What an excelent post. Between him and Jeff Bagby they shed light on one of the strangest things I've experienced in DIY speaker building.
Specifically, the sound of a low non-linear distortion speaker.
After having grown up with JBL's, and then upgrading to other brands, and then going the DIY route, I was always intrigued as to why cymbals didn't have enough presence, or there wasn't enough "air" when I compared my own designs to commercial speakers - even when frequency response was similar.
The theory behind the post - which, in one part deals with the Fletcher-Munsen curves, if I understood correctly, and in other part explains the part non-linear distortion plays when listening to speakers- is very, very interesting.
But, in my opinion, it also means well designed speakers will never catch people's attention. Since distortion is what we are used to.
It's very tought-provoking. At least, now I understand why my designs aren't so "exciting" as commercial ones.
Specifically, the sound of a low non-linear distortion speaker.
After having grown up with JBL's, and then upgrading to other brands, and then going the DIY route, I was always intrigued as to why cymbals didn't have enough presence, or there wasn't enough "air" when I compared my own designs to commercial speakers - even when frequency response was similar.
The theory behind the post - which, in one part deals with the Fletcher-Munsen curves, if I understood correctly, and in other part explains the part non-linear distortion plays when listening to speakers- is very, very interesting.
But, in my opinion, it also means well designed speakers will never catch people's attention. Since distortion is what we are used to.
It's very tought-provoking. At least, now I understand why my designs aren't so "exciting" as commercial ones.
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