@4krowme “Wow, just wow. I never would have dreamed that this topic could be so 'diverse'.”.
This is why I leave equipment design to the designers, ignore the marketing, and just use sound as a judgement on the equipment I buy.
A Question About Time Alignment
I was reading a review of the Wilson Alex V on Stereophile recently. (Published just in time. I’m thinking about picking up a pair. Maybe a couple for the bedroom, too.) And it raised a long-standing question of mine, one that I hope the wiser minds on this site can answer.
Wilson’s big selling point is aligning the different frequencies so they all reach your ear simultaneously. As I understand it, that’s why they have minute adjustments among the various drivers. The woofers put out bass notes that move slowly thanks to their long sound waves while the tweeters are playing faster moving, high frequency notes with short waves. Wilson lets you make adjustments so that they all arrive at the ear at once.
It seems to me, however, that live music isn’t time aligned. Suppose I’m playing the piano and you’re sitting across the room. When I stretch out my left hand to hit the low notes, those notes travel along the same long, slow wavelengths as the notes from Wilson’s woofers. Similarly, the treble notes I play with my right hand move quickly through the short wavelengths. The notes from the piano are naturally out of alignment. If Wilson’s goal is to achieve a lifelike sound, aligning the frequencies doesn’t seem like the way to do it.
Wilson has been selling lots of zillion dollar speakers for lots of years and people continue to gobble ‘em up. Something must be wrong with my line of reasoning. Would someone please point out where I’ve gone wrong? Nicely?
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@ghdprentice 👍🎶🎶🎶 let the music talk. |
ghdprentice,
I mostly agree, yet it can be at least entertaining to DIY for some things. I would NOT dare to make a decent TT complete with arm! When there is a proven design that can be counted on, (usually speakers in my case) I am encouraged to go the route and build it to my taste.
Partially for thinking about better time alignment, I chose to use full range drivers in my builds. |
I think that if you have the machines and knowledge, it would be possible. I wouldn't be able to get there, lacking in both.
I did see a local guy who built his own tonearm using wood. I think that he understood the concept, but the wood taught him a lesson by a slight warp. It was flat and thin, and not so well made in my opinion. I didn't even give it a second look as to what was the pivot. He was proud but should have been embarrassed. |
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