Test Bench: SB Acoustics Satori TW29TXN-B-4 TeXtreme Diaphragm Tweeter

In this Test Bench article, Vance Dickason focused on a home audio TeXtreme diaphragm tweeter from SB Acoustics' Satori line, the TW29TXN-B-4. What makes this tweeter so special is that it has a new TeXtreme diaphragm, a novel type of material that is used in applications that require a high degree of stiffness performance in combination with ultra-light weight. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, September 2020.

Keysight Technologies announced the new Infiniium 8-channel oscilloscope technology. Keysight's Infiniium EXR-Series Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes include eight models ranging from 500 MHz to 2.5 GHz and either 4 or 8 channels with wide-ranging upgradeability. The EXR-Series' waveform update rate is >200,000 waveforms/sec., allowing it to quickly build eye-diagrams capturing 5.7 Million UIs. Powerful and intuitive, the new oscilloscope series reduces test bench and workflow complexity.

For this Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterized the LT2 Ribbon Transducer and corresponding waveguide from Radian Audio Engineering. This is effectively a smaller version of the LT6 ribbon transducer reviewed in the July 2020 issue of Voice Coil, but offering much more diverse possibilities, as Vance Dickason discovers. And as the compact LT2 shows, this was designed to be more of a hi-fi or home theater substitute for any high frequency driver. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, August 2020.

This Test Bench edition characterizes the 140FCD 1" compression driver from REDCATT, a relatively new OEM pro sound driver manufacturer - a privately held, international company established in 2014 and based in FuMing Industrial City, DongGuan, China. The core management team at REDCATT has been sourcing and building transducer components, sub-assemblies and systems in China for more than 25 years, and its team members have been working around the world for the biggest companies in the audio market with direct R&D and manufacturing experience. This article was published originally in Voice Coil, August 2020.

This Test Bench article addresses an interesting home audio tweeter from Creative Sound Solutions (CSS). The company sent Voice Coil its latest high-end tweeter, the LD25X, a special driver with a unique dual-gap patented XBL2 motor. CSS licenses the XBL2 technology from inventor Dan Wiggins for two of their woofers and for the LD25X tweeter. The XBL2 motor features a short voice coil traveling between two gaps, allowing for a higher Xmax than most conventional motors can provide. The LD25X tweeter features a 25mm silk dome diaphragm and flat silk surround, in a 73 mm diameter six screw cast-aluminum faceplate anodized semi-flat black. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2020.

In this edition of Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the recently announced SEAS L19RNX1 woofer from the company's new Prestige Titan Series. The L19RNX1 is the second woofer in this new 19 cm series of SEAS woofers, the first being the W19NX001 Excel Graphene-coated magnesium cone woofer. The L19RNX1 7” woofer uses a frame that is completely open beneath the spider mounting shelf, and with a small 12 mm diameter pole vent, so substantial air can be pumped past the voice coil and over the front plate. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2020.

For this Voice Coil Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterized the ND45 compression driver from Oberton, which has been in development for some time, and is an improved version of the company's previous ND2545 design. The ND45 was submitted along with the H-960 1" throat PBT-PET 90x 60º constant directivity horn. The ND45 has a 44 mm (1.75”) diameter two-layer voice coil wound with aluminum wire wound onto a Kapton former driving a polyester sandwich diaphragm and vented surround, with the entire assembly being field replaceable. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, September 2020.

In this article, Vance Dickason measures the Radian Audio Engineering's LT6 Horn-Loaded Ribbon Device, part of an expanding series designed by 35-year loudspeaker engineering veteran Igor Levitsky for the Californian manufacturer. The LT6 is a pro sound driver but was designed to be a more hi-fidelity substitute for 1" compression drivers, and that is a direct result of Levitsky extensive experience in designing high-end residential, and cinema sound systems. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2020.

This Test bench measures the massive Eminence NSW6021-6 21" neodymium low-frequency woofer, part of the company's recently announced Tour Grade series. This family of pro audio woofers consists of two 18" options, including the Ferrite Magnet FSW4018-8, and the Neodymium Magnet NSW4018-8 that appeared in the March 2020 Test Bench. The NSW6021-6 is a very high power handling 21" woofer, designed over two years to support the requirements of touring sound professionals who want to move more air, more efficiently, and without failures in a wide range of applications and venues. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2020.

This Test Bench focuses on a very special new Eminence product, the new N314X 1.4" compression driver. The N314X is the first compression driver that uses TeXtreme composite for a diaphragm. TeXtreme thin-ply carbon is a novel type of material that is used in applications that require a high degree of stiffness performance in combination with ultralight weight. Designed for use with 1.4” throat horns, the N314X compression driver has a 35.6 mm (1.4”) throat diameter driven by a 3" diameter voice coil wound with round copper-clad aluminum wire (CCAW) on a non-conducting polyimide former driving the TeXtreme diaphragm and PEN surround. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2020.