Is time delay necessary with tapped horns

[john dozier]

I am planning on adding two 25hz tapped horns to augment my Paradigm Sig1s. Do I really need to delay the Paradigms? Every time delay unit I have heard does nasty things to the SQ. Can I get by without the delay and still have good integration assuming a 24db low pass. Thanks

[Top Shelf]

Every instance of discussion that I have read about TH's ,when the discussions get technical there is mention of delay. I've seen numbers from a few millisecs up to 16 ms. I'm sure every design has its own inherent amount.

[bjorno]

Originally Posted by john dozier

I am planning on adding two 25hz tapped horns to augment my Paradigm Sig1s. Do I really need to delay the Paradigms? Every time delay unit I have heard does nasty things to the SQ. Can I get by without the delay and still have good integration assuming a 24db low pass. Thanks

Hi,

IMO, If the Pre-Pulse is separated from the Main-Pulse more than ~10 mS:

The Main speakers needs to be 'time' aligned with the TH:s using signal delays.
10 mS is the typical ear integration (fusing) time when listening to music.

Within this time the localization cues and sound onset(attack) characteristics are established but not the ear/brain pitch determination for signals below ~100Hz as they need more than ~3 periods to be tonally heard.

Most TH:s that are digging lower than ~30 Hz have a large time separation between the front and rear acoustical signals.

In that respect I find T-TQWT's are superior (SQ-wise too) compared to TH:s as they normally are designed without needing signal delay's for the Main speakers or to be FR tamed using EQ's.

I don't think signal delay units are to be blamed if bad SQ appears but instead the operator of the equipment when doing a lousy system integration of the speakers.

b

[mattlong8]

If I recall correctly aligning TH-118s to SH-60s separated by about 6' had a 7-11ms delay depending on the room and the angle of the SH-60.

-Matt Long
San Francisco, CA