Abstract:

Although the ribbon driver has been around for many decades, it is still quite unknown to many people. A particular ribbon driver, which acts as a tweeter/midrange, was developed by Image Acoustics, Inc. The driver evolved from a multiple ribbon with substrate to a single corrugated ribbon design with a transformer. Throughout the development and testing the goal was a flat response, broad bandwidth (650 Hz to 20 kHz), wide beamwidth, and high sensitivity. This was not easy to achieve. A low-loss and low-inductive electric system as well as a strong magnetic field were required. The reduction of the inductance played a large part in achieving a flat response in the 15- to 20-kHz band. The approach and techniques used to achieve the desired results will be presented.