Test Bench: Radian Audio 835PB 1.4” Ferrite Compression Driver

This Test Bench explication focused on the 835PB ferrite 1.4” aluminum diaphragm compression driver, from Radian Audio Engineering. Features for the 835PB 3" diaphragm, 1.4" exit, compression driver includes a 3” polyimide voice coil former with a copper clad aluminum edge wound ribbon wire voice coil, a self-aligning field replaceable diaphragm assembly, and the most important feature, a proprietary processed and hardened aerospace-grade aluminum alloy diaphragm over a three slit phase plug. The 835BP is also available with a beryllium diaphragm. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2020.

For this Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the new WAN103.01 10" woofer from Italian OEM transducer manufacturer, LaVoce. All LaVoce products are designed at its headquarters in Potenza Picena, Italy, but with the logistic and price advantage of being manufactured at its purpose-built ISO 9001-certified production facility in China. The WAN103.01 is a high-sensitivity and high-power 10" driver, with a substantial feature set, which has been designed with line array and mid-bass applications in mind, using an elegant heavy duty die-cast basket and FEM optimized motor structure and suspensions.

This Voice Coil Focus article explores the fabrication, materials, and performance aspects of speaker cones, a critical component in driver design. With the author's extensive experience in dealing with innovative speaker designs and bringing concepts into production, the article explains vital aspects of both paper pulp cone fabrication and polypropylene cones, addressing even the lesser known aspects, such as software simulation programs used to model results before starting tooling. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2020.

Stuart Yaniger reviews the Vanatoo Transparent One Encore speakers, the company’s second successful design since the Vanatoo’s Transparent Zero, which our author discovered and reviewed a few years ago. The new Transparent One Encore speakers clearly benefited from this Transparent Zero development effort to create a much improved model, retailing for just $599 per pair. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.

The book High-Quality Horn Loudspeaker Systems — History, Theory and Design, written by Bjørn Kolbrek and Thomas Dunker, was presented during the 147th Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention in New York, NY, and is available in a limited first edition. The massive 1,070-page hardcover book caused quite an impression among Audio Engineering Society (AES) members and audioXpress authors. Mike Klasco took the review copy and submitted a “first impressions” review. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.

Sensory evaluation is a field of study that bridges physical measurement and human perception, helping us to improve product design and aural environments. Richard Honeycutt reviews this extended work, which was edited by Nick Zacharov, exploring the latest sensory evaluation techniques, specifically applied to the evaluation of sound and audio. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.

Nureva was granted three new patents for its Microphone Mist technology, including the ability to focus sound signals in a shared 3D space, and the use of sound source positional information to derive automatic gain control output parameters. In this article, two Nureva’s engineers to explain the thought process that lead to these innovations, which give the company substantial market runway. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.

Voice Coil February 2020 is now available for download. This edition features an industry update on Speaker Cones, exploring the fabrication, materials, and performance aspects of this critical component in driver design. This is complemented with a comprehensive directory of loudspeaker cone, surround, spider, and other soft part suppliers. James Croft reviews a Self-Sealing Expandable Subwoofer design patent, while Vance Dickason characterizes the LaVoce WAN103.01 high-power 10” woofer, and a Radian 835PB ferrite 1.4” aluminum diaphragm compression driver in Test Bench.

The February 2020 edition of audioXpress features a Market Update on Microphones, addressing the latest technology and application trends in this expanding product segment, including an article explaining how Nureva created a groundbreaking approach to gain control that cuts conference call annoyance. And Richard Honeycutt explains how to choose and position Choir Microphones, while Michael Steffes discusses interfacing measurement mics to Delta-Sigma ADCs. Get the new edition now!