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Transmission-line speakers

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Kvalsvoll

Kvalsvoll

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These days I use MatLab for almost everything :) Like you, I also believe in simulation before prototyping. I designed Silver 5L the same way.

I was interested in damping material simulation but you have answered my question. Thank you.
Matlab is probably a good idea. I have used Matlab for dynamic systems simulations, back when I was working with cybernetics/control systems.

Nice speaker, and I observe the bass is moved out to separate boxes, like it should be.
 
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Kvalsvoll

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Speaking of prototypes:

OlqLuen.jpg

source: https://www.bowerswilkins.com/en-gb/blog/products/history-of-nautilus
Now here we have a REAL transmission line.
 
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Kvalsvoll

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I think you should really like to do TL, Horn and so on if you want to do well. See it as a challenge,
I like the challenge of everything that is difficult. And today, with the computers and software available, it is a very different world from back when trying to calculate of a horn from simple formulas using a calculator.
 

sarumbear

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Kvalsvoll

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Was that before or after B&W Natilius?
I haven no idea what speaker this is. Does not look like a b&W - oh, wait, went back to the post by @tuga - there is a link to a b&w page, so I guess it is a b&w.
 

Vladimir Filevski

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I'm a little late to the party, but here is my practical and theoretical experience with Transmission Line (TL) loudspeakers:
1. Almost all TL loudspeakers which have been designed without George L. Augspurger's TLworks, or Martin J. King's TL MathCad worksheets, or David McBean's HornResp, are plain wrong.
2. All TL loudspeakers measured so far in Stereophile magazine and SoundStage are plain wrong.
3. How can you recognize if the TL design is wrong? By two tell-tales signs:
a) Frequency response has big notch (or depression) at about 150 - 200 Hz (lower in bigger boxes). Also, frequency response in smaller enclosures is not extended toward low bass, in contrast to vented enclosures with similar volume and efficiency.
b) Impedance has two prominent peaks in the bass (like bass-reflex box).
4. Although "theoretical" definition for TL is "infinite long pipe which absorbs woofer's back wave", the practical definition for TL is something like this: "vented enclosure with quarter wavelength resonance (long channel/line) at, or lower than woofer own resonant frequency". This means that the output from the TL port should contribute the woofer output. TL channel/line length is about ¼ wavelength of cut-off frequency.
5. Mass-loaded TL (ML TL) is a different beast - it is bass-reflex box with TL quarter wavelength resonance, or TL box with restricted terminus. We can skip it for now.
6. Optimal TL design has woofer placed not in the beginning of TL channel, but with some offset. Classic Bailey TL (from 1965) and modern PMC TLs have woofers at the beginning of the line and therefore are not optimal designs.
7. The optimal TL impedance should have depressed lower (first) impedance peak (or completely flat), leaving only the second impedance peak higher in the bass. It is mostly stuffing/damping issue.
8. Optimally designed TL enclosure has tight, punchy bass – even with high Qts woofers. Enclosure volume is moderate to very big. Low cut-off frequency is higher than a vented box with the same driver, but lower than in closed box. All-in-all, not worth the pain, except for moderate to high Qts woofers.
 
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Kvalsvoll

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2. All TL loudspeakers measured so far in Stereophile magazine and SoundStage are plain wrong.
Hard to argue against, though I may not have read all the reviews. Makes me wonder what kind of - if any - engineering goes into hifi products.

But - as I already mentioned - perhaps it was intentional. To create a unique sound.
 
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Kvalsvoll

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@Vladimir Filevski I am glad that someone mentioned Martin J. King and his work at http://www.quarter-wave.com

He recently posted an article about TLs and the impact of taper and stuffing : http://www.quarter-wave.com/TLs/TL_Alignments.pdf
Nice to see M.J. King still publishing, I had a brief look at this new article, highly recommended, here he also points out the similarities and differences between bass-reflex and TL, and talks about what benefits these more complicated designs can offer.
 

beneix

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6. Optimal TL design has woofer placed not in the beginning of TL channel, but with some offset. Classic Bailey TL (from 1965) and modern PMC TLs have woofers at the beginning of the line and therefore are not optimal designs.
That's incorrect for my PMC FB1s:
"The bass driver is positioned around a third of the way along the line and, through skilful balance of the numerous parameters involved, the FB1 has been blessed with a frequency response which extends between 22Hz and 20kHz at the ‑3dB points. In fact, it is substantially flat above 27Hz" (https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/pmc-fb1)

8. Optimally designed TL enclosure has tight, punchy bass – even with high Qts woofers.
That's precisely what I love about my FB1s!
Low cut-off frequency is higher than a vented box with the same driver, but lower than in closed box.
Well, I'm quite happy with -3dB at 22 Hz.
 

pseudoid

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Vladimir Filevski

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That's incorrect for my PMC FB1s:
"The bass driver is positioned around a third of the way along the line and, through skilful balance of the numerous parameters involved, the FB1 has been blessed with a frequency response which extends between 22Hz and 20kHz at the ‑3dB points. In fact, it is substantially flat above 27Hz" (https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/pmc-fb1)
...
Well, I'm quite happy with -3dB at 22 Hz.
Regarding woofers at the beginning of the TL, I stand corrected, but only for models FB1, OB1 and Fact.8. AFAIK, all other PMC models have woofers at the beginning of the TL line (or close).
Unfortunately, although PMC Fact.8 woofer position is not at the beginning of the line, measured frequency response (from Stereophile review https://www.stereophile.com/content/pmc-fact8-signature-loudspeaker) is bad:
420PMC8fig4.jpg

That is far from optimally designed TL.
I could not find measurements for PMC FB1.

Anyway, quoted -3dB at 22Hz for FB1 is PMC's marketing wishful thinking. For example, according to PMC brochure, Fact.8 has frequency response form 28Hz to 20kHz (no +/- dB tolerance), but measured response above clearly show -3dB is at about 50Hz.

Another example: PMC Twenty.24i has about the same enclosure size as FB1, same 6.5" woofer size, same "effective ATL line length of 3m", same "28Hz to 25kHz" frequency response, but the ugly truth is this:
fr_on1530.gif

As we can see, -3dB is higher than 50Hz. (Measurents above are from SoundStage review https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/425-pmc-twenty24-loudspeakers ).
 

beneix

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My listening room is untreated and leaves much to be desired, but a quick SPL measurement in REW of my two FB1s together from my listening position looks like this:
FB1.png

While there are many issues there to sort out (which is why I am just getting into room correction), to me it looks like the in-room frequency response from the FB1 does not drop off like the measurement of the Twenty.24i above.
 

Vladimir Filevski

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Of course in-room responses may have better low bass than anechoic measurements (as in SoundStage). Or worse, depending on the particular room acoustic. That is exactly why all manufacturers (should) give anechoic -3dB tolerances: to compare apples to apples. PMC FB1 frequency response spec is a rotten apple - no way to reach -3dB at 22Hz anechoically, or in a number of rooms different of yours.
Speaking of in-room response, my little B&W standmount speaker has -3dB at 25Hz in my room (left speaker near to corner) and the right speaker is -3dB at 45Hz. But that is completely irrelevant for any other room, including yours.
Your in-room measurement has dip between 150 and 200Hz - it may be room acoustic related, or typical to a badly designed TL. I hope it is former.
3. How can you recognize if the TL design is wrong? By two tell-tales signs:
a) Frequency response has big notch (or depression) at about 150 - 200 Hz ...
b) Impedance has two prominent peaks in the bass (like bass-reflex box).
 
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beneix

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I am aware of the difference between anechoic and in-room measurement. Since there is no measurement to be found on the internet for the FB1s (they are over 20 years old now, so I suppose that is part of the reason), I thought I would just provide a quick-and-dirty substitute in the form of a measurement in my room. The point I was trying to make was that given the response I get between 20 and 50 Hz, I find it unlikely that the FB1 in an anechoic chamber would look anything like the Twenty.24i. By the way, it seems that the official PMC spec is 27Hz-20kHz – not sure where that SoundOnSound review got their numbers from.

Anyway, since I do not live in an anechoic chamber :), I am happy with the FB1s. I just need to improve my room and possibly compensate with some DRC – a future project.

Since the general trend of opinions expressed in this thread was quite dismissive of TL speakers, I thought I would share my own positive experience. I am sure there are bad TL speakers out there; I hope never to encounter them.
 

Vladimir Filevski

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I find it unlikely that the FB1 in an anechoic chamber would look anything like the Twenty.24i. By the way, it seems that the official PMC spec is 27Hz-20kHz
Because Twenty.24 is very similar to FB1, frequency response of FB1 in a anechoic chamber will be very similar to Twenty.24. No way for 27 Hz at -3dB (or -6dB) anechoically. Usually, if there are no -dB tolerances (as here), than it should mean -10dB (at 27Hz), which is quite possible.

Since the general trend of opinions expressed in this thread was quite dismissive of TL speakers, I thought I would share my own positive experience. I am sure there are bad TL speakers out there; I hope never to encounter them.
General trend is dismissive because there are so many badly designed TL speakers. Nothing is wrong with the concept of TL speakers, it only needs a good designer.
 

sergeauckland

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General trend is dismissive because there are so many badly designed TL speakers. Nothing is wrong with the concept of TL speakers, it only needs a good designer.
Exactly. A real TL, i.e. one where all the rear radiation is absorbed, none of this quarter-wave nonsense, is in my view, the best possible bass loading. There should be zero resonances, no energy storage and no honky colorations. The downsides are both cost, due to complexity of construction, and size, as a true TL can't be small. Shipping weight is no small issue either.

If I were to choose a 'no-compromise' loudspeaker, or as near to that as current technology allows, I would choose something like the B&W Nautilus, albeit with modern DSP crossover.

S.
 
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