23
The loudspeakers
The bass driver
The newly developed bass unit features extremely large
magnets and voice coils working on a carbon fibre cone
which can reproduce even very intense peak signals
accurately.
The large cone area of this driver enables it to generate
very high sound pressure. The cradle is pressure-cast in
alloy, and therefore extremely strong and stiff in torsion.
The strength of the material makes it possible to employ
very narrow connecting struts, leaving large inter-strut
openings which help to avoid turbulence and compressi-
on effects.
The mid-range driver
In many respects the mid-range reproduction of a
loudspeaker is of crucial significance. The human ear is
at its most sensitive in this frequency range, and carries
out the tasks of direction-finding and range assessment
in this area. The ear is also most efficient at perceiving
subtle sound colours and (dis-) colorations at mid-range
frequencies. For this reason we have invested particular
effort in developing a mid-range unit of truly outstanding
quality for the
TCI
series.
This new driver is capable of reproducing the entire fre-
quency range from 250 Hz to 2500 Hz homogeneously
and with an exceptionally linear response, as it features
an extremely stiff but lightweight cone made of wooden
fibre.
The radiation characteristics of this mid-range unit are
outstanding, due to the specially shaped speaker cone
and the accurately calculated, finely tuned phase plug.
The newly developed low-profile surround is made of a
hard rubber compound with excellent damping characte-
ristics, which eliminates resonances and effectively pre-
vents reflections in the cone which could cause colorati-
on of the sound.
Since the treble and bass units in the
TCI
series trans-
mission line speakers have superb peak handling pro-
perties, the new mid-range unit also had to be able to
perform much better than any previous driver. The gi-
gantic 120 mm Ø magnet system and a 40 mm Ø voice
coil consisting of four layers of titanium form an impres-
sively powerful combination, and are mounted in a low-
resonance cast magnesium cradle.
This driver and its carefully designed mid-range housing
(with non-parallel walls for low resonance) is capable of
handling peak signals in a way which is usually the re-
serve of the PA arena.
The overall result is that the mid-range system of the
TCI
series sounds very natural, free and melodious, but also
has enormous dynamic reserves.
The ringradiator high-frequency driver
Modern signal sources such as CD, DVD and SACD
have an impressively wide and linear dynamic range,
and this places stringent demands on the treble area of
the loudspeaker. Conventional dome tweeters invariably
reach their limits in these applications, and that is why
we have developed high-frequency drivers for our
TCI
loudspeakers which offer the reserves of performance
required for these and future developments.
The annular cone of this treble unit is supported mecha-
nically at the outer edges and the centre of the cone, and
the coil is attached centrally between the two support
locations. This method of mounting enables the cone to
move in a very accurate and well-controlled way. The
result is the potential for higher sound pressure combi-
ned with low distortion. The cone does not become de-
coupled at high frequencies or at extreme amplitudes.
The centre features a phase plug designed to make the
frequency response truly linear. Characteristics of this
special type of high-frequency driver are an unusually
wide frequency range (1000 - 50,000 Hz) and a very
open, clear, and spatially precise sound image, while the
lightweight cone gives an extremely good dynamic per-
formance. This ringradiator gives the
TCI
3 R
the poten-
tial for an impressively deep sound image.
The large volume produces a low resonant frequency,
and this combined with excellent peak handling and
transient response produces a fast, airy sound image
combined with a very high upper limit frequency.
All manuals and user guides at all-guides.com
