Do larger planar speakers produce more accurate sound?


Planar speakers generate sound pressure via vibrating membrane panels. The excursion of the membrane x radiating area= sound pressure. This would mean that for a given sound level, membranes have smaller excursion in larger planar speakers than in smaller ones. Does this mean that larger speakers will produce more accurate sound?

I am not talking about the obvious benefits of the larger speakers in terms of low frequency production, so let's not get into that.

chungjh

yes in theory as well as in practice, although care and quality in implementation matters much in each

most importantly for me, the larger radiating surface gives a sense of ease in how the music is presented, it flows effortlessly, fills the space more uniformly, the music does not seem extruded or fired from a high pressure hose... purveyors of loud music wanting mega-slam and pulsing bass into their chests, rock and roll, electronica etc etc may disagree

It varies a great deal, but usually there’s a tradeoff for planars, and that is that they have poor frequency response performance which is traded for less room interaction and an amazing ability to project an image.

That reduction in room interaction is really _the_ reason for planars.

One can argue however that this reduction in room interaction makes the planars more accurate from a practical stand point. What good is a flat speaker that you can’t hear as flat they argue.

In terms of distortion and frequency response, I haven’t seen a planar speaker since the Apogees that would measure as well as a dynamic speaker without enhancements from DSP.

Having said all of this, planars are worth consideration because what matters is how much you enjoy listening to music, not which is more accurate.

To me accurate connotes measurement. As has been discussed quite a lot by enthusiasts and designers is that perfect flat speakers generally sound bad, sterile, unnatural. Planners tend to be very fast and are capable of reproducing sound well above the range of hearing, which through interaction of harmonics impact sound in the range of hearing creating a bit of magic… commanding one’s attention. I owned some form of planar… and extensively auditioned large Maggie’s and others a lot over fifty years. I switched over to dynamic about twelve years ago and my system started moving much closer to reproducing the nuances live acoustic music. But I also changed an upgraded all of my electronics so, I am not arguing that dynamic hold the top position.

 

With excellent no holes barred setups large planar, horn, as well as dynamic speakers can reproduce music that is nothing less than miraculous… showing little weakness in speed, tonal balance… etc. The strengths and weaknesses of each category tend to come out in less than ideal (by ideal… I mean great rooms and many $100K, top notch speakers an equipment supporting them), like in the systems most of us own.

If you only are interested in the academic question of frequency response, then I am sure someone will jump in with an answer.