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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: Are transmission line enclosures "slow"? posted by John C.-Aussie on April 21, 2000 at 16:26:19:
I don't see how they can be slow, the problem with them is they
don't sound like boom box's Maybe thats what some people are expecting. I don't see how any speaker that can play 10 hz be slow.
Below is a cut & paste job from the master of Transmission lines IM Fried.
Below 100HZ, the bass driver and its transmission line handle most of the output below
100 HZ, the bass driver slopes off gradually above 100HZ). This line was developed from
the very advanced line of the H system. Figure One shows the construction of the line
of the M and M/2 systems. FRIED designed transmission lines have long been famous the
world over for their uncanny ability to reproduce the mid and low bass regions with
great accuracy for their time. From the TLS of 1965, to the MONITOR of 1968, to the
S woofer of 1973, the H of 1975, and now to the H/2 and M/2, the tradition of FRIED
designed bass lines has been maintained, as we have constantly refined and improved
them. The design refinements we have introduced - tapered construction, free flow
filtering, direct drive, 1/8 wavelength propagation - are unique, and enable our
speakers to be the only loudspeakers that go down into the infrasonic bass region with
unparalleled clarity, "quick" response, freedom from "boom" and "boxiness". We know of
no equal or superior bass reproducers, excepting the classic 18 foot concrete horns in
England, which we use as reference (cf. Newsletters).
How does a line work? In the FRIED lines, a very "fast" driver (with high BL factor)
is directly coupled to an enormous equivalent acoustic air mass. This air mass propagates
the very lowest frequencies. The design of the line induces this air mass to act as the
bottom leg of a "low pass" filter; while the driver itself rolls off, crossing over to
the air mass. Properly designed, the acoustic air mass moves more accurately than any
unaided driver possibly can, much faster than any large cone woofer, and more purely.
The bass power, clarity, and crispness of a good line must be heard, to be believed. It
has none of the sound of conventional "box" woofers, or even of the newest,
"computer designed" reflex systems - rather, it has the sound of live instruments in
space! Various reviewers of the recent FRIED lines have commented:
"The quality of timbre which approaches perfection "..."Superb dynamic range and
transient response, awesome bass, and overall definition"..." clarity impact, focus,
sense of depth. . . transients appear to match those of full range electrostatic speakers
dynamic range approaching that of a horn system . . . bass definition. . . tight and
unsurpassed by anything except live music!"
We know of no other loudspeakers whose bass has been so glowingly described. FRIED
lines stand alone as bass propagators. They are large, expensive to develop, expensive
to manufacture. They are used only in expensive FRIED loudspeakers, their rationale
being that they can furnish the most glorious mid and deep bass performance possible
in room sized loudspeakers, for those who require performance which is at the limit of
the reproducing art.
Transmission lines have two disadvantages, other than cost and size. They do not sound
"loud", i.e., colored, boxy, or bassy. Therefore, they do not impress the
unsophisticated "hi fi" buyer, who wants to hear "that there 'bass' and 'highs"'.
On casual acquaintance, first listening; lines will sound bass shy to those conditioned
to box bass - until real bass program comes along, instruments such as the bass drum,
organ pedal notes, the double bass, tuba, kettledrum, the left hand of the piano -
at which time the "awesome" bass of the line is heard. Therefore, transmission lines
should not be incorporated into speakers intended for fast sale to naive hi-fiers. This
is a commercial disadvantage, since including a transmission line in the design limits
its sale to those who are familiar with the real sound ot bass instruments. The second
disadvantage of transmission lines is that they will respond virtually down to zero
Hertz. Therefore, they should be driven only by high quality input equipment, stable
at the bass end, either with an intrasonic filter; or with the new recommended RIAA
playback characteristic (cf. Newsletter 13).
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Follow Ups
- Re: Are transmission line enclosures "slow"? - GTF 04/21/0017:03:03 04/21/00 (1)
- Re: Are transmission line enclosures "slow"? - Dave 18:16:09 04/22/00 (0)
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