Patent Review: Knurled Speaker Diaphragm

This patent, granted to MrSpeakers, the company from San Diego, CA that is now Dan Clark Audio, was granted in the same month that this review was published in Voice Coil. The patent details a headphone driver that should also be of note for the speaker industry. As Croft notes, the patent office initially rejected the claims due to prior patents, eventually accepting the inventor's arguments, in 2016. The review provides the historical context for planar magnetic transducers, and explains why this is an important patent.

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.

Don't miss Mike Klasco's overview of the latest trends in Audio Digital Signal Processing, a review of a new "knurled diaphragm," patent for planar magnetic drivers, and a User Report on LOUDSOFT's FINE R+D Analyzer, which, from 2018, will be implemented into the Test Bench measurement protocol. In Test Bench, learn more about a bass-midrange driver, and a woofer, from Eton and Volt, respectively.

San Diego, CA, headphone maker MrSpeakers just released Ether, an all-new open-backed headphone featuring a single-ended planar magnetic driver. When describing the new project, the company says Ether should sound excellent, be more comfortable than previous headphones from the brand, and have a timeless design.