The most important features of this range can be outlined as follows:
1) a higher rigidity/weight ratio;
2) outstanding quality of the speakers and the electronics used in the
active versions.
Among many
reasons why
, Deflector Line features can be distin-
guished from those of competring products within the same sector
by the following characteristics:
• a cabinet made out of multuply Canadian birchwood with a thick-
ness of 15 mm,
• reinforced internal angles for the suspension system in 420ML al-
loy iron,
• pratical aluminium
flying tracks
on the upper and lower walls of the
speakers,
• ergonomic handles with a double grip,
• sound-transparent grid - it does not obstruct the holes in the internal
sponge - , secured to the chassis with retractable screws, that are
embedded in specific holes in the wood,
• a neodymium woofer with a 4” coil supported by fibreglass,
• an innovative AWSH™ (
Acoustic Wave Shaped Horn
),
• proprietary technology curved deflector.
3. CONTROLLED AIR FLOW TECHNOLOGY
All of the Deflector line upper modules (with the exception of the
“small” 2-way model XTD88) have been designed and produced
with an extremely innovative
bass reflex
. The classic tubular shape
has been superseded by a “
sail-side
” duct placed in the immediate
vicinity of the woofer, between it and the base of the cabinet, follow-
ing its circular profile. This solution was reached during the design
stage, relying on particular fluido-dynamic simulations, with the aim
of minimizing air turbulence inside the cabinet and the duct itself.
As well as being considered for different types of clusters based on
the horn’s dispersion angles, the mixed inclination of the outer walls
has also been optimized, taking into account the afore-mentioned
simulations, with a view to harmonizing the sound pressure inside the
cabinet and reducing resonance to the minimum.
Fig. 1 Bass reflex with curved deflector
While standing in front of a speaker and sectioning it lengthwise with
a perpendicular plane, it is easy to identify the
profile of the deflec-
tor
, which has a convex-concave shape (according to the convec-
tion that mentions the
intrados
first, which is the lower surface, and
then the
extrados
, the upper surface) and also a
camber
– this is
defined as the distance between the wing chord and the mean line:
concerning the classic “roundedness” of the wing surface – this is
extremely reduced so as not to unnecessarily obstruct the air flow
controlled by the deflector. As above-mentioned, the X-Treme de-
sign team carried out special fluid dynamic simulations and created
numerous prototypes in laboratory; all of this had the aim of reaching
the long-awaited air flow control generated inside the cabinet and
the duct. From irregular and vortical, due to the “whirlpool” of the
bass reflex, this flow is transformed – in a non-viscous environment
and at sufficient distance from the walls – into a regular and laminar
one, thanks also to the intervention of a specific back frame, which
has a 5 cm thickness and to the 5 degrees tilt of the plane where
the loudspeaker is mounted. As well as being conceived for its dif-
ferent types of clusters in accordance with the horn’s dispersion an-
gles, this mixed tilting of the outer walls was designed to eliminate
typical turbulences, which particularly appear on the tuning tube:
this means that the waves reflecting on the woofer are minimized
and, owing to the precise cone-duct alignment (the tolerance field is
measured in mm), the resonance and phase cancellation in the input
and output points disappear completely, with resulting harmony and
sound pressure optimization inside the cabinet.
Fig. 2 Base definitions of Controlled Air Flow Technology
4. ACOUSTIC WAVE SHAPED HORN
TM
The aluminium
AWSH
TM
(
Acoustic Wave Shaped Horn
) was de-
signed and manufactured using CAE tools (
Computer Aided Engi-
neering
) to guarantee the sound centre and woofer alignment, while
keeping the planes containing the openings of the woofer cone and
the horn itself perfectly fitted together. The production process is car-
ried out via
die casting
, by pouring the melted alloy into a permanent
metallic mould or die, specifically designed for this original product
on the specifications of the X-Treme engineers. The pressured man-
ufacturing process allows the mould cavity to be filled very quickly
and the probable injection due to the reduction caused by solidifica-
tion to be compensated. This produces the following effects: per-
fect and total cavity filling and a fine crystalline structure of the part,
free of imperfections. In the
XTD88
and
XTD1015
models, thanks
to a special AWSH
TM
horn being fitted in the opposite concave of
the speaker, it is possible to rotate the whole medium-high section
(horn+panel) by 90°, therefore making it possible to maintain
the same coverage at high frequencies, both when the speaker is in
position, standard, vertical and when it is mounted horizontally. By
simply unscrewing the 8 screws in the external squared flange, it can
be rotated without damaging the connection cables or compromis-
ing the other internal elements.
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