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In Reply to: RE: How large is too large for HE? posted by tomservo on June 28, 2015 at 10:39:02
All very good points, but your original question only asked about sensitivity and size, not directivity. I respectfully counter that multiple direct radiator drivers offer additional options in terms of array shape, array shading, and placement relative to room boundaries, that somewhat mitigate the effects that you describe.
Ultimately, though, I guess it comes down to whether an extra 1-2 dB sensitivity and lack of sidelobes justifies a refrigerator-sized enclosure. It doesn't work for me. YMMV.
Follow Ups:
...and that "direct radiator" sound, too, I might add. FM and AM distortion figures (see Klippel) for the DRs are going to be about 20 dB higher than even the "low efficiency horns" (about 5-10% efficient), especially in the LF where all the distortion products are going to be extremely audible at HT/HE listening levels.
Tom also mentions the point source thing too, which is going to be a really big auditioning discriminator. YMMV.
Chris
"As far as the ear can tell, consistently clean and spacious bass can be reproduced only by a driver unit coupled to a horn-type acoustic transformer..."; Jack Dinsdale, May 1974
Even Paul Klipsch grudgingly acknowledged that direct radiators could approach the distortion performance of horns as long as their efficiency was comparable:
Paul W. Klipsch, "MODULATION DISTORTION IN AUDIO SUMMARY":
"My own experiments and measurements of distortion in loudspeakers since 1967 consisted of a review of the analysis by others, and hundreds of measurements of loudspeakers of various types. What emerged was a philosophy that distortion is approximately inverse to efficiency and that distortion (particularly modulation distortion) is the single most important fault for which to seek reduction."
Paul W. Klipsch, "Modulation Distortion in Loudspeakers":
"High-efficiency horn loudspeakers display much lower modulation distortion than the best direct radiators tested so far, and the rule seems to approach being a law that the higher the efficiency, the lower the distortion.
"Among means to reduce distortion, one of the most obvious would appear to be to increase the diaphragm area. But the weight required to achieve rigidity, or the lack of rigidity, present other and more formidable problems. All large diaphragm speakers tested here exhibited audible 'flexural' or 'flapping' sounds.
"Increasing the number of smaller direct-radiator loudspeakers has also been used. This also improves efficiency, although not to the extent realizable with well designed horns; however, the bulk and cost equal or exceed that of horns, and difficulties with polar response arise. Those observed here and elsewhere appear to have 'muffled' sound, but whether this is due to the curtain of modulation distortion or to the curtain of a masking effect of enhanced bass has not been determined."
Right. I've heard those comparisons.Tom's question stands: what is the dimensional limit in terms of width, height, and depth for HT/HE horn-loaded loudspeakers?
Chris
"As far as the ear can tell, consistently clean and spacious bass can be reproduced only by a driver unit coupled to a horn-type acoustic transformer..."; Jack Dinsdale, May 1974
Edits: 06/28/15
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