Voice Coil Focus: A Fresh Take on Green Audio 2023

Good intentions for sustainability, circularity, or simply reducing your carbon foot-print in the development or manufacturing stages not always produces the intended results. Mike Klasco reminds us how things are not always as simple as we would like, and that having good intentions and throwing empty claims might work on paper, but not actually work in the real world.

In this issue of Voice Coil, Mike Klasco shares his experience dealing with sustainability and other noble goals, an article that was greatly inspired by the effort to compile another updated Speaker Enclosure Vendor Directory for 2023. In Acoustic Patents, James Croft explains how Yamaha recently invented a clever way to use a Class-D amplifier to bend the infamous "Hofmann’s Iron Law." And Vance Dickason takes the new 10HX230 10" coaxial professional driver from Faital Pro to his Test Bench.

What more could speaker system designers want? How about not just to protect the speaker from overload, but enable the speaker to play louder with reduced bass distortion? Mike Klasco writes about his experience working with Nuvoton smart amps with integrated Klippel Controlled Sound (KCS) technology. Now in mass production and offering new possibilities for speaker design. First product examples are now available in the market.

This article describes an improved design for a power supply dedicated to audio power amplifiers that exhibits ecological and economical qualities, ideal for audio enthusiasts. In this truly DIY project, easy to build, the author, Vincent Thiernesse, proposes a power supply dimensioned for 100 W RMS/4 or 8 Ω power amplifiers, that behaves like a resistive load with respect to the mains network. This project was originally published in audioXpress, June 2016.

What are my two cents on criteria for sustainable product design? Bioplastics, sustainable, biodegradable, or end of life recyclable attributes are all aspects of a truly green product. I think that a conscionable green design philosophy focuses on the total integration of “good citizen” eco-friendly materials and processes and long, useful life.