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THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME DOMAIN RESPONSE MUST READ

Speaker designers ignore or downplay the importance of TIME. Why?

A high end speaker should be as accurate as possible and that means it should not only be optimized with regard to frequency response but time response.

Back in the 70’s and around that time, speaker engineers thought that a perfect speaker would be one that had a flat response. This idea has waxed and waned in popularity over the years and even now there is no consensus.

What the speaker engineers forgot to consider is Time response.

The time reponse of a speaker is how fast it starts and stops. A perfect speaker would have a perfect time response of 0. Since this is not possible, we must get as close to it as possible. The problem is speakers engineers have neglected this aspect of the design and so speakers over the last 40 years have not improved in this respect.

Time is such an important aspect of the sound we hear. We not only hear tone but also time. The brain can detect time differences of only a few microseconds. Experiments have shown that the start of each note is what we use to determine what instrument is producing that sound.

We must ensure that our crossovers do not smear the time response because it will be heard by our ears. Time inaccuracy is why high end speakers do not sound like real instruments.

Diffraction from the cabinet can also cause time smear. We need spherical cabinets not square boxes. Tweeters need to be time aligned in order to ensure that when the woofer stops so does the tweeter. When the woofer starts, so must the tweeter. The woofer itself has to have a Qts of ZERO to prevent time smear. Ports must not be used or else you will get ringing.

We need to make it mandatory for speaker companies to publish the time response of all their speakers so that consumers can easily compare and decide exactly what they want. Some may actually prefer a speaker that has a poorer time response and that is fine. The problem is, we cant decide unless we know what we are buying can we?

Unfortunately, 90% of speakers on the market, even high end speakers have ports. And they are also made of cheap wood, even though there must be better materials by now. Some materials ring more than others.

So dont be deceived folks. If you want better speakers, you will probably have to make them yourself because speaker manufacturers dont care about sound quality. They spend millions of dollars on anechoic chambers all so that they can get a flat response but they spend zero effort on better time domain response. We are being duped.

kenjit
larryi
4,010 posts
 

One more thing, speaker/driver design involves balancing different performance parameters because there is no one design that optimizes all measures of performance.  Even if one is shooting for a very low Qts (extreme damping), this will affect other parameters, such as Cms (compliance of the speaker--the stiffness and how easily it is to move the diaphragm) and therefore, also the Fs (the resonant frequency which determines at what frequency the driver will roll off).  To achieve that high damping of a low Qts, the speaker will have to be very stiff, meaning it will also roll off at a high frequency, will require more power, and subjectively, it will sound dead and tuneless.

erik_squires
16,102 posts
 

I will not help my competitors gain an advantage and put my status at risk.

For you to have competitors you would have to be a professional speaker maker.

For you to attack other speaker makers without being willing to show example of your work and how your designs differ is simply crass. I know of no speaker manufacturer who wouldn’t immediately jump at the chance to highlight their technology or approach as a distinguishing feature.

And I know of no speaker manufacturer whose products are so secret  they don't advertise them.  🤣

kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 

I know of no speaker manufacturer who wouldn’t immediately jump at the chance to highlight their technology or approach as a distinguishing feature.

The differences between speakers are small but exaggerated in order to gain an advantage. Secrets are few and far between. How would you know what design aspects are being kept secret if they are secret? 

For you to attack other speaker makers without being willing to show example of your work and how your designs differ is simply crass.

Some of the ways you could improve a speaker are obvious though. You could use thick braced HDF rather than thin unbraced MDF. It would only add a couple of hundred dollars at most to the cost yet the speaker manufacturers will not do it unless you pay tens of thousands of dollars for their top models. 

Custom tuning is another thing that is better than mass production. Those Fritz speakers you mention are mass produced. Their only unique selling point is their stupid series crossover. Whereas I would just take the damn thing out and go active anyway. Funny how if series crossovers are so wonderful only Fritz can successfully implement them dont you think? 

Its incumbent on the speaker companies to make improvements, not me. If these commercial speakers are so good, why were you forced to make your own? For exactly the same reasons I have mentioned. You wanted something customized and at a less exorbitant price. 

kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 

@mofojo 

It’s a GD injustice is what it is!!!!!! I’m with ya Kenjit I am piiiiisssseeedddddd. These evil speaker companies must be stopped at all costs. All must come together as a nerdly whole! Stop 1. organize riot at Magico headquarters. Stop 2. Dairy Queen… we’ll deserve a tasty treat after all that rioting. 

Thankyou for your support.

facten
2,880 posts
 

Why do you guts continue to get caught up with engaging with the Op? His idea of putting holes in the side of your house , remember that thread of his , should have told you all you need to know.

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