Slanted baffles and driver orientation

[littlesaint]

If one were implementing a slanted baffle design, is it necessary to adjust the mounting of the driver in the baffle to maintain a 90 degree orientation with the horizontal plane? It seems to me keeping the driver oriented with the baffle would result in it being horizontally off-axis to the listener. At least more so than a normal, 90 degree baffle with the upper frequency drivers at ear level.

[Hdale85]

Well generally that sort of design is used for time alignment of the drivers. That being said most recommend to not do this with a design that was designed in a conventional box. But I have heard the NatP's in this type of enclosure and they still sounded great.

[Jed]

If one were implementing a slanted baffle design, is it necessary to adjust the mounting of the driver in the baffle to maintain a 90 degree orientation with the horizontal plane? It seems to me keeping the driver oriented with the baffle would result in it being horizontally off-axis to the listener. At least more so than a normal, 90 degree baffle with the upper frequency drivers at ear level.

On a slanted baffle, the crossover can correct for an upward tilted vertical lobing pattern, depending on the order or slope that is used.

That said, a 90 degree baffle has some limitations if you want to do LR2 slopes, for example. In that situation, you would more than likely need a delay circuit to align the phase of the midrange and tweeter. One advantage of using a sloped baffle is to help align the acoustic centers of the tweeter and midrange, but then you have the off axis response to take into consideration as well- like you mentioned- which then can be corrected electrically in the crossover to point the main lobe at the listener seated position.

A straight 90 degree baffle can be considered a good solution for certain slopes, but not necessarily the best scenario for others. The stepped vertical baffles can help align phase and benefit the user if he/she wants a LR2 slope (like the slanted slope), but it can also introduce more diffraction if felt is not used around the sharp transitions from one baffle section to the next.