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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: Eminence Alphalite 6A Midrange/Midbass Woofer

November 24, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Eminence Alphalite 6A Midrange/Midbass Woofer

Eminence sent a 6.5″ driver from their lightweight Professional Neodymium Series, the Alphalite 6A, which, along with the Kappalite and Deltalite series, makes up the neo woofer/midrange offering from Eminence. The Alphalite 6A is described as a lightweight pro audio mid/bass driver, designed for sealed, vented, or infinite baffle applications. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2010.

Test Bench: Exodus Audio W06-017R “Anarchy”

November 7, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Exodus Audio W06-017R “Anarchy”

This Test Bench article focuses on a product from Exodus Audio, a high excursion 6.5″ aluminum cone midwoofer, the W06-017R, which was known in retail under the name “Anarchy.” This article was published originally in Voice Coil March 2010 and the company’s website, DIY Cable and Exodus Audio, from Port Angeles, WA, sadly closed it’s doors in June 2011 (after 10 years and 6 months in activity). We thought we should make this review available to all, maybe as a way to inspire other transducer engineers.

New Transducer Technology from Christensen Audio

October 26, 2016 by Vance Dickason

New Transducer Technology from Christensen Audio

In this article, Vance Dickason highlights a new transducer technology from Christensen Audio, which was recently introduced and has the potential to replace moving-coil driver types in many applications, both in terms of performance and cost. The 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 article was originally published in Voice Coil, January 2016.

Test Bench: Eighteen Sound 18iD 18-Inch Woofer

October 11, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Eighteen Sound 18iD 18-Inch Woofer

Eighteen Sound sent us an unusual driver for this Test Bench, because it is specifically intended for use with the new generation of Class-D digital amplifiers that can drive extremely low impedance loads. While Eighteen Sound has several models in this configuration, this month we are testing the 18” model, the 18iD, developed in accordance with Powersoft Audio’s IPAL standards. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2015.

Test Bench: Celestion CF0617M Prosound Midrange Driver

October 5, 2016 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Celestion CF0617M Prosound Midrange Driver

The transducer I received for this month’s Test Bench is the CF0617M, a new high power handling 6.5” midrange, from Celestion. The CF0617M is one of my favorite formats in a pro sound mid. Features include a four-spoke cast aluminum frame, a light-weight curved profile uncoated Kevlar loaded paper cone, a 1.75” diameter voice coil and a 120 mm × 15 mm ferrite magnet. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2015.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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