Aiming for Better Loudspeaker Designs in Voice Coil July 2024

In this July 2024 issue of Voice Coil, Vance Dickason introduces a new article series about Outboard DSP, Mike Klasco explores Diamond Coatings for Speakers, there is an updated directory of Adhesives, Coatings, Sealants, High-Tech Thin Films, Converters, and Dispensing Equipment vendors, and Claus Futtrup writes about the IB4 Bass Reflex Alignment. Vance Dickason’s Test Bench characterizes the new Scan-Speak 15W/8534T00 5.5” woofer, and D3404/606200 Metamodal TPCD tweeter.

The SEAS T29X001 tweeter, from the company's high-end Excel line of transducers, is a wide surround format type, like the original Vifa DX/XT tweeters, and combines the latest Composite Sound metamodal thin-ply carbon diaphragm (TPCD) technology with the seriously outstanding SEAS Excel radially charged Hexadym motor structure. This new tweeter makes the Norwegian manufacturer effectively the first company in the market to offer the latest metamodal TPCD diaphragm solution.

In Voice Coil April 2024, Tom James reminds us about the importance of SPL Graph Data, and Mike Klasco revisits the fundamentals of speaker lead-out wire. As scheduled, there's an updated directory of Speaker Cable and Connector Vendors. James Croft explores a patent detailing a filter that may increase and extend the bass frequency response of a speaker. And for this month's Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the Neotera Ultraflat UF 295 CBS 10" Subwoofer, followed by the SEAS W16NX005 5.25" Midbass Woofer with a metamodal TPCD diaphragm.

This article details how thin-ply carbon diaphragm (TPCD) technology can also be applied to headphones, allowing precise control of diaphragm resonances rather than trying to reduce its negative effects, as the speaker industry already recognizes. As the pioneer of TPCD technology, Composite Sound is now entering the over-ear headphone market with its Metamodal TPCD engineering approach, enabling headphones with better sound quality, improved bass performance, and higher sensitivity.

The February 2024 issue of Voice Coil is now available, and it includes a major resource for all speaker designers and manufacturers, which is our annual Loudspeaker Cone and Dome Manufacturers Directory. In Test Bench, you can find characterizations of the new SEAS Excel T29X001 home audio tweeter, the first transducer to incorporate Composite Sounds' TPCD metamodal technology. The second driver in Test Bench is Eighteen Sound's latest 8NTLS2000 8" high-power handling woofer, for professional audio applications.

In audioXpress January 2024, Martin Turesson explains how Thin-ply Carbon Diaphragm (TPCD) technology can be applied also to headphones, and Claus Futtrup writes about Loudspeaker Bass Reflex Alignments. Paul Marchese discusses Composite Amplifiers, Roger Tall explains how a research effort allowed ClarityCap to understand the impact of resonances in capacitors. Our own Jan Didden interviews Robert Munnig Schmidt, while audio expert Ethan Winer explores audible consequences of jitter in digital audio conversion.

This article details the Composite Sound journey that led to the extensive use of TPCDs for loudspeaker applications and the company's second-generation Metamodal technology. This new engineering approach allows designing loudspeakers tailored for an intended purpose, realizing a physical representation of a TPCD computer-simulated model that is only achievable through the company's unique proprietary production process. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2022.

The February 2022 edition of Voice Coil is now available and brings the latest information about speaker diaphragms and all the innovations in cones, domes, and surrounds. Martin Turesson tells the story of Composite Sound and its second-generation Metamodal TPCD technology, while Mike Klasco discusses advancements in materials and processes for speaker diaphragms and surrounds. And in Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the latest Satori MW19TX-8 midbass woofer by SB Acoustics using TPCD (TeXtreme) technology, before addressing the latest Industry updates.