features
09
features
08
optimise the dispersion of sound energy
from the enclosure.The F1 AvantGarde
generates an even and consistent energy
output both on and off axis resulting in a
solid and accurate image within a very wide
listening area. As a result the F1 AvantGarde
loudspeaker will easily integrate into your
room, providing superb sound quality even
from less than ideal locations.
drive unit technology at its best
The F1 AvantGarde’s drive units have
been optimised to maximise their
performance within their respective bands.
Both the 250 mm and 180 mm bass units
employ carbon fibre-loaded pulp cones to
create a stiff yet well damped diaphragm
that remains pistonic through the pass-
band.The midrange unit uses a diaphragm
manufactured from several paper ‘petals’
that are married to a visco-elastic interface.
This eliminates spurious vibration and
suppresses unwanted energy reflection up
and down the cone profile.The motor unit
pole pieces contain copper rings to create a
series of shorted turns in the magnetic
air gap.This eliminates Eddy current
distortion caused by the current flow
through the voice coil in close proximity
to the intense magnetic field.The tweeter
possesses an extremely low free-air
resonance achieved by damping and loading
the rearward energy with three chambers.
The result is one of the lowest distortions
available today.
high quality vibration isolated passive
crossover
The passive crossover is mechanically
de-coupled from the sub-structure of the
loudspeaker to prevent microphony in the
components.The crossover network is
mounted inside the plinth in order to
electro-magnetically isolate it from the
drive units in the system.The components
used throughout the crossover are of the
highest quality to ensure signal integrity
and clarity.The inductors use high purity
copper wound on either toroidal or bobbin
cores to improve saturation current limits,
reduce d.c resistance and minimise stray
magnetic field leakage.The capacitors are
manufactured with an over-size
polypropylene dielectric and are rated at
630 V DC to guarantee uncompressed
power output.The resistors are of flat,
thick metal film construction as opposed
o the common wire-wound variety.These
non-inductive resistors are manufactured
from cermet mounted upon an alumina
base offering extremely high peak voltage
operation without compression.This no-
compromise crossover guarantees that
sound energy is split between the drive
units without affecting the purity of
the sound.
OFHC loudspeaker connection
terminals
By fitting proprietary OFHC, gold plated
binding posts, manufactured by TAG
McLaren, a clear sonic improvement has
been achieved compared to the typically
used alternatives employing high copper
content alloys. Furthermore no nickel
plating has been used between the OFHC
foundation and the gold finish as it added
‘grain’ to the sound.Whilst this will lead in
the long term to some discolouration of the
binding post due to copper atoms partially
diffusing into the anti-corrosion gold layer,
the customary, nickel plate interlayer is
well known (as a ferro-magnetic and hard
oxidised metal) to affect sound quality and
was eliminated.
single input connection
After extensive research into the sound
quality of the F1 AvantGarde loudspeaker,
GRA00072.06-[CN]F1 Use Man 12/10/99 12:08 pm Page 08
