![sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4bCUTLWyicM/maxresdefault.jpg)
Depending on the frequency, the reflected sound can be in-phase with the directly radiated sound from the speaker driver resulting in 0dB at the listening position.
![sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength](https://images.hive.blog/DQmYVTvRpqSU6eSi3uzMncBG21XCnyTHJt3ueCXNaqecED1/Gif_Difracci%C3%B3n%20del%20sonido.gif)
The result is 6dB attenuation at low frequencies due to total refraction and nulls occurring at high frequency where almost total reflection occurs. As a result, the sound wave propagating across the baffle is both reflected and diffracted when it meets the edge of the baffle, with the ratio of reflection/diffraction at any given point being related to the geometry of the baffle, the location of the speaker driver on the baffle and the frequency. My understanding (someone correct me if wrong):īaffle edge diffraction is caused by the abrupt change in acoustic impedance that occurs at the edge of the baffle. My question to you is: Why are established manufacturers not doing this, is it a limitation of visual appeal ? Is it tradition ? Lack of imagination ? Lack of using correct materials ? yes, instead of a hard and flat surface that by no stretch of the imagination can absorb or heavily dampen the reflected sound, you create a soft surface, soft enough to take care of the critical section which is from Low Midrange to Upper Midrange (250-4kHz) and perhaps the Presence (4-6Khz), the bass is what it is, difficult to control. Okay: Why not use adequate damping materials on the front ? LOL.Īre you paying attention ? can you see where I am taking this debate towards ? no / yes. So we accept internal damping because we need to - unless you are designing with open baffle, well, good for you, no need to brag about no issues. remember, we are dealing with what and how the front is dealing with the sound. Yes yes, there are other hardware solutions to aid in this, but that is a different debate.
![sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Sound-Wave-Diagram.png)
No one is questioning the use of damping materials on the inside, because it works. Why, because the cone material is transparent to sound and to have two conflicting notes being played almost at the same time creates distorted and ugly sound. What do virtually all loudspeaker manufacturers do inside the cabinet, they use damping materials, why, to absorb internal reflected sound. Well, as I mentioned, you need to absorb the reflected sound. We could go with a cylindrical baffle but we are not, we are sticking to a flat surface because its easier and simpler AND cheaper, so now we arrive at the question of how do we address the diffraction for this surface. Its often made of hard materials and the latest trend is using aluminum which is from this perspective, even worse than wood materials. So lets attack the flat front and issue #1: Its made of materials that do not absorb sound. Traditional cabinet solutions with a flat surface are not so lucky and usually deal with the issues by means of narrow designs - very little of the front outside the driver frame, others add beveled edges to smooth out the edge diffraction and while beveled edges is a good solution, you are still left with the flat front. The best shape is a sphere with no section of the baffle outside of the driver itself, and while there are some manufacturers that use this to their benefit, aka produce more direct sound. Ideally we listen only to the recording without reflective sound being added, and this is a huge challenge to accomplish for any loudspeaker producer.
![sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength sound waves diffraction corners radius wavelength](https://web2.ph.utexas.edu/~coker2/index.files/waveobstacle-diffraction.gif)
Namely the baffle "interaction" with the soundwaves being produced. Some with driver technology, some with size and numbers of drivers and some is done with the cabinet shape. This is more a technical aspect of cabinets than a visual one, but a cabinet is more than a home for the drivers, its a furniture, its pleasure and escape to another world and so naturally, we want the loudspeaker to sound just right and this goal is achieved in different ways. I just haven't gotten around to doing serious tests with it. The reason why I started this thread is do debate and get input on something I've been thinking about for quite some time. I am not going to go into depths of describing and talking about what baffle diffraction is, I am sure you are more than capable to do some basic research on the topic.