{"id":70,"date":"2016-03-14T23:57:30","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T23:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/?p=70"},"modified":"2022-07-13T06:49:02","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T13:49:02","slug":"better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/","title":{"rendered":"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you like it or not, sound waves will always radiate spherically<\/em> from a sound source (such as a loudspeaker). Don\u2019t believe me? Try throwing a rectangular brick into a pond. Do you think the larger ripples will resolve into rectangles or circles?<\/p>\n

Audiovisual professionals have long used rectangular shaped horns as the go-to option for many spaces because they were believed to be efficient at directing high-frequency sound in straight lines to cover the audience areas. Unfortunately, sound waves have a tendency to misbehave (you can thank the laws of physics for that!)<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s true that typical rectangular horns can deliver some useful pattern control at higher frequencies (ie 4-8kHz) where the horn width times height is larger than the wavelengths that they are \u201cguiding\u201d, issues arise at lower frequencies where the horn width times height may be smaller than the wavelengths they are attempting to guide (ie 1-2kHz). Furthermore, when the height of the horn is really short, you\u2019ll see the vertical coverage pattern of certain frequencies collapse earlier than the horizontal coverage pattern, and something called \u2018pattern flip\u2019 occurs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a>
Figure 1. 90\u00b0x50\u00b0 polar balloons (left) compared to 90\u00b0x90\u00b0 DMT balloons. The 90\u00b0x90\u00b0 maintains good conical dispersion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Physics tells us that the coverage patterns for woofers and horns are influenced by both their size and shape, respective to wavelength, and at shorter wavelengths a woofer\u2019s coverage will always narrow (this is referred to as \u2018beaming\u2019). A conventional rectangular horn typically has a nominal pattern of 90 degrees horizontally by 50\u00b0 vertically, while a 12\u201d or 15\u201d woofer will exhibit beaming at the crossover which results in a conical coverage pattern of 75-90\u00b0.<\/p>\n

The byproduct of trying to blend these disparate coverage patterns is something called off-axis coloration<\/strong>. For those folks sitting off-axis they will hear a frequency response that is VERY different to those folks sitting on-axis.<\/strong> Furthermore this on-axis vs off-axis<\/em> disparity cannot be corrected with EQ \u2013 it is inherent in the loudspeaker design!<\/p>\n

QSC\u2019s guiding design principle for loudspeakers is called Directivity Matched Transition\u2122 (DMT), which leverages the principles of physics (rather than fighting against them) by selecting the optimal crossover point for a desired HF driver, then mounting that HF driver onto a horn with a geometry and coverage pattern that perfectly matches the woofer\u2019s coverage pattern at the same crossover point.<\/p>\n

Hearing is Believing – Request a Demo<\/h4>\n

Experience QSC’s AcousticDesign Series loudspeakers first hand.
\nRequest a demo<\/a><\/span> and a QSC sales representative will contact you to set up a demo in your office.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you like it or not, sound waves will always radiate spherically from a sound source (such as a loudspeaker). Don\u2019t believe me? Try throwing a rectangular brick into a pond. Do you think the larger ripples will resolve into rectangles or circles? Audiovisual professionals have long used rectangular shaped horns as the go-to option … Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-uncategorized","post_format-post-format-link"],"yoast_head":"\nBetter Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics - Q-SYS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics - Q-SYS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Whether you like it or not, sound waves will always radiate spherically from a sound source (such as a loudspeaker). Don\u2019t believe me? Try throwing a rectangular brick into a pond. Do you think the larger ripples will resolve into rectangles or circles? Audiovisual professionals have long used rectangular shaped horns as the go-to option … Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Q-SYS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-14T23:57:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-13T13:49:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Fuller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Fuller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/\",\"name\":\"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics - Q-SYS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-14T23:57:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-13T13:49:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#\/schema\/person\/646388f81f7c921e06516a1d5517ce18\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/\",\"name\":\"Q-SYS\",\"description\":\"System Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#\/schema\/person\/646388f81f7c921e06516a1d5517ce18\",\"name\":\"David Fuller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65a7189d9992e105c11fe634d6e11c6ea2bf0928f454006008b72a2499ed8ab1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65a7189d9992e105c11fe634d6e11c6ea2bf0928f454006008b72a2499ed8ab1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Fuller\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/author\/dfuller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics - Q-SYS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics - Q-SYS","og_description":"Whether you like it or not, sound waves will always radiate spherically from a sound source (such as a loudspeaker). Don\u2019t believe me? Try throwing a rectangular brick into a pond. Do you think the larger ripples will resolve into rectangles or circles? Audiovisual professionals have long used rectangular shaped horns as the go-to option … Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/","og_site_name":"Q-SYS","article_published_time":"2016-03-14T23:57:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-13T13:49:02+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"David Fuller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Fuller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/","name":"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics - Q-SYS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-14T23:57:30+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-13T13:49:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#\/schema\/person\/646388f81f7c921e06516a1d5517ce18"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de-DE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/03\/DMT_balloon_figure3.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/2016\/03\/14\/better-loudspeaker-design-for-real-rooms-is-pure-physics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Better Loudspeaker Design Is Pure Physics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/","name":"Q-SYS","description":"System Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"de-DE"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#\/schema\/person\/646388f81f7c921e06516a1d5517ce18","name":"David Fuller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65a7189d9992e105c11fe634d6e11c6ea2bf0928f454006008b72a2499ed8ab1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65a7189d9992e105c11fe634d6e11c6ea2bf0928f454006008b72a2499ed8ab1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Fuller"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/author\/dfuller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qsc.com\/systems\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}