Pioneer TAD-R1 owner manual Technology, Beryllium Diaphragms

TECHNOLOGY

Beryllium Diaphragms

Each TAD Reference One loudspeaker features proprietary beryllium-manufacturing technology for the midrange and tweeter diaphragms. The lightest and most rigid metal available for diaphragms, beryllium performs with strength and damping characteristics unmatched by any of the materials currently used in high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturing, as shown in Figure 1. Beryllium’s combination of light weight and exceptional strength enables diaphragm resonance to be pushed far beyond the operating band of its drive units. This produces near-perfect piston behavior in the speakers, resulting in cleaner sound and greater accuracy of reproduction.

Velocity (m/s)

18 000

16 000

14 000

12 000

10 000

8 000

6000

4000

2 000

0

0.005 0.015 0.025

Inner Loss

Figure 1. Velocity properties of beryllium and other materials.

CST

The heart of the system is the Coherent Source Transducer (CST), shown in Figure 2. The tweeter diaphragm is mounted concentrically within the apex of the midrange cone and provides a point source of sound from 250 Hz to 100 kHz. It is time coherent, due to the shallow midrange-cone profile made possible by the superior strength of beryllium, and produces a superbly-controlled radiation pattern. CST ensures a perfect spectral balance between the direct and reflected sounds that arrive at the listener’s ears, providing a more consistent sound throughout the listening room and improved imaging capability.

Figure 2. The TAD Reference One’s Coherent

Source Transducer

TAD Reference One Owner’s Manual 5