MartinLogan Ascent LoudSpeaker - Manual (Page 12)

12 Dispersion Interactions
Your Ascents launch a 30 degree dispersion pattern when
viewed from above. This horizontal dispersion field gives a
choice of good seats for the performance while minimizing
interactions with side walls (See Figure 7). Make sure both
speakers stand exactly at the same vertical angle, otherwise
the image can be skewed or poorly defined. The wave
launch of both speakers is extremely accurate in both the
time and spectral domain. Consequently, small refined
adjustments can result in noticeable sonic improvements.
Controlled Vertical Dispersion
As you can see from the illustrations, your Ascent speakers
project a controlled dispersion pattern. Each Ascent is a four
foot line source beginning 16" inches above the floor level
(See Figure 8). This vertical dispersion profile minimizes
interactions with the floor and the ceiling.
In the field of loudspeaker design, it is a known fact that as
the sound wave becomes progressively smaller than the
transducer producing it, the dispersion of that wave
becomes more and more narrow, or directional. This fact
occurs as long as the transducer is a flat surface. Large flat
panel speakers exhibit venetian blind effects due to this
phenomenon. This is why most manufacturers opt for
small drivers (i.e. tweeters and midrange) to approximate
what is known as a point source wave launch.
Historically, most attempts to achieve smooth dispersion
from large flat panel transducers resulted in trade-offs.
After exhaustive testing of these different solution attempts,
we found an elegantly simple, yet very difficult to execute
solution. By curving the radiating surface, we create the
effect of a horizontal arc. This allows the engineers at
MartinLogan to control the high frequency dispersion
pattern of our transducers. That is why you see the gentle
curve on our products.
D
ISPERSION
I
NTERACTIONS
Controlled Horizontal Dispersion Three Major Types of Dispersion
Figure 7. MartinLogan Ascents deliver a 30 degree wave launch dispersion
pattern distributed horizontally. Figure 8. Your Ascent speaker system is a 48” inch line source when viewed
vertically. Actual height above floor is from 16” inches to 64” inches.