Brian cringes when amatuer know-nuthings like me make these suggestions. But sometimes he ends up incorporating them, which does nothing but encourage us! So it's not all my fault!
I was thinking about 2-1/2 way xo's, which are quite common. You know, when there's something like dual matching 6.5s & a tweeter. The dual 6.5s often have staggered low-pass poles; one signs off at 800 Hz while the other goes up another octave or so, where the tweeter takes over. The purpose is to minimize overlapping output at higher frequencies between the two 6.5s, the reasoning being that differences between drivers & arrival time will be audible as distortion to the listener. So far, so good, right? (I suppose this theory could be extended up to the multiple planar mids. My only assumption is that the exponentially lower THD outweighs the differences between drivers & arrival times. Plus the CDW probably minimizes the downside too.)
Focusing on the RM30C & its dual 6.5s: Could it possibly benefit if VMPS added an extra coil acting only on the lowermost 6.5? Sorry for repeating this, but go ahead & spend about $5 on a tuning fork or harmonica or anything w/ a middle C fundamental, about equal to the xo pole between the 6.5s & the planars. This is about 260 Hz. The first-order XO has moderately significant output up a few octaves beyond the pole frequency.
Regarding the V60: Its wiring method yields 3 dB less output from each of the side-firing 6.5s vs. the front-firing, minimizing any potential advantage from staggered poles. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try it on the V60 if the 30 benefited (it might not).
Don't know much about the 10" drivers currently in the RM40.
In any model, even equipped w/ OXO, the extra pole component could be installed internally, & be semi-permanent. In this way, it's effect would be present even if an outboard active XO was employed. External siting would require a third binding post just for the bass. Duplicating this staggered pole in the active domain would require two seperate poles & two seperate amps-yech!. This means the extra pole for the lower 6.5 only should be an internal, permanent, & non-bypassable function. It would act on only one driver in the case of the 30, two in the case of the 60.
Brian will shoot me.
