Here for You: Voice Coil May 2020 is Now Available

In this very strong edition of Voice Coil, focused on up-to-date topics for loudspeaker professionals, we discuss the industry's Asian supply chain, how a new carbon composite dome compares with Beryllium and Titanium products, and James Croft reviews a recent electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL) patent. Vance Dickason focuses his attention on two innovations coming from Eminence, in two extreme product categories. The new Eminence NSW4018-8 18" Tour Grade Woofer, and the new N314X 1.4" compression driver, which is the first to use TeXtreme composite material for the diaphragm. Download your copy now!

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.

In order to better reflect its focus on all things audio, the audio company known until today as MrSpeakers is now called Dan Clark Audio. According to the company's President and Founder, Dan Clark, the new name is a more accurate reflection of the company’s role as a designer and manufacturer of a wide range of products well beyond loudspeakers. The new brand is also a strategic move at a time when the company is launching their most affordable Aeon 2 planar magnetic portable headphones.

Theory Audio Design is a new loudspeaker and electronics manufacturer from Lake Forest, California, dedicated to combine acoustic performance and aesthetics in new audio products for the modern home. Founded by Paul Hales, 30-year loudspeaker engineer, AV industry veteran, and owner of highly-regarded audio manufacturer Pro Audio Technology (PRO), Theory products marry PRO’s acoustic performance and professional features with sophisticated contemporary design at a much lower cost.

In the first part of this article, Mike Klasco discussed the contribution of the enclosure on perceived overall product quality as well as sonic clarity. This second part of the article looks closely at material testing, evaluation and manufacturability, and other more recent approaches to enclosure materials, including Thermosets and Thermoplastics, Bulk-Molded and Sheet-Molded Thermosets. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2019.

Always exploring all the latest information regarding cone and diaphragm technology, Voice Coil regularly publishes reports on key new materials with the potential to excite the loudspeaker industry. In this special focus article, Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific, Ltd.) explores new approaches that explore thin ply carbon materials, like Swedish advanced composite specialist Oxeon is attempting with its TeXtreme Thin Ply Carbon Technology. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2019.

For the January 2019 edition of Voice Coil magazine, Mike Klasco and Nora Wong have compiled a special Focus article on New Materials for Earphones and Headphones. For those looking to differentiate their new products, the two Menlo Scientific consultants provide a unique and valuable perspective on multiple possibilities and designs for drivers, materials for assemblies and enclosures, choices for headbands and ear cushions, signal processing, and even cables.

The new generation of PMC’s IB2S active range is aimed at studios working in stereo and surround formats who require true high-end monitoring - with both analogue and digital inputs - for reference and mastering applications. According to the brand, the three-way IB2S-AII offers all the attributes of PMC’s large ATL reference active monitors but in a more compact form. The PMS IB2S-AII and the twin cabinet IB2S XBD-AII systems bring even more power, detail and flexibility.

In what is its most significant product launch for the high-end consumer market, at High End 2018, PMC Speakers (The Professional Monitor Company Limited) introduced its new Fact loudspeaker range and launched fenestria, a flagship speaker which also represents a completely new approach from the famous British brand. Detailing every single aspect of the new design, and explaining all its technology innovations, the company impressed visitors and the specialized press at the Munich show.

Bayz Audio from Budapest, Hungary, will be premiering Curante, an omnidirectional, full range loudspeaker, at the 2018 High End show in Munich. The Curante represents a complete re-thinking of traditional speakers by utilizing the patented Bay Radial Speaker (BRS), a unique “radial tweeter” design by Zoltán Bay, CEO and Chief Engineer, in collaboration with Frank Nielsen of Danesian Audio, and András Voloscsuk of Composite Project Kft.