|
Na het succes van
de Virgo 25 plus+ en de Avantera
plus+ heeft Audio Physic nu ook van
het vlaggenschip Cardeas een Plus +
uitvoering geïntroduceerd. Deze
Cardeas plus+ beschikt natuurlijk
ook weer over de moderne demping -en
aansluitmaterialen, en de verbeterde
voet. Bij de Cardeas is er echter
meer veranderd. Het filter werd
volledig nieuw ontworpen, en de
passieve woofer is nu vervangen door
een tweede aangedreven woofer in een
push-push opstelling. Waar de grote
Cardeas voorheen vooral verrassend
goed presteerde in middelgrote en
moeilijke ruimtes, komt de ze
speaker nu volledig tot zijn recht
in grote ruimtes.
31/2 Way
When it comes to a three-and-a-half
way design, a three-way loudspeaker
is supplemented by an additional
woofer/midrange driver covering the
upper bass / lower mid frequencies
up to approx. 500 Hz operating in
parallel with the midrange driver.
Active Cone Damping
Active Cone Damping (ACD) was first
developed and implemented by Audio
Physic in order to avoid resonances
associated with metal cones. A
silicone/rubber ring is mounted on
the outer ring of the cone where it
directly applies pressure on the
cone. This is a highly effective
means to eliminating the otherwise
unavoidable ringing and therefore
removes the metallic sound.
Push Push
Audio Physic's three-way and
three-and-a-half way loudspeakers
are equipped with side firing
woofers. Even when applying
large-diameter cones, our
loudspeakers keep a narrow baffle
design which allows for the superb
spatial imaging Audio Physic
loudspeakers absolutely excel at.
Compared to the configuration often
used nowadays where the woofers are
mounted only on one side, Audio
Physic prefers to arrange them on
both sides of the cabinet. The
drivers are operating in phase (all
woofer cones move simultaneously in
the same direction, either inwards
or outwards). Forces acting on the
cabinet are nearly cancelled out
with this effective – so called
push-push configuration – and
precise, low-resonance sound
reproduction is achieved. However,
the push-push configuration must not
be confused with the push-pull
principle commonly used for power
amplifiers.
Vibration Control Terminal :: VCT
A negative impact from unwanted
resonances on the transmission of
signals can be detected at each
point of the reproduction chain. The
use of high-quality and stable rack
systems as well as special stands,
feet or bases may often yield
astonishing results. However, no
attention was paid to another
important path of mechanical
mischief-makers. Cables – necessary
to transmit the signal – not only
carry electrical signals,
unfortunately they also carry
mechanical energy which moves at its
strongest in the opposite direction
to the signal. Therefore, vibrations
picked up and measured on a
loudspeaker cabinet can be followed
back to the source of the signal.
Audio Physic has developed the
Vibration Control Terminal in order
to eliminate such unwanted
vibrations. The massive aluminium
construction is additionally damped
and fitted with a neoprene gasket
for elastic suspension ensuring that
the binding posts are effectively
decoupled from the cabinet.
What are the essential elements that
make something revolutionary? Truly
revolutionary are things that have
staying power and unfold with
long-lasting impact – as opposed to
those that create a short-lived,
spectacular flash in the pan. That's
how we define a genuine revolution.
It is the consequence of countless
smaller evolutionary steps. AUDIO
PHYSIC's top model CARDEAS has
managed to set a new standard in its
class worldwide. To take something
that is already excellent and still
improve upon it, that is our
motivation and the inveterate quest
of our development team, thus we
began making numerous tiny
adjustments and refinements. Except
for its outward appearance, there
was "not one stone left upon another".
The newly-developed CARDEAS plus+
bears the "plus+" for good reason.
The result: a revolution.
Klik voor een vergroting
CARDEAS plus+
The CARDEAS plus+ is the foundation
of all AUDIO PHYSIC loudspeakers in
the REFERENCE line. In fact, we mean
that literally. Just take the body
with its rejuvenating side panels
leading to the baffle, that avoid
parallel planes; there is the
curvature in the back; the slightly
rear-tilted angle of the cabinet –
painstaking design details that lead
to vast stability and eliminate even
the slightest possibility of any
materials taking on a life of their
own and impairing the sound.
The CARDEAS plus+ is now taking a
decisive step even further. The
cabinet not only continues to boast
all its solid stiffening properties
exhibited up to now, it also
features an entirely new design on
the inside. As we already saw in the
very successful Plus+ versions of
VIRGO 25 and AVANTERA, there are
additional ceramic foam cabinet
struts. This very stiff material has
a porosity of more than 85%, which
means the inner volume required for
the lowest bass tones is hardly
reduced. Due to their low mass, the
ceramic foam elements retain hardly
any energy and also dissipate it
very quickly – before the cabinet
body can begin building up any
undesirable vibrations. The porous
structure of the material means an
enormous increase in the surface
area. Even without the absorbing
materials otherwise used, this
reliably prevents cavity resonance.
The intelligent design factor of the
CARDEAS plus+, combined with its
cutting-edge mix of materials,
guarantees the utmost in precision
and freedom of distortion – from the
softest pianissimo up to thundering
volumes. This purity and signal
fidelity have positive impact on the
overall listening spectrum. There is
no better working environment for
the forward-looking HHC (hyper
holographic cone) chassis, a
proprietary development, with its
unique architecture. As in all the
models in the REFERENCE series, the
tweeter is not directly connected to
the baffle. Like the midrange
drivers, it is uncoupled from the
cabinet using an ingenious weave
construction in SSC ("string
suspension concept") engineered
materials. This prevents even the
most delicate vibrations in the
baffle from spreading to the
membranes, and makes the rendering
of even the finest musical
intricacies seem second-nature.
CARDEAS plus+ handles vibrations
that spread over the connection
cables directly at their potential
source. The crossovers between
mid-range drivers and tweeters are
also uncoupled from the cabinet
using SSC elements. In addition, the
HHC high tweeter features
state-of-the-art vibration-damping
contacts. This manifests itself in
even higher resolution and more
authentic spatial definition.
In order to guarantee absolute
signal fidelity in the vital
mid-range, the interior walls of the
sealed mid-range chamber –
eliminating interactions with the
other chassis via enclosed air
volumes – features grid-shaped
elements. Sound emitted by the
membrane into the chamber interior
is partially absorbed by it, and
partially reflected diffusely,
drastically reducing the energy
impacting on the body and pushing
back on the membrane. The result:
mid-range performance of
unparalleled clarity, absent of all
lethargy, compression and
embellishment.
The layout of the
crossovers was further streamlined,
the painstakingly-selected
components satisfy the highest
standards. Entirely new interior
wiring provides for unprecedented
homogeneity across the entire
frequency spectrum of the CARDEAS
plus+.
The lowest frequencies are handled
by two especially long-throw, 10’’
woofers in a push-push arrangement,
refined in many details, and geared
towards bass-reflex coordination.
They are located opposite one
another in the flanks of the
loudspeakers. This enables the
CARDEAS plus+ to attain
ultra-precise definition, even when
the dB meter is barely showing a
blip, independent of volume. And
even for larger rooms over 40m², it
offers the required boost of energy.
The significance of the terminals on
loudspeakers is widely
underestimated. They are the first
point of entry, and if the signal is
impaired at this point, the finest
intricate details will be missing
later. With its trusted Vibration
Control Terminal, AUDIO PHYSIC
impressively masters this phenomenon.
In addition, the CARDEAS plus+ uses
as standard WBT nextgen connectors
in fine silver design. These fine
silver connectors offer unique
conductivity for vibration
uncoupling, and they are immune to
issues involving eddies or mass
storage effects.
It is a variety of seemingly minute
details, the sum of which afford the
listener revolutionary sound
performance. Discover the true noble
elegance of a large concert grand
piano, the unlimited dynamics of
bombastic brass interludes or the
finely-layered inner nuances of a
harp solo. For the CARDEAS plus+,
there is no limit, and the horizon
opens up right into the heart of the
music. Unlike any other loudspeaker,
CARDEAS plus+ underscores the AUDIO
PHYSIC motto: "No loss of fine
detail". |
