Focal in their top range likes to tilt their mids and woofers.
Is there any pro to do this?
Maybe time alignment or lobbing?
Is there any pro to do this?
Maybe time alignment or lobbing?
It wouldn't have an effect on lobing.
When I see this Star Trek computer squiggle it reminds me of the Focal logo.
When I see this Star Trek computer squiggle it reminds me of the Focal logo.
I've seen other speakers with odd-shaped tilts and boxes.
It's just another gimmick to lure people with.
Just like those spikes and all the other dreamed-up nonsense.
It's just another gimmick to lure people with.
Just like those spikes and all the other dreamed-up nonsense.
Depending on the crossover frequencies, there might be a dB or two of change in the frequency response as you angle the driver +/- a few degrees.
I'd say it's probably more aesthetic than functional, though.
Chris
I'd say it's probably more aesthetic than functional, though.
Chris
What is the gimmick? I read the descriptions at Focal and they make no claims that this shape is doing anything particular. I can imagine a few possible benefits but I would guess it is mainly to differentiate their speaker's looks from all the other boxy speakers out there.
If tweeter is not at ear height it probably pays off to tilt it, the high octave beam towards ear to hear it better. Speaker with direct radiating drivers is gonna radiate quite wide so it doesn't matter much, except for the beaming frequencies, shorter wavelengths than the smallest transducer.
There are other "angled" speaker systems out there if you search enough.
It's been a recent "trend" towards "something different, something striking".
One guy does it..... others follow.
Like fashion, styling, cars.... etc.
It's all about looks, superficiality is powerful.
As for focal, Apple, and a few others, I dislike the ones I've had to repair for customers that have those plastic basket woofers.
They sag over time and voice coils rub, all for a hefty bloated pricetag.
Give me metal basket speakers anytime.
The plastic baskets you have run into musten’t be of the same as those i have, a good plastic basket my preference.
dave
dave
It would be nice to see how a design like this effects the polar response. I'd imagine that it would improve "near field" listening as well as floor and ceiling splash.
They were in Focal tower speakers.
Expensively priced, yet to me they're bloated garbage.
You pay $1400 for a pair of speakers, and get lousy short-lived plastic speakers?
Utter nonsense.
I can make one later with viruixcad ideal drivers unless someone else posts one earlier. Reasoning takes far though, In that particular focal case the tilt probably makes the tweeter little bit further than the woofers perhaps for better phase tracking at some angle but the effect is minor as the crossover is probably somewhere 2kHz, which is 17cm long and centimeter here or there is not much. Direct radiating system like this is typically crossed over from bigger to smaller driver whenever the response starts to narrow, or preferably even earlier to keep smooth off-axis response and for this reason response would be quite the same within listening window despite small tilt up to many kHz. Coverage angle is pretty much set just by the baffle size up until the tweeter starts to beam, because that tweeter plays without low pass filter and really beams at top frequency. Hence main difference is just at high treble level at listening position depending if now listening less or more on-axis to the tweeter. There is probably some difference around crossovers but its hard to see that it would benefit much.
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^ as I'm just a hobbyist the writings are mostly just reasoning over stuff I remember observing from few projects and sims and reading from the web 😀 so, take it as is. I'm glad though someone likes it, reasoning is good way forward and hopefully my writings encourage everyone do so with their own. imagining the invisible is quite much fun 🙂
Focals' manual has a page on this feature. Looks to be a way to vary "focus" of the drivers with listening distance.