: Max Speakers 2519inv TIneo PRHS Inverted Dome Tweeter
August 20, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Max Speakers 2519inv TIneo PRHS Inverted Dome Tweeter

For this month’s Test Bench review I received the MF2519inv TIneo PRHS, from the Max Fidelity line by Canadian Loudspeaker Corp. The MF2519inv TIneo tweeter has an interesting feature set, starting with the diaphragm, using a 25-mm (0.98”) diameter inverted titanium dome with the flat edge of the dome's outer perimeter serving as the surround, a teardrop shaped phase plug, neodymium motor, and a 19-mm (0.75”) underhung ferrofluid-damped voice coil wound with round copper wire. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2013.
Read more...
Test Bench: Motus UH205PW1 High-End Home Audio 8-Inch Woofer
August 17, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Motus UH205PW1 High-End Home Audio 8-Inch Woofer

This month’s Test Bench is dedicated to a new woofer from Motus, a fairly new company in the esoteric end of the home audio business. The transducer under test is the Motus UH205PW1, an 8” mid-bass driver with a really nicely configured six-spoke cast-aluminum frame, FEA optimized motor design and a nice overall physical appearance. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, November 2015.
Read more...
Test Bench: Celestion FTX0820 8-inch Coaxial Woofer/Compression Driver
July 24, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Celestion FTX0820 8-inch Coaxial Woofer/Compression Driver

This month, the driver to be characterized is the FTX0820, a new coax from Celestion. The OEM-only FTX range covers 12” (305 mm), 8” (200 mm), and 6.5” (165 mm) chassis diameters, and features fully combined low-frequency and high-frequency components that are powered by a Common Magnet Motor Assembly (where the same magnet is used for both the low-frequency and high-frequency elements). This enables the voice coils (and hence the acoustic centers of the two drivers) to be brought closer together, delivering tight signal coherence and time alignment. This article was published in Voice Coil, October 2015.
Read more...
Test Bench: MAG Audio M0610 Midrange Driver
July 21, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: MAG Audio M0610 Midrange Driver

This submission comes from a company new to Test Bench, MAG Audio, from Ukraine. The M0610 pro sound midrange driver MAG submitted features a cast-aluminum frame, a lightweight curved profile uncoated paper cone, a 2” diameter uncoated paper dust cap, and a 1.5” (38-mm) diameter voice coil wound on a Kapton former with edge wound copper-clad aluminum ribbon wire. Compliance is provided by a flat foam surround and a 4.5” diameter flat cloth spider. A 110-mm × 15-mm detachable self-centering strontium ferrite magnet with a black coated back plate powers the unit. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, November 2013.
Read more...
Test Bench: Celestion CF18VJD Pro Sound Woofer
July 20, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Celestion CF18VJD Pro Sound Woofer

This month, I am going to review Celestion’s 18” CF18VJD pro sound woofer. The CF18VJD is a high-power handling woofer rated at 1,600 WRMS (AES standard) and weighs a hefty 50.6 lb. The CF18VJD’s features include a proprietary seven-spoke cast aluminum frame. Celestion’s approach for this model uses a vented front plate that exhausts toward a series of peripheral vents located on the top of the back plate with a cone assembly of carbon and Kevlar loaded paper cone and large dust cap. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, November 2013.
Read more...