[CIAudio]

Here is a glimpse of the prototype A3 standmount loudspeaker.



This is a 6.5” 2 way with a unique aperiodic tuning.
We use an underhung woofer with an inch of linear stroke and extended response due to it’s low inductance.
The 19mm silk dome is stiffer and lighter than typical 1” domes and has smooth extended response to 27k.
A custom waveguide machined into the 18 layer baltic birch baffle yields ultra low distortion and exceptional off axis response.
The result is a small speaker with ultra wide frequency response, rich & textured midrange, superb 3D imaging, and lifelike dynamics.
With solid bass into the low 30’s, this speaker sounds big and full like a much larger floorstander.

I’ll post more as the development progresses.

[jtwrace]

Interesting.  Active version coming too?

[JLM]

Reminds me of the Buchardt S400.  Hopefully will be even better.

What made you think about designing/building speakers?  Are you working with anyone on the design? 

[jtwrace]

Reminds me of the Buchardt S400.  Hopefully will be even better.

What made you think about designing/building speakers?  Are you working with anyone on the design?

He's very involved in building speakers for someone. 

[CIAudio]

Interesting.  Active version coming too?

no plans for an active standmount at the moment. If I did, it would be a nearfield monitor for the pro audio industry.

I do have a reference floorstander design with Ncore bass amplifiers and adjustable F3.
These will be next.

[CIAudio]

Reminds me of the Buchardt S400.  Hopefully will be even better.

What made you think about designing/building speakers?  Are you working with anyone on the design?

I’ve built speakers for over 45 years and OEM for other companies. For example the current line of LSA was designed by Dan Wiggins and myself.

Many have heard my prototypes at various shows.

[CIAudio]

Reminds me of the Buchardt S400.  Hopefully will be even better.

What made you think about designing/building speakers?  Are you working with anyone on the design?

The Buchardt looks similar... in fact it appears to use the same passive radiator and tweeter dome.
Maybe they’ve been spying on me as i’ve used waveguide designs for years.

Although similar in appearance, R3 will have much more linear stroke and bass extension.

Below is a prototype from the Newport show in 2015

[jtwrace]

I do have a reference floorstander design with Ncore bass amplifiers and adjustable F3.
These will be next.

Very cool.  Can't wait for details about them.  Will you publish polar plots or send to ASR for measurements? 

[CIAudio]

I’m sure we’ll publish measurements but conventional methods mean pretty much nothing.
Measuring at 1m on the tweeter axis tell you very little about it’s performance. I’m much more focused on off axis performance, which is what we actually listen to.

Our speakers will sell based on their realistic sound, not numbers and graphs.

[HAL]

Congratulations Dusty!

Speakers are looking good! 

[CIAudio]

Reminds me of the Buchardt S400.  Hopefully will be even better.

What made you think about designing/building speakers?  Are you working with anyone on the design?

Have you heard the Buchardt?
I would expect it sounds very good. They seem to understand the many things a proper waveguide can do.
This type of design can easily create a big 3D soundscape when done properly. Looks like all SB Acoustics drivers and good engineering at an affordable price.
I’d like to hear them!

[jtwrace]

Have you heard the Buchardt?
I would expect it sounds very good. They seem to understand the many things a proper waveguide can do.
This type of design can easily create a big 3D soundscape when done properly. Looks like all SB Acoustics drivers and good engineering at an affordable price.
I’d like to hear them!

I had them in my house next to my M2's.   

[Paulie]

What do you think about integrating subs with the R3s? I'm very eager to hear more about them, particularly if the imaging could be that nice...

[CIAudio]

What do you think about integrating subs with the R3s? I'm very eager to hear more about them, particularly if the imaging could be that nice...

The R3 has strong bass performance down to around 30hz, so subs are not needed unless you need higher volume levels in a larger room.
Subs could be used, but always introduce other issues as you also need to filter low frequencies from the R3 with an active or passive filter.

The R3 is still being refined, but I can tell you the imaging is as good as anything you’ve ever heard 😉

[CIAudio]

As development continues, we have reduced distortion in the low frequencies by eliminating the passive radiator and using a custom aperiodic tuning.

The aperiodic tuning removes non-linearities caused by the air-spring in the enclosure, while maintaining damping to the lowest frequencies. This approach yields performance similar to a transmission line but with greatly reduced cabinet size, and the smooth 2nd order roll-off makes it very friendly to a wide variety of room sizes.

The dimensions of the finished speaker are 15”h x 9”w x 10”d and weight is 30 lbs each

Due to this improved cabinet design, the speaker will now be called the a3

[jtwrace]

Due to this improved cabinet design, the speaker will now be called the a3

I was hoping the "A" would be active the "P" version would be passive.   


aP3 = aperiodic Passive 3
aA3 = aperiodic Active 3


 

[CIAudio]

That could possibly happen at some point 

The 2nd speaker will be a6, a 4 driver floor-stander with custom 500w Ncore bass amplifiers with adjustable f3 and gain. The bass amplifiers drive two long-stroke 8” woofers in a similar aperiodic enclosure.

[jtwrace]

That could possibly happen at some point 

The 2nd speaker will be a6, a 4 driver floor-stander with custom 500w Ncore bass amplifiers with adjustable f3 and gain. The bass amplifiers drive two long-stroke 8” woofers in a similar aperiodic enclosure.

Looking forward to the aA6.   

[herbtwocrows]

I can't wait to hear them at a show -- when there are shows again.

I used to own Fried IMF TLS 80 transmission line speakers which had exceptional bass. I listened with a Luxman integrated amp. Unfortunately, I returned to my apartment one day to find them vanished along with my TV and other electronics. The good news was I didn't have to sell them when I got hit with upgrade-itis.

[CIAudio]

It's my opinion that stereo loudspeakers are generally designed wrong!
Most speakers are measured and designed for optimum on-axis performance and usually have very poor off-axis.
This would be okay if we listened to one speaker directly in front of us.

However with stereo music, we are seated between two speakers and listening to their 30-45 off-axis response.
The poor off-axis response forces us to aim the speakers at our ears (toe-in) to get good sound. This creates a very small "sweet spot" and also distorts the soundstage width and depth.

a3 was designed for its off-axis response.
Below is an unsmoothed graph of quick measurements of our prototype.

You'll see the on-axis (yellow) is the worst but still within a +/- 3db window.
The more important 15(red), 30(brown), and 45(green) degree measurements are almost identical, providing better response over a much wider listening area, and requiring little to no toe-in. Even at 45 degrees, we have extended response well past 20k, and there is also no sign of the crossover in any of the response curves