Closefield, not Near Field

[sarumbear]

I want to talk about a bit of history.

I invented the term Closefield back in early-90s when we introduced the worlds fist Closefield Monitor Silver5L.

I believed that the small area where the listener and the speaker are placed near to each other, like on a desk, should not be called Near Field because the term is already defined in acoustic engineering for something else.

Near Sound Field: that part of a sound field, usually within about two wavelengths of a noise source, where there is no simple relationship between sound level and distance, where the sound pressure does not obey the Inverse Square Law and the Particle Velocity is not in phase with the Sound Pressure.

http://www.acoustic-glossary.co.uk/sound-fields.htm

Obviously as the sound in a room does decay at 6 dB for a doubling of the distance from the speaker, the listener and the speaker are not in a near-field. Hence, all those small speakers on the market that are advertised as Near Field are using the wrong term.

Here is how I explained the concept back in 1993, when "near field" was not yet a thing. We had t-shirts made with "Closefield, not Near Field" written on, which we distributed at trade shows

Unfortunately, like most thing in marketing the term near field became the de-facto but totally wrong name for small monitors that can be mounted at a desk. As a small company with limited marketing budget the term "closefield" lost.

 

[SSS]

I want to talk about a bit of history.

I invented the term Closefield back in early-90s when we introduced the worlds fist Closefield Monitor Silver5L.

I believed that the small area where the listener and the speaker are placed near to each other, like on a desk, should not be called Near Field because the term is already defined in acoustic engineering for something else.


http://www.acoustic-glossary.co.uk/sound-fields.htm

Obviously as the sound in a room does decay at 6 dB for a doubling of the distance from the speaker, the listener and the speaker are not in a near-field. Hence, all those small speakers on the market that are advertised as Near Field are using the wrong term.

Here is how I explained the concept back in 1993, when "near field" was not yet a thing. We had t-shirts made with "Closefield, not Near Field" written on, which we distributed at trade shows

Unfortunately, like most thing in marketing the term near field became the de-facto but totally wrong name for small monitors that can be mounted at a desk. As a small company with limited marketing budget the term "closefield" lost.

Closefield, nearfield. All is just a question of definition which can vary. How close is close and how near is near?

 

[sarumbear]

Closefield, nearfield. All is just a question of definition which can vary. How close is close and how near is near?

You are missing my point. Nearfield is a defined acoustic term, which is used for another phenomenon. Will it be normal if your optician tells you, you need close-field glasses?

 

[René - Acculution.com]

You are missing my point. Nearfield is a defined acoustic term, which is used for another phenomenon. Will it be normal if your optician tells you, you need close-field glasses?

I actually appreciate this overlooked post. There is a difference between the two, and it follows suit with many of my own posts tackling issues where there seemingly is a consensus to believe inaccurate or even wrong statements as facts. I am actually planning a video called something like Nuance or Nuisance, where I go through some of these topics.

 

[192kbps]

Near-Field™ Monitoring​

Ed invented Near-Field™ Monitoring. This monitoring technique was developed and detailed by Ed through the 70’s and by 1979 the technique was used by professional recording engineers all over the world. It is now used at some stage in the production of almost every recording made.

E. M. Long

E. M. Long, Loudspeaker Designer, Patent Holder, Consultant and contributor to many audio journals and magazines and Key Person to Bag End

bagend.com