Sloped baffle

Psag, I don't think the last couple of comments posted before your comment (mine included) deviated from the OP's question about sloped baffles. I say that because sloped baffled may be used to address (in whole or part) issues relating to using multiple speakers and electronic crossovers.

Bombaywalla and others have provided us with a cornucopia of information about time and phase coherance -- sloped baffles just being a subset of the larger issue. Quite honestly, I didn't realize that the time and phase alignment problem was so difficult to solve.

Having said that, admittedly, I do not fully appreciate to what extent a speaker's sonic performance is compromised by time and/or phase errors. Perhaps, as Sounds_Real_Audio just posted, the issue may be more hype than real. I just don't know.

Al and Ralph .... where are you??? :)

The sloped baffle is to align the voice coils.... perfect voice coil alignment is the big draw of a point source driver. (proper coax mount)
Tim

Tim, although I don't understand the science, I recall reading that a sloped baffle is one component of achieving phase coherence. The proper cross-over order (1st, 2nd, and so forth), plus maintaining a specific listening position, plus, setting the cross-over frequencies at the right points, and so on and so forth also contribute to maintaining optimal phase coherence.

In addition, assuming that the drivers are in proper phase alignment in the overlap region of the cross over points, presumably there should not be phase cancellation or augmentation which will mess up the frequency response. That is frequency response should remain flat. But what about maintaining the proper harmonic structure of complex musical passages?

What other benefits are gained by locking one's head in a head vice in order to maintain the precise listening position, which presumably will enable the wave fronts from the various drivers to combine in an optimal phase coherent fashion at the listening position.

So ... how much of this is hype? What other characteristics make for a good sounding speaker? I used to think I had a handle on this this issue ... but no more.

BIF

Al and Ralph ... are you catching any of this?? Throw me a line. I'm sinking in techno quick sand.

Hi Bif,
Well, you've got a bit of confusion going on. A sloped front is used to align the voice coils on the tweeter/woofer or tweeter/mid/woofer. The idea is to get all frequencies starting on the same plane... Using an easy example is a 2 way... A woofer may be 6 to 8 inches deep and it may be 5 inches or to where the voice coil meets the spider & magnet gap (that is your alignment point).... The tweeter however may be less than 2 inches deep. On the sloped front, you can move the tweeters voice coil backwards in alignment to the woofer's voice coil by moving it up the slope.... Guys, I am on solid ground here, you can ask, who ever you want, I may not be known like Al or Ralph and don't come close to their electronics knowledge, but Speakers, I've got a good handle on.
There are tons of other issues that we haven't discussed. Moving the tweeter too far from the woofer (Depending on crossover frequency) can cause all kinds of problems with smearing, lobing and other dispersion issues. I was only trying to handle the original question of a sloped baffle and phasing.
I've had great luck using 6/12 crossovers on 2 ways @ 2500hz and find most of the time (depending on driver) that the speaker is in phase at the crossover point with those slopes. I am currently using an MTM, crossed at 1700 htz with 12/18 slopes, it is phase coherent at that frequency and time aligned in the crossover and images as well as anything that I've sat in front of.
Simple 6 db slopes cause less problems to deal with, I've used them with great success also, but its not the only way.... I hope this helps, Tim

A good step response and square wave response can be a significant indication of wave form fidelity, things that any other piece in the system should readably be capable of.
Much of the need for correct listening position for the appreciation of such design principles is in regard to distance from the speakers for proper driver integration, typically such designs have something of a wide horizontal dispersion, sometimes there is concern for the listeners vertical position. Many of us do serious listening while sitting somewhat centered between the speakers. Such designs at least offer a very good semblance of wave form fidelity at some position as opposed to never providing any semblance of wave form fidelity from any position. You don't have to sit with your head in a vice to get the virtues of such designs!