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Dispersion, narrow, controlled, or bi?

I’ve been thinking a little bit about fads and trends more along the lines of basic speaker operating principles than anything else... in particular a technical discussion at DIYaudio about cardioid speakers kind of got me thinking, the most known of which are the Kinki, ahem, Kii speakers.  That got me thinking less about the moving membranes or cabinetry and much more about the radiating geometry.  

For instance: 

  • Line arrays
  • Open baffle 
    • Genesis qualified as both in some ways
  • Electrostatic
    • Which are arguably some of the most famous open baffle speakers! 
  • Horns
  • Omnidirectional (Ohm Walsh)
  • Partially di or bi polar
    • Speakers with rear radiating drivers
    • Bose 901s were direct/reflecting
    • Snell A speakers had at least a rear tweeter
  • Coaxial
    • Some are open baffle woofers with horn tweets

 

So, keeping it all to radiating patterns, what is your take?  What have you heard or own that really has done you in? 

erik_squires

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires OP
16,917 posts
 

Thanks for the suggestions, Duke, but honestly in terms of money and time the entire idea is well beyond me right now.  I was however thinking of a number of passive speakers that have implemented smallish rear firing drivers (like a tweeter or 2-3" mid) and think perhaps in the future a wave of active speakers could do the idea more justice.   Having a smallish amp and DSP settings for the rear firing may make for very interesting customization. 

erik_squires OP
16,917 posts
 

I have to agree with Duke that the rear reflections matter in imaging.  We tend to focus on absorption but the rear needs a balance of absorption and diffuse reflection to really lock in that sense of presence. 

Due to my own circumstances, I'm really against the idea of adding more speakers in terms of floor space, but I've often wondered what the results would be of using a separate preamp/amp/speaker pair to reflect sound would be like.   You could completely alter the volume and even use DSP to tailor the reflections. 

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