Five Tools That Everyone Involved In Planar Magnetic Loudspeakers Industry Should Be Utilizing

Planar Magnetic Loudspeakers and Ribbon Tweeters

Planar magnetic drivers, ribbon tweeters and other speakers with dynamic characteristics have several advantages. Their diaphragms are comparatively large and require only a tiny amount of movement (excursion) to reproduce the same sound level like a conventional driver, thus producing very low distortion.

They also have dipolar radiation patterns meaning that they radiate equally in front and behind the speaker.

High-Resolution Sound

They are known for producing precise, clear sounds. They are renowned for their ability to produce high-resolution and reveal subtle nuance in the music that other drivers are unable to reproduce or show.

In addition to their incredible accuracy in sound reproduction, planar and ribbon drivers provide superior sound staging that allow them to create an expansive soundstage with outstanding clarity. Audiophiles, home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles will find them to be an excellent choice.

A key feature of ribbon and planar drivers is their dipole radiation pattern, which emits equal energy both front and rear with inverted phase to create an incredibly spacious and natural soundstage. This, along with their broad dispersion, makes them ideal for large spaces, where they can fill the room with wide and natural soundstage without producing unnatural reflections off the furniture and walls.

Planar magnetic drivers also have a rapid response time, which allows to reproduce transients with more precision and speed than conventional cone drivers. This results in a clear and clear sound even at very high frequencies.

Planar magnetic drivers are also known for their low distortion. This is due to the fact that they don't utilize a voice-coil instead, but an electrostatic field. This allows the diaphragms to move without causing vibrations which could cause distortion.

In addition, the distance between the magnets in the planar driver is bigger than the gap in a conventional cone speaker. This allows for a better bass and a better frequency response at low intensities.

Despite their many advantages, planar magnetic drivers have some limitations to take into consideration. They can be expensive and require more power to other kinds of speakers. Additionally, they can be heavy and difficult to place in some rooms. They are also sensitive to the acoustics in the room, and require extensive treatment of the room in order to achieve optimal performance. However, there are solutions to minimize these problems, such as by adding an attenuation resistor (provided by your speakers) in the attenuation position, or by performing some type of room treatment.

Wide Dispersion

Planar magnetic speakers also generate sound by regulating the flow of electrical currents through wires that are suspended between magnets. However,  planar headphones explained  than an electrostatic charge which gives them a larger surface area and more accuracy. This allows them to be incorporated into smaller and less expensive headsets and speakers than electrostatic models.

Planar drivers are not only able to disperse sound well and efficiently, but also provide superior imaging and clarity in higher frequencies. This is an enormous benefit for audiophiles who enjoy listening to their favourite music or films in a large living room or other space that is open.

Planar drivers also can produce a very deep bass, because they can be enhanced by boxed subwoofers that are connected to or separated from the ribbon-like membrane. This is different from traditional cone-type speakers, which feature woofers that are located at the bottom of the speaker, which are not able to reproduce bass frequencies due to the physical limitations of woofer enclosures.

A planar driver has a low distortion rate which is directly correlated to the dimensions and travel of the diaphragm. A planar speaker is able to create a large volume of sound without distortion. This is the reason why the sound reproduction is clear and detailed.

In comparison, the dynamic drivers used in traditional headphones and speakers typically have significant distortion when they are driven to the limits of extreme excursion. In the end, dynamic drivers often create a booming or hollow sound.

Finally, planar magnetic drivers are also extremely efficient. They require less power to drive, which results in a lower power usage and reduced environmental impact. Furthermore, their diaphragms typically made of lighter materials than traditional speakers, which reduces the amount of energy required to propel them to create a given sound pressure.

Many audiophiles have heard of speakers made of ribbon and planar such as those manufactured by Magnepan Infinity and Apogee Acoustics. However, an entirely new brand is on the market. For example, new planar loudspeakers from manufacturers like Diptyque and Clarisys Audio are incorporating the most advanced ribbon technology.

Low Distortion

Since planar magnetic speakers do not have a conventional cone or dome shaped diaphragm they produce extremely low distortion. This is the direct result of their unique design, which eliminates the voice coil inductance associated with conventional dynamic speaker drivers (see U.S. Patent 6,353,560). This ensures that the diaphragm is never out of phase with the magnetic field around it, resulting in an output that is constant. The distortion is typically only evident when large waveforms are reproduced. With a single-ended planar magnetic driver, distortion is nearly impossible at all frequencies that are above bass.

In addition to their extremely low distortion and low distortion, planar magnetic loudspeakers provide extremely high efficiency. This allows the drive to use much less power than other speaker technologies. This in turn translates to lower cost of ownership and a lower energy consumption.

Planar magnetic drivers also have significantly lower distortion compared to conventional dynamic speakers, and even less distortion for electrostatic speakers. This is due to the diaphragm, which is flat, of a planar magnetic driver has conductor trace which allows it to respond to the magnetic fields generated by magnets located on the opposite side of it.

These two magnets must be placed with care to ensure that the voice element is located within the magnetic field at all times. This is what enables the extremely linear performance of planar magnetic drivers at all frequencies above the bass.

While there are numerous other advantages of planar magnetic drivers, the most important is the fact that they can to be designed to be dipole (radiating equally and in opposite phases in front and back of the speaker, similar to an ESL) or Monopole (radiating forward, similar to an old-fashioned dynamic). This opens the door for many different possible designs, especially when coupled with a ribbon tweeter.

A variety of planar magnetic loudspeakers can be found today from companies like Hifiman, Dan Clark, Audeze, and Fostex. Each company has a signature sound that results of their proprietary driver designs and other engineering innovations. These speakers are characterized by their stunning clarity and dynamic as well as their controlled directionality.

High Power Handling

Planar magnetic drivers are capable of handling lots of power without the tension or strain that can be induced by traditional dynamic speakers with moving coils. The "voice coil" is not squeezed into the narrow space between the baskets and cones like in traditional dynamic drivers. Instead it is spread over an area larger. This gives the voice-coil more surface area to absorb any heat.

Another reason that planar drivers can handle so much power is due to having an extremely low mass when as compared to conventional drivers. Dynamic drivers feature diaphragms with heavy, thick diaphragms that are orders of magnitude thicker and heavier than the ultra-light diaphragms found in planar magnetic drives. Because of their mass, conventional diaphragms need a larger amount of force to move between them (a measure known as excursion) to produce an equal amount of sound pressure.

As a result, they can't be driven as effectively as a planar magnetic driver could because the voice coil could begin to produce significant amounts of distortion. It is therefore essential to purchase loudspeakers that are designed for the amplifier you plan to use.

The high frequency of an acoustic driver also allows it to create a larger soundstage than traditional drivers. This is due to the diaphragm's ability to vibrate in a uniform and flat way to create a wavefront, rather than the spherical wavefront typical with conventional drivers. The wider soundstage also improves the precision and clarity of the speakers, allowing them to better reproduce subtle details and more complex sounds.

The downside of the superior power handling provided by planar magnetic drives is that they can be more expensive to produce and require stronger amplifiers to operate at their full potential. They can also be heavy and large and can be difficult to install in some environments. You may also need to add a subwoofer to achieve good results at lower frequencies.