Section I • Getting Started
An Important Learning Note
Hybrid Audio Technologies designed the Clarus-series to be configured with the tweeter
relatively close to the midbass, such as within 30cm or so, as we can effectively mitigate
anticipated environmental conditions and reduce the number of variables in this type of
installation. When the tweeter and midbass are placed close to each other, the relative
amplitudes (volumes) of the midbass and tweeter are equalized to each other and the
speaker system will perform as intended. When the tweeter is separated by a far distance
from the midbass, the relative amplitudes will likely need to be equalized. This is due to
simple physics. If the midbass drivers are placed low in the door, for example, and the
tweeter is placed high in the dashboard, sail panels, or a-pillars, there WILL be a notable
amplitude difference between the two speakers. This is because the midbass are installed
further from you, and are likely aimed into your leg, carpeting, and other soft furnishings in
the vehicle, while the tweeter is located likely closer to you, likely aimed more “on-axis”, and
is near hard, reflective surfaces, such as window glass, hard plastic interior panels, and etc.
One of the benefits of the Clarus series over its sibling Imagine series is the inclusion of an
outboard crossover system that includes a fairly comprehensive set of attenuation filters
for the tweeter output. Whereas the Imagine systems do not include any form of filtering
to attenuate the tweeter’s relative amplitude with respect to the midbass, the Clarus sets
do come with the feature of a stepped attenuation network to satisfactorily allow for
the end-user to tune and customize the tweeter’s level with respect to the midbass. The
tweeter attenuation network allows for a world of potential new mounting possibilities of
the tweeter location with respect to the midbass location.
Finally, just because there is a factory tweeter pod location in the dashboard, a-pillars, or sail
panels in your vehicle doesn’t mean you have to use it! Because our ears are on the left and
right sides of the human head, human hearing is much less susceptible to hearing height
cues as it is hearing width and depth cues (please reference Lesson 3 and Lesson 4 later in
this manual). Please don’t be fooled into thinking that the tweeters MUST be placed high
in order to establish a good stage height! Alas, as the end-user, it is up to you to take the
time and test the set to see what orientation is to your liking, and certainly, as students of
acoustics, we at Hybrid Audio Technologies encourage that learning exercise.
Section I • Getting Started
Basic System Installation (Continued)
In a basic system, the Clarus midbass speakers were designed to be installed in the original
factory speaker locations, most often in the vehicle’s doors (more advanced locations that
provide an additional level of performance are discussed in Section II of this manual, if
you’re interested in learning more). The Clarus midbass drivers are infinite baffle-capable
speakers, and must be mounted in a “large enclosure”, or as close to it as possible, with
unrestricted access to airspace to ensure the speaker’s ability to effectively reproduce its
wide frequency bandwidth. The reason why the speaker was designed in this way is highly
empirical. When a speaker is mounted in a small closed box, it radiates as much energy
forward of the cone as it does rearward of the cone. All speaker cones (diaphragms) are a
weak sound barrier at best, and the result of the high amount of energy being “pushed” into
a small enclosure is the energy transmitting through to the outside of the cone (an additive
phenomenon to the incidental wave). Consequently, Hybrid Audio has designed the
Clarus midbass to work well without an enclosure, and as such, should not be significantly
prone to enclosure back-pressure and sound coloration when placed infinitely baffled.
The “infinitely large” enclosure, such as one might find in a door panel, improves spectral
response and power response variation between high and low frequencies.
In a basic system, the Clarus tweeters were designed to be installed in factory-supplied
tweeter locations, typically found in the a-pillar, dashboard, sail panel, or door panel. If your
vehicle is older, or did not come with factory tweeter locations, you may need to install
the tweeters in a bit of a custom fashion. Not to fear though – we have included several
different options for easily mounting the tweeters, so you can decide which will work the
best for your application. Since the tweeters are a sealed-back design, they can be placed
anywhere without having to provide airspace or any type of enclosure. Hybrid Audio
Technologies highly recommends that the tweeter placement be the subject of your own
experimentation. This can be accomplished by leaving some excess wire length for the
tweeter, and experimenting with different potential mounting locations by temporarily
attaching the tweeter using double stick tape, Velcro®, etc.
© Hybrid Audio Technologies • Cumming, GA • 770.888.8200
© Hybrid Audio Technologies • Cumming, GA • 770.888.8200
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