Wisdom Audio Insight Series P2i - Manual (Page 5)

5
Description
Your Insight Series P2i loudspeakers take advantage of
several critical technologies to deliver a level of perfor-
mance that has never been available in a loudspeaker
that intruded so modestly on your living space. In fact,
this level of performance has rarely been attained, re-
gardless 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 con-
ventional designs.
Planar magnetic drivers Our planar magnetic drivers use an advanced, thin film
membrane to move the air. This film can respond in-
stantly to the smallest detail in the signal. It has vastly
less inertia than traditional “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
suspended in a strong magnetic field pro-
vided 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 P2i
speakers, conventional speakers sound a bit bland and lifeless. You may also
discover yourself hearing details at even modest levels on the P2i 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-