Test Bench: Bozhen New Audio Lab CQ66 Ribbon Tweeter

This month brought an interesting high-frequency driver to Voice Coil’s Test Bench, a new high-end ribbon tweeter from a Shenzhen, China-based company, Bozhen New Audio Lab. From Bozhen, we received the CQ66, which is the next generation of its CQ76 ribbon tweeter (featured in Voice Coil’s April 2013 issue). This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2016.

In this edition of Test Bench, we characterize the SB42FHCL75-6, a 15” home audio subwoofer from OEM driver manufacturer SB Acoustics. The SB42FHCL75-6 has an impressive feature set, with a stiff 15” cone, NBR high-excursion surround, and 6.5” diameter flat cloth spider, driven by a 3” four layer voice coil. The motor system utilizes two stacked 20-mm thick ferrite magnets sandwiched between a polished 8-mm thick front plate. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2016.

This month, I received a ribbon transducer for Test Bench analysis from Tang Band (TB) Speaker. The RT-2202S device is a closed-back ribbon tweeter with a fairly small 30 mm × 10 mm ribbon diaphragm. Features include a thin aluminum foil diaphragm, an injection-molded face plate, a metal chassis, Nd-Fe-B (neodymium) magnet, and a matching transformer. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2016.

This edition of Test Bench characterizes Dayton Audio’s new 6” diameter ultra-low-profile midwoofer, the LW150-4. This is a new ultrathin profile cone 6” diameter midbass driver featuring a six-spoke cast-aluminum frame with a 1.5” total depth. The depth reduction is significant as the motor assembly is housed inside the frame and uses a neodymium slug and a 1.5” diameter return cup that incorporates a T-pole. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, March 2016.

In this Test Bench, Voice Coil characterizes two high-end compression drivers and horns from Eminence, the N314T-8 with the H14EA horn, and the N320T-8 with the H2EA horn. Both these neodymium motor compression drivers from Eminence share pretty much the same feature set. The main difference is the N314T-8 is configured for a 1.4” throat, and the N320T-8 is configured for a 2” diameter throat. This article was originally published in audioXpress, March 2016.

In this article, Vance Dickason explores Audiomatica's CLIO Pocket analyzer. Rather than go into detail regarding all the measurement routines available in CLIO Pocket - audioXpress already published a thorough review in the October 2015 issue - Dickason gives practical examples using measurements for a couple of drivers in the same way he does for his monthly column, Test Bench. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, March 2016.

In this Test Bench, Voice Coil characterizes Dayton Audio’s new 4.5” diameter carbon fiber cone midwoofer, the CF120-4. This new midbass driver from Dayton Audio features a pin-cushion style four-spoke cast-aluminum frame. For the cone assembly, Dayton Audio chose a rather stiff curved profile woven carbon fiber cone with a 1.13” diameter convex woven carbon fiber dust cap. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2016.

This Test Bench focuses on SB Acoustics’ Satori high-end line of drivers, the Satori TW29RN. This neodymium 29-mm ring dome features a surround coated cloth ring-type diaphragm, a non-reflective cast-aluminum rear cavity, a two-part aluminum faceplate with integrated mechanical decoupling, dual balanced compression chambers, high saturation neodymium ring type motor magnet with a T-shaped pole and dual copper shorting rings, a CCAW voice coil, a foam mounting gasket, and gold-plated terminals. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2016.

For this Test Bench I received Morel's new soft dome tweeter, the 28 mm TSCT 1044. As part of the Supreme line, the TSCT 1044 and the similar TSCT 1144 (which is the same tweeter with a larger faceplate) are both an entirely new design for Morel and incorporates the company’s Improved Dispersion Recess (IDR) faceplate design, which is a shaped inset in the round metal faceplate. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2016.

This month, the Test Bench samples came from a relatively new high-end home audio company. From high-end home audio OEM manufacturer Motus Audio, I received the UH130PW1, a 5.25” mid-bass driver, an impressive looking mid-bass transducer, with a similar feature set as several other European high-end mid-bass woofer brands. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, January 2016.