A FINE Circle Speaker Design Tutorial. Part 3 — The Crossover

This article is the final part of Peter Larsen's tutorial for the design of a complete loudspeaker from transducer to final product. The first two parts of this Loudsoft simulation software system design tutorial series demonstrated the development of a 6.5" woofer and vented enclosure along with a 1" silk dome tweeter. The final step is an appropriate passive network design, which is where FINE X-over software comes to the rescue.

This is the second part of Peter Larsen's tutorial for the design of a complete loudspeaker from transducer to final product. The target design is a two-way speaker with a 6.5" woofer and a 1" dome tweeter. Having previously explained the woofer design, in this second article, Peter Larsen explains the process for a 1" silk dome tweeter.

For Voice Coil, Peter Larsen developed a tutorial for the design of a complete loudspeaker from transducer to final product. A great way to gain a practical perspective of the whole family of Loudsoft software tools. The target design will be a two-way speaker with a 6.5" woofer and a 1" dome tweeter, and this issue contains part one of this valuable exercise.

The new release of LoudSoft's FINECone 2020 software is a welcome and important update for the loudspeaker industry. LoudSoft seems to have listened to its customers and added a new Geometry Modeler, which makes simulating cone frequency response much easier for engineers using FINECone. FINECone is an acoustic Finite Element dome/cone simulation application to assist on the design of new drivers, calculating frequency responses and detecting problems in existing designs.

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.