Wisdom Audio Insight Series P4i - Manual (Page 5)

5
Description
Your Insight Series P4i loudspeakers take advantage of several
critical technologies to deliver a level of performance that has
never been available in a loudspeaker that intruded so mod-
estly on your living space. In fact, this level of performance
has rarely been attained, regardless of the space and budget at
one’s disposal.
Since several of these technologies cannot readily be found
elsewhere, we will take the time to describe them in more
detail than would be necessary for more conventional designs.
Planar magnetic drivers Our planar magnetic drivers use an advanced, thin film mem-
brane to move the air. This film can respond instantly to the
smallest detail in the signal. It has vastly less inertia than tradi-
tional “cone & dome” drivers, so the signal is never blurred in
any way.
The motive force is provided by a “voice coil” that is printed
on the film, which is sus-
pended in a strong magnetic field provided
by powerful magnets behind and in front
of the film. The ratio of available force to
the moving mass is huge, which means that
the diaphragm does exactly what it is told:
nothing more, nothing less.
Free from compression One of the most remarkable things about the sound of well-designed planar
magnetic speakers is their lack of thermal or dynamic compression. There are
several reasons for this:
• The lightweight diaphragm responds quickly to even the smallest
signals, yet is robust enough to handle a great deal of power.
• The voice coil is laid out flat and is exposed to the air on both
sides; the large resulting surface area dissipates heat extremely
quickly and efficiently.
• Since heat does not build up in the voice coil (as it does in con-
ventional dynamic drivers), the load seen by the amplifier does
not change at high power levels.
When you become accustomed to the sound of your new Insight Series P4i
speakers, conventional speakers sound a bit bland and lifeless. You may also
discover yourself hearing details at even modest levels on the P4i that were pre-
viously inaudible even at loud volumes on more conventional speakers.
More reliable The “voice coil” in the planar magnetic driver is spread out over a large, flat area
that is exposed to the open air. As such, when a huge transient comes along,
any heat that is generated is immediately dissipated. This compares quite favor-
ably to other designs in which the voice coil is buried inside a massive piece of
metal, where the heat has effectively no place to go.