All items written by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Voice Coil Focus: Acoustical Characteristics of Adhesive Joints and Cone Treatments

April 18, 2023 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Voice Coil Focus: Acoustical Characteristics of Adhesive Joints and Cone Treatments

There seems to be a lack of consideration and understanding of the acoustical characteristics of the loudspeaker’s many glue joints. In this article for Voice Coil, Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis detail how the influence and use of glue joints and diaphragm treatments can be used as a design tool. The report also details some significant new material options and design and measurement tools available. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2017.

Bass Shakers (Part 2): Motion Platforms Are Bass Shakers on Steroids

July 28, 2020 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Bass Shakers (Part 2): Motion Platforms Are Bass Shakers on Steroids

In the first part of this article, our exploration of bass shakers introduced us to haptic sensations, which add the dimension of structure-borne vibrational energy to audio reproduction. At a concert, we see the performers, hear the music, and feel the amphitheater resonate with the bass. For home theaters, this “tactile” component adds another dimension (sometimes referred to as 4-D) to reproduce the impact of explosions, engine sounds, and thunder through by use of vibration. In this article we will focus directly on those haptic components. This article was originally published in audioXpress, May 2014.

Bass Shakers (Part 1): Enhancing the Deep Bass Experience with Tactile Energy

July 22, 2020 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Bass Shakers (Part 1): Enhancing the Deep Bass Experience with Tactile Energy

Get ready to shake! Our perception of live music and the auditory world in general includes not only airborne sound energy, but also structure-borne vibrational energy. This creative impact can be powerful, and as subtle as the anticipation created when Jurassic Park viewers first see the dinosaur’s footfall as waves in a puddle, feel the first tremor, and finally hear the thundering vibration. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2014.

Speakers: Parts Is Parts - High-Polymer Film, Headphones, Microphones, and Other Audio Applications (Part 2)

May 21, 2020 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Speakers: Parts Is Parts - High-Polymer Film, Headphones, Microphones, and Other Audio Applications (Part 2)

Lightweight and flexible, piezoelectric film transducers can serve as highly reliable low-cost alternatives to more expensive speakers, headphones, microphones, and even musical instrument sound pickups. This second article about the technology focuses precisely on the many other successful applications of this technology. We can only hope that this article will serve as a reintroduction to the technology. This article was originally published in audioXpress May 2013.

Speakers: Parts Is Parts - High-Polymer Film, The Lost Speaker Technology (Part 1)

May 13, 2020 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Speakers: Parts Is Parts - High-Polymer Film, The Lost Speaker Technology (Part 1)

This article explores Polyvinylidene Fluoride Film (PVDF), a piezoelectric polymer used in various transducers for headphones, microphones and loudspeakers. It seems that the audio engineering community at large is either not familiar with PVDF film or misunderstands PVDF piezoelectric film technology. Hopefully, this article will serve as an introduction (or reintroduction) to the technology. This article was originally published in audioXpress April 2013.

Speakers: Parts is Parts - Styles and Dome Tweeter Variations.

March 25, 2020 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Speakers: Parts is Parts - Styles and Dome Tweeter Variations.

Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis wrote a series of articles under the header Parts is Parts where they explore loudspeaker drivers, how they work, and all the different parts and components. In this article, the two audio industry experts expand on the historical evolution of tweeter design. After discussing the cone tweeter, and introducing the common dome tweeter, the article explore dome tweeter variations and introduces the balanced drive tweeter. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2013.

Speakers: Parts is Parts - Tweeter History, Cones, and Domes.

March 16, 2020 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Speakers: Parts is Parts - Tweeter History, Cones, and Domes.

For several years, Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis wrote a series of articles under the header Parts is Parts where they have explored loudspeaker drivers, how they work, and all the different parts and components. In this specific article, the two audio industry experts provide an excellent introduction to high frequency drivers, revisiting some key historical designs. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2013.

Loudspeaker Failures and Protections (Part 1)

February 19, 2020 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Loudspeaker Failures and Protections (Part 1)

A new generation of effective and powerful speaker protection technology, using literally all the capabilities and power of pro sound rackmount loudspeaker management processors, is now being designed into mobile audio products that use very small loudspeakers. The implications are that mobile consumer electronics are going to play louder and sound better than ever. But to optimize speakers this way, we need to understand what causes loudspeakers to fail. This article was published originally in audioXpress, August 2013.

Microspeakers' Anatomy - How to Design Audio Systems with Very Small Drivers

July 16, 2019 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Microspeakers' Anatomy - How to Design Audio Systems with Very Small Drivers

Audio sound quality optimization in a smartphone, mobile device, display, or laptop computer is the focus here. The goal of this article is not to teach how to design a good microspeaker, but rather to provide information on how to design a good mobile audio system, touching upon speaker design and speaker enclosure techniques. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2010.

Mobile Audio: High-Performance Audio from Smartphones?

January 27, 2016 by Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis

Mobile Audio: High-Performance Audio from Smartphones?

In November 2015, audioXpress published a unique group testing on smartphone audio playback, focused on audio circuit quality and the performance of the playback DAC, as intended for wired headphone listening. The products under review included the iconic iPod classic, the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6, Vivo Xplay 3S, Vivo X5 Max, HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5, and Sony Xperia Z2.

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