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What is fast speaker?
- Thread starter SomeNoise
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Nikko75
Listener and Music Lover
A speaker with a rapid impulse response rise time. It's like a engine that when you hit the throttle it goes from idle to redline in a heartbeat. A driver's settling is also of importance as it dictate how soon the next impulse can be initiated.
The opposite would be a speaker with a slower and possibly less defined impulse over it's time displacement and bandwidth.
The opposite would be a speaker with a slower and possibly less defined impulse over it's time displacement and bandwidth.
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theebadone
Super Member
Bigger magnet = better control over speaker cone. And if there's better control the response time will be faster than the same size speaker with a smaller magnet.
Often people think a speaker with a lack of bass is "fast".
Now some say that transient response is a function of frequency response; that if a speaker can reproduce a certain tone it is doing it with the needed speed.
Damping is perhaps a different aspect though it certainly is involved with a subjective sense of "speed".
I don't know as much as I used to think I knew.
Now some say that transient response is a function of frequency response; that if a speaker can reproduce a certain tone it is doing it with the needed speed.
Damping is perhaps a different aspect though it certainly is involved with a subjective sense of "speed".
I don't know as much as I used to think I knew.
There's more to it than that. You also have to take into account the size of the gap and the size of the coil (number of turns in the gap) to define the motor strength. There are plenty of car type subs out there with massive magnets but they don't have a small enough gap to capitalize on the strength of them. Stacked magnets can be about increasing the excursion potential and also simply about aesthetics but huge magnets don't automagically mean a stronger motor.
Nikko75
Listener and Music Lover
Yes, my experience is that a lack in bass or rise in treble is just that.
A speaker with a fast impulse may have the ability to also extend high, but not always as there are other factors in driver design. ESLs are usually a good example of loudspeakers with a good rise time and yet limited or uneven HF response. The motor structure, coil and suspension of an electrodynamic driver can also limit extension but offer better control within the limited bandwidth. Some drivers extend very high, like ribbons and can be relatively fast rising, but due to their flexible nature and lack of damping their settling is often not as great.
A speaker with a fast impulse may have the ability to also extend high, but not always as there are other factors in driver design. ESLs are usually a good example of loudspeakers with a good rise time and yet limited or uneven HF response. The motor structure, coil and suspension of an electrodynamic driver can also limit extension but offer better control within the limited bandwidth. Some drivers extend very high, like ribbons and can be relatively fast rising, but due to their flexible nature and lack of damping their settling is often not as great.
I go for transient response. Electrostatics are light and have a high, balanced force moving the Mylar. They are fast.
Nikko75
Listener and Music Lover
I also put a bit greater concentration on transient response, ie rise and settling than extension. ESLs are fast rising but don't do as well as the best electrodynamic drivers in settling, and several electrodynamic drivers are actually as fast, and some faster in rise time than electrostatics. The Manger driver's rise time is several times faster then an ESL-63 and was quite a feat.
An ESL can offer three very beneficial traits: very uniform and linear (rather than fast) settling characteristics across a bandwidth, large radiating area and sensitivity to very small transients at low power. Once we get up to several high performance drivers and a certain comfortable amplitude the differences between a traditional and panel speakers can diminish.
An ESL can offer three very beneficial traits: very uniform and linear (rather than fast) settling characteristics across a bandwidth, large radiating area and sensitivity to very small transients at low power. Once we get up to several high performance drivers and a certain comfortable amplitude the differences between a traditional and panel speakers can diminish.
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Like my '66 Mustang, good acceleration, crappy brakes.
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Susurus
Resolution:6.62×10^-34
Mylar was used in the past but Kaptan seems the material of choice nowadays; its glass transition point is way higher--meaning it can handle heat much better.
Haven't heard many E-stats yet but mine all use groups of those RtR panels, which I like specifically because of the HF -- they are >0.5% THD up to 32kHz.
Example of fast and low distortion dynamic drivers: NS-1000M.
The gap on those woofers is really small; and the magnets can get displaced slightly in shipping because the glue doesn't hold for 30 years, pinching the pole pieces. ( I managed to re-center mine but it was a biyacch. )
Haven't heard many E-stats yet but mine all use groups of those RtR panels, which I like specifically because of the HF -- they are >0.5% THD up to 32kHz.
Example of fast and low distortion dynamic drivers: NS-1000M.
The gap on those woofers is really small; and the magnets can get displaced slightly in shipping because the glue doesn't hold for 30 years, pinching the pole pieces. ( I managed to re-center mine but it was a biyacch. )
theebadone
Super Member
Lets leave car audio, (usually junk to start with) out of the mix. lol
Why? Many of the advances in subwoofers in the past 20 or so years have come from the autosound industry.
As far as junk, there is just as much junk in the home audio world so if that's the criteria then I guess we just shouldn't talk about speakers.
I just used car subs as an example because it's easy to see subwoofer drivers with stacked magnets on that side. The fact remains that it's not the magnet size that matters. It's the magnetic field in the gap (B) times the length of wire in the gap (l) that defines the motor strength.
MeatInStereo
Can outrun 80% of snakes
This is why you typically will want a heavy speaker as those magnets add weight...and generally contribute to better sound. But i have seen some speaker with normal size magnets but huge metal mounting brackets in them. Doesn't mean the speaker isn't as good just saying that the mounting brackets also add some weight.
juniorJBL
SUB 1500 :)
I had some stock motorola speakers in a '67 camaro that went at least 145 mph. Pretty fast.
Sorry Ray,
Russellc
I was waitin for that one.
:lmao:
dnewma04
The Healer
I'm not following where you are going with this? Can you elaborate?
Bada bing!
