5
TECHNOLOGY
Beryllium Diaphragms
Each TAD Compact Reference speaker system features
proprietary beryllium-manufacturing technology for the midrange
and tweeter diaphragms. The lightest and most rigid metal
available for diaphragms, beryllium performs with strength and
damping characteristics unmatched by any of the materials
currently used in high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturing, as
shown in Figure 1.
Beryllium’s combination of light weight and exceptional strength
enables diaphragm resonance to be pushed far beyond the
operating band of its drive units. This produces near-perfect
piston behavior in the speakers, resulting in cleaner sound and
greater accuracy of reproduction.
18 000
Velocity (m/s)
Inner Loss
16 000
14 000
12 000
10 000
8 000
6 000
4 000
2 000
0.005
0.015
0.025
0
Figure 1. Velocity properties of beryllium and other materials
CST
The heart of the system is the Coherent Source Transducer
(CST), shown in Figure 2. The tweeter diaphragm is mounted
concentrically within the apex of the midrange cone and provides
a point source of sound from 250 Hz to 100 kHz. It is time
coherent, due to the shallow midrange-cone profile made possible
by the superior strength of beryllium, and produces a superbly-
controlled radiation pattern.
CST ensures a perfect spectral balance between the direct and
reflected sounds that arrive at the listener’s ears, providing
a more consistent sound throughout the listening room and
improved imaging capability.
Figure 2. The TAD Compact Reference’s Coherent Source
Transducer
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