Planar Magnetic Loudspeakers and Ribbon Tweeters

Planar magnetic drivers and ribbon tweeters provide many advantages over traditional dynamic speakers. Their large diaphragms require only a small amount of movement (excursion) to reproduce the same volume as a traditional driver, resulting in very low distortion.

They also have dipolar radiation patterns, meaning that they radiate equally in front and behind the speaker.

High-Resolution Sound

Planar and ribbon magnetic speakers are famous for their ability to deliver precise, clear sound. They are known to deliver high-resolution and reveal subtle nuances in music that other drivers cannot reproduce or headphones Shop show.

The planar and ribbon drivers are not just accurate, but also offer superior soundstages, which allows them to recreate a vast soundstage with incredible clarity. Audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts as well as audiophiles will find them be a fantastic option.

A key feature of planar and ribbon drivers is their dipole radiation pattern, which emits equal energy both front and back, inverted phase to create a natural and spacious soundstage. This, in conjunction with their wide dispersion, makes them ideal for large spaces, where they can fill the room with an expansive and natural soundstage without producing unnatural reflections off walls and furniture.

Planar magnetic drivers have a quick response time which allows them to reproduce transients with greater accuracy and more quickly than cone drivers. This results in a highly detailed and crisp sound, even at very high frequencies.

Planar magnetic drivers are also well-known for their low distortion. This is because they do not employ an actual voice coil, but instead an electrostatic field. This allows the diaphragm to move without creating vibrations that can cause distortion that is not desirable.

A planar driver also has a much greater distance between the magnets than cone speakers. This results in a better frequency response and lower distortion at lower amplitudes but still delivering excellent bass performance.

While many of the benefits of planar magnetic drivers are appealing however, they have some limitations that must be considered. They can be expensive and require more power compared to other kinds of speakers. They can also be heavy, making it difficult to fit them into certain spaces. They are also sensitive to the acoustics in the room, and require extensive treatment of the room to achieve optimal performance. There are ways to minimize the effects. For instance you can include an attenuation resistance (provided by speakers) and put it in the attenuation setting. You can also use a variety of room treatments.

Wide Dispersion

Like electrostatic speakers magnetic speakers produce sound by regulating the electrical current passing through wires suspended between magnets. They vibrate a flat surface directly, rather than using an electrostatic charge. This results in a larger surface area and more precise. This principle allows them to be built into smaller and more affordable headsets and speakers as opposed to electrostatic models.

Planar drivers are not only able to disperse sound well and efficiently, but also provide superior imaging and clarity in the higher frequencies. This is a great benefit for audiophiles who enjoy listening to music or movies on a large screen or in an open space.

Moreover, planar drivers are capable of producing very deep bass because they can be enhanced by boxed woofers which are attached to or separate from the ribbon-like diaphragm. This is contrary to conventional cone-type speaker woofers that are usually placed in the bottom of the cabinet, a location that cannot reproduce bass frequencies because of the physical constraints of the enclosure that houses the woofer.

Another advantage of the planar driver is that it has exceptionally low distortion which is directly linked to the size and the excursion of the ribbon-like diaphragm. This means that a planar speaker can produce an extremely high volume of sound with minimal distortion, which is the reason it produces such clear and detailed reproduction.

In comparison, the dynamic drivers used in standard Headphones Shop and speakers typically show significant levels of distortion when driven to the limits of extreme excursion. Dynamic drivers can give an unnatural or booming sound.

Finally, planar magnetic drivers are also extremely efficient. They consume less energy to drive, which results in a lower power consumption and environmental impact. Furthermore, their diaphragms typically made of lighter materials than conventional speakers, which further decreases the amount of energy required to propel them to produce an appropriate sound pressure.

Many audiophiles have heard of planar/ribbon speakers, such as those made by Magnepan Infinity and Apogee Acoustics. However, a new brand is now available. New planar loudspeakers by manufacturers like Clarisys Audio and Diptyque, for instance, feature the latest advances in ribbon technology.

Low Distortion

Planar magnetic speakers have extremely low distortion due to the fact that they don't utilize the traditional cone or dome-shaped diaphragm. This is due to their unique design which eliminates the voice coil inductance which is associated with dynamic driver planar speakers. (See U.S. patent 6,353,560). This assures that the diaphragm never out of phase with the magnetic field that surrounds it, which results in an output that is constant. The distortion is typically only evident when large waveforms are reproduced. With a planar magnetic single-ended driver, distortion is virtually absent at frequencies above bass.

Planar magnetic loudspeakers are very efficient and have a low distortion. This lets the drive use less energy than other technologies for speakers. This results in lower cost of ownership and less energy consumption.

The distortion of planar magnetic drivers is also considerably less than traditional dynamic speakers, and even more so for electrostatic speakers. This is due to the fact that the planar magnet driver's flat diaphragm features a conductor trace that allows it react to magnetic fields created on either side.

The two magnets must be carefully positioned so that the voice element stays in the magnetic field optimally throughout the time. This is what enables the extremely linear performance of planar magnetic drivers at all frequencies above the bass.

Planar magnetic drivers offer a variety of other advantages however the most significant is that they can be designed as dipoles (radiating in opposite phases and headphones Shop equally in front and behind the speaker similar to an ESL), or monopoles (radiating in the direction of forward, more like traditional dynamic speakers). This opens the door for a wide variety of potential designs, especially when combined with the ribbon tweeter.

There are a myriad of planar magnetic loudspeakers that are available today, from manufacturers such as Hifiman Dan Clark Audeze and Fostex. Each brand has its own distinctive sound that is the result of their own patented driver configurations and other engineering innovations. These speakers are distinguished by their amazing clarity and dynamic as well as their controlled directionality.

High Power Handling

Planar magnetic speakers can handle more power than traditional dynamic moving coil drivers without the strain and strain that they can cause. This is due to the fact that the "voice coil" is spread out across an extensive area instead of being squeezed into a tiny gap between the cone and basket like in traditional dynamic drivers. This provides the voice coil with a larger surface area to absorb heat effectively.

Planar drivers can handle a lot of power because they are light compared to conventional drivers. Dynamic drivers utilize thick, heavy diaphragms that are several orders of magnitude heavier and thicker than the diaphragms that are ultra-light and thin used in planar magnetic drives. Because of their high mass, conventional diaphragms require a greater amount of force to move between them (a measure known as excursion) in order to produce an equal amount of sound pressure.

In the end they aren't able to be driven by the same force as a planar magnetic driver could because the voice coil could begin to generate substantial amounts of distortion. This is why it's important to only purchase loudspeakers that are rated for the type of amplifier you plan to drive them with.

The high excursion allows it to produce more soundstages than conventional drivers. This is because the diaphragm vibrates evenly and flat to create a wavefront, rather than the spherical wavefront that is typical with conventional drivers. The wider soundstage improves the accuracy and details of the speakers and allows them to reproduce subtle nuances and complex sound effects.

The drawback of the superior power handling that is offered by planar magnetic drives is that they can be more costly to produce and require larger amplifiers to run them at their full capacity. They can be massive and heavy which can make it difficult to install them in certain settings. It is also possible to add a subwoofer in order to get satisfactory results at lower frequencies.