Directivity Optimization of a Passive Loudspeaker System

Presenter:
Charles Hughes, Excelsior Audio - Gastonia, NC, USA; AFMG - Berlin, Germany

Almost all types of loudspeaker systems will benefit from having a consistent directivity response with respect to frequency. It is an important contributor for the loudspeaker system to be able to sound good in different rooms with different acoustical properties. This is often overlooked or relegated in importance in order to give priority to the on-axis frequency response. This seems particularly true when dealing with two-way loudspeaker systems employing a passive crossover. However, this need not be the case. In this session the performance of a product recently evaluated from an overseas ODM / CM will be examined. We will detail how software modeling and simulations can be used to optimize the passive crossover to improve the directivity of the loudspeaker system through the crossover region. A single-channel of front-end DSP can then be used to equalize the overall response of the loudspeaker system. Since the directivity response is more consistent, the equalization can be more effective at improving the sound quality of the loudspeaker system.