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They're Still Tweaks AJ & You've Made Your View On Tweaks Well Known.

AJinFLA,

I may not be as technically oriented in audio as some others are here @ PHP but, I'm not exactly clueless either. Your claim that:

1) Built-in equalization.
2) A 5kHz notch filter circuit.
3) Baffle-Step-Correction circuit.

Are all the same thing, i.e. EQ. That POV can only be viewed as correct when looking at these tweaks in the most general fashion and with acceptance of the broadest expression of those terms. While all three of these tweaks do indeed perform some form of compensation, the fact is all three of these tweaks perform very unique & specific tasks that are different enough in nature as to warrant their own names & descriptions of what their performed tasks are!

For example the notch filter , band-stop filter or band-rejection filter tweak your speaker uses is allowing most frequencies to pass unaltered, as it also attenuates others in a specific range to very low levels. Linkwitz describes his use of this circuit as the Psycho-acoustic 3 kHz dip. Around 3 kHz our hearing is less sensitive to diffuse fields. Recording microphones, though, are usually flat in frequency response even under diffuse field conditions. When such recordings are played back over loudspeakers, there is more energy in the 3 kHz region than we would have perceived if present at the recording venue and a degree of unnaturalness is introduced.

Hey AJ now do you see why I've been telling you microphones don't hear ---{ and hence record }--- like the human ear/brain hears?

Whereas the baffle step correction tweak your speakers uses attempts to compensate for the power loss at low frequencies as the radiation pattern transitions from 2p steradians to 4p steradians. There are numerous circumstances where using a notch filter in lieu of a baffle step correct circuit would absolutely not satisfy the required task and visa versa so no they really aren't doing the same thing at all, like you stated!

Then there's the function of the broad equalization tweak as used in your speaker. This equalization tweak attempts to correct for the various frequency anomalies as they deviate from flat response within a given range of frequencies, which is often 20Hz-20KHz in audio. Whereas a baffle step correction circuit or a notch filter circuit work on very specific anomalies, not usually various or broad range. Linkwitz describes this type of equalization as used in your speakers as: Dipole equalization. It's done because Linkwitz felt the sloping response of the dipole is not very useful and must be equalized. This is accomplished in the frequency domain by boosting the response at a uniform 6 dB/oct rate as frequency is lowered. Thus, the frequency response becomes flat at low frequencies and rolls off at 6 dB/oct in the region where the interference nulls occur.

The plain fact of the matter is your speakers use three very specific tweaks for very specific reasons! As verified on Dr Linkwitz's website. So as we return to your statement of: " a million different "tweaks", etc, etc, etc. All needed by audiophiles, to attempt to make their sh**ty stereos sound decent " I'll ask you once again to please regale us all with your scientific explanation of how and why any of the tweaks employed in your speakers ---{ and yes, using equalizing, notch filters and baffle step correction circuits are indeed three individual tweaks in and of themselves }--- is any different than a tweak that attempts to remove the very real problem of Interaural Crosstalk?

I of course won't be expecting a logical answer to my honest question but, at the very least I addressed the topics you raised, spoke to you like an adult in a civilized, calm manner and didn't attack you or your system.

Thetubeguy1954

A Rational Subjectivist

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