Speaker Analysis for Armchair Critics


Hello everyone,
There’s a very important discipline called "Speaker Analysis" or "Speaker Testing" which though complicated, is brilliantly illustrated in this breakdown of the B&W 685.


http://www.audioexcite.com/?page_id=6070

Speaker analysis is to measure each of the components both separately and as they come together in a complete system. It is a part of creating a new loudspeaker, but it can also be used to analyze an existing speaker, to understand it and perhaps to make it better.  I prefer the term Analysis because it better reflects that the goal is not merely quality assurance, but to build a complete electro acoustical understanding of the system as a whole so changes can be considered, and their final results predicted.


This particular article does just that, and comes up with a couple of suggestions for re-working the crossover to end up with hopefully a better end result. At the very least, it is a significantly different speaker at the end, and achieves a far greater level of change than cables can.


I share this with all of you just as an example of the work that goes into making a loudspeaker from parts, and the tools, and how much of what we hear has to do with choices made in the crossover.


Best,

Erik
erik_squires
like I said, ( and will modify here ) ignore ignorant trolls and Dumpsterfire...


Only the capacitance value is used in the filter design. No hocus pocus hogwash.


Please see my previous message.

Erik, have you checked your filter design is adequate to avoid cone breakup? I heard you were doing 6db slopes



Are you under the mistaken impression that the B&W write-up is mine? It's not.

If you are talking about a published speaker design of mine, I assure you, you are wrong. I've never published a speaker using such a low filter slope.

In either case, your concern is something any speaker designer should be able to answer from the measurements.

Best,
Erik


6db per octave slopes since 1977, half a million sold, real systems design vs just catalog shopping components, etc....

and the ability to visually see cone breakup and non-pistonic behavior.....the cat stopped chasing the tail long ago....The Wizard of Hanford. There are a few other wizards at work also, many so humble they admit they don’t ( as yet ) know everything....
kenjit:
There is no speaker design. That's why we have such a large number of speakers out there. Nobody knows what they're doing.


There is no automotive design. That's why we have such a large number of cars out there. Nobody knows what they're doing.

There is no architectural design. That's why we have such a large number of houses out there. Nobody knows what they're doing.

There is no science. That's why we have such a large number of experiments out there. Nobody knows what they're doing.

I'm not sure about nobody, but it sure seems somebody doesn't know what they're doing.
The purpose of this thread was not to bash B&W and say "Look, they could have done it better, but their crossovers are crap."

I happen to dislike the B&W sound nearly universally, but!! the point here was to demonstrate how speaker analysis is done, and how a designer applies his intention to the crossover and simulation to achieve a desired outcome.


Even if the article had gone the other way, started with a neutral sounding speaker and moved to a W shaped frequency response, it's still an excellent primer.

Past that, it also helps to explain how a brand can develop their signature sound.


Best,
Erik