And those issues? Well, the two significant ones are firstly that in having a much lower moving mass, dome drivers have a much higher fundamental resonance, and this will limit their low–frequency bandwidth and power handling.
#Fuzzmeasure alternative full#
It’s not a trivial job to realise the full benefit of the advantages such that they outweigh the potential issues. Firstly, their total diaphragm and voice–coil mass tends to be significantly lower than equivalent cone drivers (significantly less than half is typical), and secondly the fact that a dome diaphragm is driven around its edge rather than from its centre means there’s, in theory, far closer control of diaphragm movement.ĭespite their inherent advantages, however, dome mid–range drivers have a reputation among speaker engineers for being difficult to get right.
Dome mid–range drivers are more akin to larger versions of dome tweeters, and while they display a different set of problems, they also have a couple of inherent advantages. Being smaller versions of bass drivers, they tend to display the same set of problems - it’s just that the problems kick in at a higher frequency. Most mid–range drivers in moving-coil speakers are conceptually smaller versions of bass drivers, and that’s certainly the case for the A25‑M. The middle is particularly interesting because it’s where PSI’s major technical development since the A25‑M is to be found: their in-house mid–range dome driver. Somewhat unconventionally, however, rather than start at the top or the bottom, I’m going to start in the middle. I’ve spent a paragraph on the arrangement of the A23‑M drivers without describing the drivers themselves, so I’m going to put that right now. Perhaps you’re wondering why the orientation of the mid–range and bass drivers is not so important? It’s simply because the wavelength at their crossover frequency is much longer, so off-axis changes in path length to the listening position constitute a significantly smaller proportion of wavelength. Now, while such response anomalies can be relatively benign when vertically off axis, they could constitute a bit of a problem in the horizontal plane, so rotating the mid/tweeter provides a simple fix. This is important because the wavelength at the crossover frequency between the two drivers is typically comparable to the physical distance between them, so at positions vertically off axis, their individual path lengths to the listening position will vary by a significant proportion of wavelength, and that will result in phase changes and response anomalies.
#Fuzzmeasure alternative driver#
Rotation of the mid/tweeter module is useful because it facilitates installing the A23‑M in either portrait or landscape orientation, while retaining vertical alignment of the mid–range driver and tweeter. A bass driver is accompanied by a mid–range/tweeter module, which can be rotated by 90 degrees. The three driver components of the A23‑M are arranged in a similar manner to the A25‑M, a manner that seems to be becoming increasingly popular. It’s also a monitor that demands deep pockets. It’s not really a monitor for bijou studio spaces, so be warned. Although smaller than the A25‑M, the A23‑M still probably falls more towards the midfield monitor category than the nearfield, and in terms of both weight and size it’s just about as big as I can comfortable fit in my studio room either side of my DAW. Now, all of five years later, I’m looking at the A25‑M’s new sibling, the A23‑M. I last reviewed a PSI monitor back in the November 2013 issue when I looked at the A25‑M and, as it happens, was extremely impressed. As evidenced by the new A23‑M, little could be further from the truth. Swiss–based PSI Audio are one of a group of smaller high-end monitor manufacturers that perhaps fly somewhat under the radar of larger, higher–profile brands, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not highly capable engineering-led organisations. Swiss speaker gurus PSI have never failed to impress us with their technical innovations, and their latest model is no exception!
0 kommentar(er)
