Text & Photos: Olaf Adam
This article originally appeared in 0dB - The Magazine of Passion N ° 3
For Manfred Diestertich, chief developer of Audio Physic, the enemy of good sound is quickly recognized: vibrations; more precisely, those that cannot be controlled.
A loudspeaker chassis is above all a mechanical system. When electricity and magnetism do their work, the voice coil moves the membrane, which in turn moves the air. At the same time, however, the chassis is supported against its attachment, so it also transfers part of the sound energy to the housing. And in return, any type of housing vibration also affects its own work.
That is why Manfred combats vibrations wherever possible in his developments for Audio Physic. The drivers are anchored in the housing using neoprene dowels. Switch control and connection terminal are also decoupled from the body.
A separate line of accessories has even emerged from the fight against unwanted vibrations. The "Vibration Control Feet" (VCF) were developed for your own loudspeakers, but can also be purchased separately. With the VCF Component there is also a variant for hi-fi devices available, and the VCF Magnetic make the loudspeaker literally float on a magnetic field. Even cables can be protected against environmental vibrations with the VCF Cable Support - with an amazing sonic effect.
A main focus of development at Audio Physic, however, is the chassis itself. Diestertich and Audio Physic have been using a double basket construction for a long time, in which a cushioning material is used between two basket parts. The moving parts of the driver are not directly connected to the housing, so they transmit fewer vibrations to the rest of the speaker and are themselves isolated from other housing vibrations.
This approach already works very well, but as part of a research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics, Manfred recently succeeded in significantly improving the principle again. In the modern 3D printing process, a double basket made of different materials could be realized, which was optimized in terms of weight, air flow and vibration dampening in a way that would not have been possible with conventional manufacturing methods. The complex driver celebrated its debut, together with several other innovative technologies, in the new top model from Audio Physic, the STRUCTURE.
Even if the inventor has come very close to his ideal of pure sound, he does not give up the search for further improvement. He has long been working on the next developments, and a new research project has just started. Manfred keeps the details to himself for the time being. With a smile he only mentions that the idea has something to do with the wings of a dragonfly ...
