Voice Coil November 2022 Celebrates the Loudspeaker industry

Happy 36th Anniversary Voice Coil! The November 2022 issue of Voice Coil once again celebrates the launch of this periodical as an information resource for the loudspeaker industry. Also, this month, Mike Klasco writes about technologies and solutions to enhance low-frequency performance, and James Croft reviews a recent patent awarded to Panasonic for a loudspeaker arrangement for a Near to the Ear Subwoofer in a car seat. For this month's Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the 6CXN36 coaxial 6.5” pro sound driver from B&C Speakers, and Wavecor’s FR4X-6WA01 compact oval full-range driver. Now available in print, digital and online.

ATC, the British manufacturer founded in 1974 by Billy Woodman to manufacture custom drive units for the professional sound industry, continues to expand on its proven philosophy of developing loudspeaker systems from component level. ATC now announced the availability the new high-performance 12" SCS70 Pro active subwoofer, featuring a new sub-bass driver, developed by ATC’s R&D team, and optimized for reproduction of the lowest four octaves of the audio band. There's also the SCS70iW Pro model, optimized for flush/in-wall mounting.

This review discusses an intriguing speaker design patented by Walter Ka Wai Chu, from Taiwan. The design allows the speaker device to potentially improve the bass performance in the entire low-frequency band instead of being limited to only a few low-frequency points, the inventor claims. While James Croft confesses to being somewhat skeptical of whether, in its current disclosed form, the device will provide a useful advantage, he found the design sufficiently interesting to be analyzed in more detail.

Because the demand for bass is often in conflict with the demand for space, and in general a subwoofer’s size is proportional to its deep-bass output, BassBoss Loudspeakers released the SSP215-MKII Low-Profile Subwoofer. The Los Angeles-based company describes this new model as a powerful subwoofer with a small frontal dimension of only 17.5". With an output that matches or beats most double 18s, the design allows multiple placement options for expansive bass in a constricted space.

PMC, the famous UK loudspeaker manufacturer announced an ambitious new range of reference monitors that the company believes sets a new "gold standard" for music production. With new compact nearfield and midfield active designs plus low frequency extensions, the new PMC range is the result of five years of intense development targeting the highest possible resolution, with the lowest possible coloration, from stereo to Immersive audio.

Exploring the Standard Method of Measurement for Subwoofers (ANSI/CTA-2010-B R-2020), Brent Butterworth discusses how this might be a better method for avoiding the confusion on measuring bass extension of subwoofers. The article details how CTA-2010 measures usable output at 1/3-octave intervals within the subwoofer’s operational range, instead of measuring frequency response at a low sound pressure level. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2021.

French professional audio manufacturer L-Acoustics is determined to expand its range of solutions to reach also commercial installation and high-end residential markets. The latest product now unveiled by the company meets those requirements in the low-end. The L-Acoustics SB10i subwoofer extends the company's line of SB subs, with a vastly scaled-down enclosure design, not much larger than two side-by-side shoe boxes.

In October 2015, audioXpress visited pro audio loudspeaker manufacturer Eighteen Sound in Italy, and we shared the details of its modern factory in Reggio Emilia. The article was intended to illustrate the ongoing company's expansion, combined with a bit of its history. A lot has changed in the company's structure since then, Eighteen Sound (and Ciare) was acquired by B&C Speakers, and the faces at Reggio Emilia also changed. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2016.

In this edition of Voice Coil, Steve Temme explains "How to Measure Free-Field Speaker Response without an Anechoic Chamber," Mike Klasco writes about "Plastics and Composites for Audio Products in 2021," and there's an updated Speaker Enclosure Vendor Directory. James Croft provides a fascinating patent review of a speaker assembly design for low-frequency control using an acoustic dipole. And Vance Dickason characterizes two new tweeters: the D2404 Ellipticor Tweeter from Scan-Speak, and the Satori AT60NC-4 AMT Tweeter from SB Acoustics. Now available in print and online!

Ever since its release in 2013, Powersoft’s M-Force patented moving magnet linear transducer has redefined what was possible in the realm of infra-bass, reaching well below the conventional frequency range. Now, the Italian company announced a new and improved M-Force driver and free Reference Designs, allowing sound design professionals, speaker builders, and anyone interested in speaker engineering to benefit from the M-Force technology.