A I R L A Y E R
26
10
airLayer
Description
The Valentina/zA2.1A speakers are very directive in the vertical, and rather directive in
the horizontal. This serves to minimize the involvement of the room, thereby making
setup easier, and maximally conserving the recorded ambiance and the precision of the
image. With recordings that do not have realistically recorded ambiance with well
conserved phase information, a potential drawback is the perception of a closed in
soundstage, extending only from one speaker to the other.
The airLayer feature comprises a high grade ring dome tweeter mounted outboard on
each speaker, firing sideways toward its near side wall. The original purpose of bouncing
some sound off the side walls is to widen the soundstage and provide a sense of
spaciousness that can be missing from directive speakers such as the Valentina when
playing recordings that do not well represent hall ambiance. It can also be used, when
turned up to higher levels, to provide treble when standing, moving about, or listening
from another room.
These tweeters are wired in phase with the sound coming directly from the front of the
speaker, and the point source sound that reflects from the side walls is not strongly
correlated with the direct sound. As a result, what’s heard in the listening area resembles
what will be reflected from the side walls of a concert hall, and the sonic reflections from
the side wall cause relatively minor softening of the image. The benefit is the same sort of
airiness as with less focused speakers, but without the drawbacks.
Setup
The airLayer is continuously adjustable with a dial on the back of each speaker. You have
the opportunity thus to compensate for asymmetric rooms, such as open on one side and
having a near side wall on the other.
