A method for measuring and describing horn drivers and horns as independent parts was investigated. It is shown that the well-known two-port representation can be adopted for system characterization considering certain assumptions and limitations. The horn driver is represented as a two-port whereas the horn is characterized by its acoustical input impedance and, due to its three-dimensional sound radiation, by its on-axis transfer function and a relative directivity. With both sets of parameters the electrical input impedance, the transfer function, and the directivity of any horn driver/horn combination can be synthesized by a software tool without a need for measuring the real combination. This method speeds up procedures of either loudspeaker system design or the design and optimization of new horn drivers and horns, respectively. Besides the general-purpose measuring techniques, some specialized measuring equipment is required such as an impedance tube fitted to the horn throat and an anechoic chamber to record the directivity of the horn. Finally, all possible combinations of seven horn drivers and eleven horns have been studied to show the reliability of the method.
Authors:
Behler, Gottfried K.; Makarski, Michael
Affiliation:
Institute of Technical Acoustics, University of Aachen, Aachen, Germany
JAES Volume 51 Issue 10 pp. 883-897; October 2003
Publication Date:
October 15, 2003
Click to purchase paper as a non-member or you can login as an AES member to see more options.
No AES members have commented on this paper yet.
To be notified of new comments on this paper you can
subscribe to this RSS feed.
Forum users should login to see additional options.
If you are not yet an AES member and have something important to say about this paper then we urge you to join the AES today and make your voice heard. You can join online today by clicking here.