[Dick Pierce[_2_]]

Audio Empire wrote:
M-L Electrostatics are push-pull and cone speakers
are single-ended. That means that harmonic distortion
in cone speakers will be much harder to control than
it is in electrostatics.

This is myth for several reasons.

First, the something is "push-pull" does NOT mean it is
inherently lower in dostortion than something that is
single-ended. What it means is that something that is push
pull will have, if there are non linearities in the driving
force, symmetrical non-linearities which are odd-order,
as opposed non-symmetrical non-linearities which even-order.

Secondly, a properly design electrocstatic speaker will have
very low displacement-dependent drive force non-linearities
only for VERY small excursions.

Thirdly, all this "push-pull" and "symmetrical" and "linearity"
makes several assumptions which simply do not hold in practice:
that the mechanical compliance vs displacement is constant, that
the diaphragm moves as a single unit over its entire surface. In
electrostatics, none of these assumptions are even remotely met
under any operating conditions.

Fourthly, your assertion that "come speaker are single ended" is
simply not true: it is certainly possible and many examples exist
where both the excursion-dependent drive force and mechanical
ciompliance for cone speakers is no less linear than for an
electrostatic producing the same SPL at the same frequency, and that
the non-linarieies are symmetrical about the rest position.

Fifthly, any issues regarding non-linearities in compliance are
only of relevance below the fundamental mechanical resonance, where
the diaphragm is stiffness-controlled. Above resonance, they are
mass controlled, and suspension non-linearities are largely irrelevant.

If one wants to argue the superiority of electrostatics over cone
speakers, there's plenty of ammunition in the fact that most good
electrostatics have no enclosure and thus do not suffer from
enclosure problems.

On the other hand, those wishing to argue the opposite will find
fertile ground in the fact that electrostatuics have no
enclosure, and this suffer from all the problems of not having
an enclosure.

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+ Dick Pierce |
+ Professional Audio Development |
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