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About Vance Dickason
Vance Dickason has been working as a professional in the loudspeaker industry since 1974. A contributing editor to Speaker Builder magazine (now audioXpress) since 1986, in November 1987 he became editor of Voice Coil, the monthly Periodical for the Loudspeaker Industry, today published by KCK Media Corp. His globally acclaimed book Loudspeaker Design Cookbook is now in its 8th Edition, published by KCK Media. A life member of the Audio Engineering Society, Vance received the 1995 AES Citation Award for his long term contribution to audio education, and the 2013 Beryllium Award, Lifetime achievement from ALMA (Associating of Loudspeaker Manufacturers and Acoustics, now ALTI Association). Since 2001, he also does business as Vance Dickason Consultancy based out of Portland, Oregon, working as an independent engineering consultant to loudspeaker manufacturers.

All items written by Vance Dickason
Klippel Controlled Sound (KCS) - Controlled Sound Technology for Nonlinear Compensation of Loudspeakers
August 3, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Klippel Controlled Sound (KCS) - Controlled Sound Technology for Nonlinear Compensation of Loudspeakers

Following extensive research, Klippel GmbH has announced its new Klippel Controlled Sound (KCS) technology. This is an integrated approach that leverages the company's software and hardware tools for development, measurement and evaluation of new-generation loudspeaker systems, providing mechanical and thermal protection, automatic system alignment, active compensation of transducer nonlinearities and stabilization of the voice coil rest position. In other words, enabling research towards the speakers of the future.
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Test Bench: B&C Speakers 14NA100-8 14” Pro Sound Woofer
June 26, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: B&C Speakers 14NA100-8 14” Pro Sound Woofer

This Test Bench focuses on the 14NA100-8, a new high power handling 14” pro sound woofer from B&C Speakers. This is the highest power handling in the brand's 14” group with a continuous power handling rating of 1.6 kW (800 W nominal). Applications range from two- and three-way PA speakers and compact two-way monitor designs for high SPL in limited spaces. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2019.
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Test Bench: The L26ROY 10” Subwoofer from SEAS
June 19, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The L26ROY 10” Subwoofer from SEAS

This month I characterized the 10” L26ROY subwoofer from SEAS’ new Extreme line. The SEAS L26 series from SEAS was popularized by several of Siegfried Linkwitz designs (sold by Madisound as kits), including his "pièce de résistance," the LX521.4, which utilized four L26RO4Y subwoofers (the four-layer version). These 10” woofers were built in Taiwan for SEAS, but that production has now been brought home to Norway and reintroduced as the Extreme subwoofer line. The new L26ROY has a well-appointed feature set. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2019.
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Test Bench: The SB Acoustics Satori TW29DN-B-8 Tweeter
June 12, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The SB Acoustics Satori TW29DN-B-8 Tweeter

In this Test Bench we will be looking at the 29 mm TW29DN-B cloth dome tweeter from the SB Acoustics Satori line of high-end devices. This new TW29DN-B-8 SB Satori tweeter is a wide surround format-type similar to the original Vifa DX tweeter, or the current Scan-Speak D2604 or D2607. However, all of these are 26 mm diaphragm tweeters, and the new Satori ST29DN-B-8 is a 29 mm diaphragm type. This article was published in Voice Coil, March 2019.
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Test Bench: The SB Acoustics SB29BNC-C000-4 Tweeter
June 5, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: The SB Acoustics SB29BNC-C000-4 Tweeter

This month I am characterizing the SB29BNC beryllium 29 mm dome tweeter from SB Acoustics. This is the second high-end 29 mm beryllium diaphragm neodymium dome sent by SB Acoustics for Test Bench. Features for this transducer include a small format 72 mm diameter injection-molded plastic faceplate, and an 8 mm wide coated cloth surround. This article was published in Voice Coil, March 2019.
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Test Bench: A New Beryllium Tweeter from BlieSMa
May 23, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: A New Beryllium Tweeter from BlieSMa

This Test Bench characterizes the T34B-4 34mm beryllium dome tweeter from BlieSMa, a German company founded in 2018 by Stas Malikov. BlieSMa’s first tweeter offering, the T34A-4 34 mm aluminum/magnesium alloy dome, appeared in Voice Coil’s June 2018 Test Bench. This month, I received the company’s second offering, and it seems logical that this driver, the T34B-4, is a 34 mm beryllium dome tweeter. This article was published in Voice Coil, March 2019.
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Test Bench: Bold North Audio MS-10W - A Legendary 6.5" Woofer from MISCO
May 6, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Bold North Audio MS-10W - A Legendary 6.5" Woofer from MISCO

For this Test Bench, Vance Dickason actually had lots of fun characterizing a new version of a legendary 6.5” woofer recently announced by MISCO (Minneapolis Speaker Company). The new MS-10W, will be marketed under the new MISCO brand, Bold North Audio, and it is effectively a direct replacement for the famous white driver on Yamaha’s NS10 studio monitors! This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2019.
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Test Bench: Eminence SD28 Soft Dome Tweeter
April 17, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Eminence SD28 Soft Dome Tweeter

Being primarily known as a pro sound driver OEM, with a great reputation for both guitar speakers and PA drivers, it may come as a surprise that this Eminence driver, the SD28, is a 1” soft dome tweeter — a staple of the home and car audio businesses. I should note however, that while Eminence has a rather large catalog of pro audio transducers, the company also produces drivers for home and car audio companies. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, January 2019
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Test Bench: Radian Audio Engineering 475PB 1-Inch Compression Driver
April 10, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Radian Audio Engineering 475PB 1-Inch Compression Driver

In this Test Bench I characterized the 475PB, a 1" compression driver from Radian Audio Engineering. The 475PB has a similar set of features as Radian’s 745PB. This includes a 1” throat diameter, a 134 mm × 19 mm ferrite magnet motor, and the most important feature—a proprietary processed and hardened aerospace-grade aluminum alloy diaphragm over a three-slit phase plug. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, January 2019.
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Test Bench: Radian Audio Engineering 745PB 1.4” Compression Driver
March 27, 2019 by Vance Dickason

Test Bench: Radian Audio Engineering 745PB 1.4” Compression Driver

In this Test Bench I characterized the 745PB 1.4” compression driver from Radian Audio Engineering. Based in Orange, CA, Radian is a serious player in the OEM loudspeaker component business, the sound contractor/fixed installation market, and the portable/tour sound industry. The 745PB has the expected rich feature set of other Radian compression drivers. Subjectively, this speaker is incredibly musical, detailed, and extremely easy to listen to — certainly a goal for all monitors. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2018.
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