MCAR Transducers
MCAR Transducers
The long-sought goal in loudspeakers and subwoofer solutions, for gaining additional acoustic output has typically relied on either using substantially larger vented or bandpass enclosures. While these are both fine, provided you have proper subs, and in the right vehicles. However both of these larger enclosure options share downside of often not being well-suited in many platforms, where space is at a premium. The ideal solution would be to offer the additional output of a larger piston area, or the enhanced efficiency of a vented enclosure, but without the obvious downsides of significantly larger enclosure (or the port noise issues vented boxes often have). The ‘MCAR’ (Modular Coupled Acoustic Radiator) transducer technology resolves these challenging issues in a remarkably elegant manner.
Synergy 1+1=3
This ‘hybrid’ design, combining the benefits of a traditional vented (or “Reflex” system) enclosure, with advantages of a more compact form-factor, while avoiding the main compromises of other, larger types. The MCAR transducers use the energy created by the back-wave of the main driver, to acoustically couple with the active subwoofer, providing dramatically more output, in the desired bass frequencies, however for the same tuning frequency, typically 34 – 35 Hz. (the consensus view for optimal ‘sound quality’), the required enclosure will be significantly smaller, vs. what is required for typical vented box designs.
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Unlike traditional ‘Passive Radiators,’ which include ‘tuning discs
To allow for adjusting the tuning of the system. While this may be appropriate for home audio systems, in-car tuning is now so well established and thus the need to tune the transducers is effectively moot. The MCAR transducers are ‘pre-tuned’ for optimal sound quality, in a specific air-volume – though they can also be fine-tuned, by simply making the enclosure slightly larger or smaller, which in turn will lower (or raise) the F3 of the system by a few hertz. This is not dissimilar to the method of adding ‘fiberfill’ to any sealed enclosure, to lower the tuning of the system. The MCAR 250 (10 inch) is optimized for a modest .60 cu ft, which remarkably includes the air volume for the active subwoofer, as the overall system performance is dominated by the MCAR and its enclosure requirements. The most typical application is to use a single 10 inch subwoofer, with an MCAR of same size, to create a dual-10 system, that is effectively as small as that required for a single, small-box subwoofer. However gains in efficiency, due to the larger 13” piston area, the coupling effects of the dual drivers, plus the ‘reflex’ boost, results in a dramatic increase in the acoustic output.
This remarkable boost in output is the reason ‘why’ Passive Radiators has been widely used
For decades by numerous prestige brands in the Home Audio and Home Theater realm, including Focal, Sunfire and numerous other elite brands, as the advantages of this – without the size penalty of using much larger enclosure, are manifestly attractive, in any space. In addition to this innate flexibility, the MCAR drivers are incredibly slim, 2 – 3 inches deep, and as they do not add ANY volume to the size of the enclosure, affording solutions that offer reduced enclosure depth, compared to any other type of system. This innate advantage makes them ideally suited for a wide array of mobile audio and especially for under-seat truckbox apps – where an MCAR ‘Quattro” system, using four (4) 10 inch drivers (2 + 2), remarkably requires only 1.25 cu ft. – for the entire subwoofer enclosure!
Testimonial
An Expert's Honest Review
“The Audiomobile MASS 2012 is the best 12 inch subwoofer at any price that I've reviewed. In fact it could even be the best 12 incher currently on the market.”
Tom Nousaine
Car Stereo Review