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Planar Magnetic Loudspeakers and Ribbon Tweeters

Planar magnetic drivers, ribbon tweeters and other dynamic speakers have several advantages. Their large diaphragms need only just a tiny amount of movement (excursion), allowing them to produce the same sound as an ordinary speaker.

They also have dipolar radiation patterns, meaning that they radiate equally in front and behind the speaker.

High-Resolution Sound

Planar and ribbon magnetic speakers are famous for their ability to deliver precise, detailed sound. They are known for delivering high-resolution, revealing subtle nuances in music that other drivers are unable to reproduce or reveal.

Ribbon and planar drivers are not only precise, but also provide superior soundstages that allow them to recreate a vast soundstage with exceptional clarity. This makes them a great choice for audiophiles and home audiophiles who wish to listen to music to the maximum extent possible.

Planar and ribbon drivers are distinguished by their dipole pattern. This pattern radiates equal amounts of energy the front and back, with an inverted phase, resulting in an authentic soundstage. Their broad dispersion and dipole radiation pattern make them ideal for large spaces, where they can create a natural and spacious soundstage.

Planar magnetic drivers also have a rapid response time, Planar magnetic loudspeakers which allows them reproduce transients with greater precision and speed than traditional cone drivers. This produces a clear and detailed sound even at high frequencies.

Planar magnetic drivers are also known for their low distortion. This is due to the fact that they don't use a voice coil, but rather an electrostatic field. This allows the diaphragms move without causing vibrations that can cause distortion.

A planar driver also has a greater distance between the magnets than cone speakers. This results in a better frequency response and lower distortion at lower amplitudes but still delivering high-quality bass.

Despite their many benefits, planar magnetic drivers have some limitations to consider. They can be costly and require more power to other types of speakers. Also, they can be large and difficult to install in some spaces. They are also sensitive to the room acoustics and require extensive treatment of the room to achieve optimal performance. However, there are solutions to reduce these issues, such as by adding an attenuation resistor (provided by your speakers) in the attenuation position, or by applying some kind of room treatment.

Wide Dispersion

Like electrostatic speakers, planar magnetic speakers produce sound by controlling the electrical current passing through wires that are suspended between magnets. However, they directly vibrate a flat diaphragm, rather than an electrostatic charge which means they have a larger surface area and more precision. This principle of operation also makes it possible to build them into smaller, more affordable speakers and headphones than electrostatic models.

Planar drivers are not just capable of dispersing sound effectively, but also deliver a better image and clarity at higher frequencies. This is an enormous benefit for audiophiles who love listening to their favorite music or films in an expansive living room or any other open space.

Planar drivers also can produce an extremely deep bass as they can be augmented with subwoofers in boxes that are connected to or separated from the ribbon-like membrane. This is in contrast to traditional cone-type speaker woofers which are typically located in the bottom of the cabinet, which is a place that cannot reproduce bass frequencies due to the physical constraints of the enclosure that houses the woofer.

Another advantage of the planar driver is that it has extremely low distortion which is directly linked to the size and length of the ribbon-like diaphragm. A planar speaker can create a large volume of sound with no distortion. This is why the sound reproduction is so clear and detailed.

In comparison the dynamic drivers utilized in traditional headphones and speakers typically have significant distortion when they are driven to the limits of extreme excursion. Dynamic drivers can give an unnatural or booming sound.

Planar magnetic drivers are extremely efficient. They require less power to drive, resulting in a lower energy consumption and less environmental impact. In addition, their diaphragms are typically comprised of lighter materials than conventional speakers, which further decreases the amount of energy needed to propel them to create a given sound pressure.

Many audiophiles have heard of planar/ribbon speakers such as those manufactured by Magnepan Infinity and Apogee Acoustics. However, an entirely new brand is available. For example, new planar loudspeakers from manufacturers like Diptyque and Clarisys Audio are incorporating the most advanced ribbon technology.

Low Distortion

Planar magnetic speakers exhibit extremely low distortion because they don't utilize the conventional dome-shaped diaphragm or cone. This is due to their unique design which eliminates voice coil inductance that is common to dynamic speaker drivers. (See U.S. patent 6,353,560). This results in the diaphragm not being out of phase with its surrounding magnetic field, which results in the output level remains constant. In general, distortion only occurs when high-amplitude waveforms are reproduced. With a planar magnetic planar headphones single-ended driver, distortion is almost absent at frequencies above bass.

In addition to their extremely low distortion and low distortion, planar magnetic loudspeakers provide very high efficiency. This allows the drive to use much less power than other speaker technologies. This results in lower cost of ownership and a lower energy consumption.

The distortion of planar magnetic drivers is also significantly lower than traditional dynamic speakers, and even more so for electrostatic speakers. This is due to the fact that the flat diaphragm has an electrical conductor trace that lets it to react to magnetic fields that are generated on either side.

The two magnets need to be placed so that the voice element stays in the magnetic field at optimum levels throughout the time. This is what enables the extremely linear performance of planar magnetic drivers in all frequencies above the bass.

While there are many other benefits of planar magnetic drivers, the most significant is the fact that they can to be designed to be either dipole (radiating equally and in opposing phases in the front and back of the speaker, similar to an ESL) or Monopole (radiating forward, more like the traditional dynamic). This allows for a variety of designs, particularly when paired with the ribbon-tweeter.

Many planar magnetic loudspeakers can be found today from brands such as Hifiman, Dan Clark, Planar Magnetic Loudspeakers Audeze, and Fostex. Each manufacturer has its own signature sound that is the result of their patented driver configurations and other technological innovations. The commonality among these speakers is their astonishing detail, dynamics and controlled directionality.

High Power Handling

Planar magnetic speakers can handle more power than traditional moving coil dynamic drivers without the audible strain and stress that they may cause. The "voice coil" is not squeezed into the small gap between the baskets and cones like in traditional dynamic drivers. Instead it is spread over an area larger. This gives the voice-coil a larger surface to dissipate any heat.

Planar drivers can handle a lot of power because they are so lightweight compared to conventional drivers. Dynamic drivers use diaphragms made of heavy, thick material that are several orders of magnitude heavier and thicker than the diaphragms that are ultra-light and thin used in planar magnetic drivers. Because of their mass, conventional diaphragms require a greater amount of force to move back and forth (a measure referred to as excursion) to create an equal amount of sound pressure.

In the end they aren't able to be driven as effectively as the planar magnetic driver because the voice coil will begin to produce large amounts of distortion. This is the reason it's essential to buy only speakers that are rated for the amplifier you're planning to drive them with.

The high excitation of a planar magnetic driver enables it to create a wider soundstage than conventional drivers. This is due to the diaphragm's vibration uniformly and flat to form an asymmetrical wavefront, not the spherical wavefront that is typical with conventional drivers. The wider soundstage also improves the accuracy and detail of the speakers and allows them to better reproduce nuances and complex sounds.

The drawback of the superior power handling that is offered by planar magnetic drives is that they can be more expensive to produce and require larger amplifiers to drive them at their full capacity. They can also be heavy and large, which can make them difficult to install in some locations. They also tend to have a limited bass response, which means you may need to add a subwoofer your system in order to get a satisfying result at lower frequencies.