LC >
1) Could you briefly summarize the history of your loudspeakers Company and the reasons that led you to it?
PE >
Like the vast majority of the small HiFi Companies even Pearl Audio was founded because of the passion I had in the field of correct and faithful audio reproduction. Considering the appreciation my designs were getting worldwide it was necessary for this "hobby" to become a profession.
LC >
2) One can't honestly say that the HiFi market lacks of loudspeakers designers and manufacturers! Just browse the web and discover how many models are (virtually) available worldwide. In order to be successful, one needs to make things differently from the others, in one way or another. Which are, according to you, the main differences between a Pearl loudspeaker and its natural competitors?
PE >
You're right, the loudspeakers market is one of the most competitive ones, considering one has to face with "big names" who can grant established tradition and popularity among audiophiles. Hence, one needs to build not only "state of the art" designs but also something "different" that can make the product stand above the competitors. At Pearl Audio we have designed an innovative system to create an interface between drivers and cabinet, called RSS. I'll try to explain this concept in few simple words (also see below). Actually, we have re-invented the way the driver is bolted to the loudspeaker cabinet. It is not the driver basket that is secured to the front baffle, as it usually happens, it is the magnet instead! This way basket vibrations can't migrate to the cabinet.
LC >
3) When designing a loudspeaker there are many aspects that have to be taken into proper account. Considering the number of variables involved you need to accept compromises. Which are the hardest ones to accept, from your point of view?
PE >
A designer shouldn't accept compromises! Actually, the sole compromise I've accepted so far is to...not accept compromises at all! Of course this means higher manufacturing costs and the need to fight with the "big names", face to face. If your Company is small and costs are high it is hard for the market to understand, as audiophiles tend to prefer "well-known" and respected brands.
LC >
4) There are many different theories on how to successfully exploit the energy which gets produced by the drivers. There are designers who try to build bomb-proof cabinets, in order to "stop" any propagation of unwanted energy (from the speakers to the cabinet and then to the floor/stand), one of these being Merlin, while there are others who try to break/stop/absorb/dampen the energy transmission by using decoupling techniques and/or materials. Pearl Evolution seems to have chosen a rather innovative technique, could you please explain it to our readers?
PE >
You're probably referring to our RSS system I've mentioned above. It is very simple, indeed.
A driver is built with sturdy non-resonant basket, in order to achieve two results:
In any case, there are vibrations that reach the cabinet! You can try this experiment: play a note in a quiet and static environment, then try to do the same while sitting on a vibrating platform. The note won't be clean and precise as in the first case. We simply bolt the magnet to the cabinet via a metallic rod, then we try to "drive" the vectorial components of the vibration via metallic spikes of the "fake" basket, making them run vertically (this way they don't affect the way the cabinet may resonate). Some pic on our website should explain this simple concept way better.
LC >
5) Traditional loudspeakers use a principle that is quite inefficient and that remained virtually unchanged since its first invention. Aside from the use of exotic and high-tech materials one can't say we've seen many new concepts. For example, a milestone like the Klipschorn is more or less the same since 50 years or so. Nonetheless it continues to sound good, even under today's standards. Do you feel there is not sufficient research in this field?
PE >
Research....research is the "base" of our work and passion. We have done something new but if you wish to really improve the way drivers work you might need research funds that aren't reasonable today, in this field. This year we have worked on a new concept in loudspeakers stands. It makes use of an invention that might be considered trivial nowadays but that hasn't been exploited in full, yet. If you remember, once electricity was considered only a mean to make a telegraph work. Then someone else (Thomas...) proved there were many different applications. So many that we can't live without those nowadays.
LC >
6) Do you have, as a loudspeakers designer, any dream you'd love to become true?
PE >
I have many ideas and dreams. One of this is a single-driver fullrange loudspeaker system with variable internal volume (!!!). I've been trying to build such a system for many years. Can you help me in making this dream come true?
LC >
7) Any forthcoming project? An entry-level line of speakers, maybe?
PE >
We are struggling to build an entry-level line. The problem is that we design and build loudspeakers with a different concept. I mean, a 50 cm speaker doesn't necessarily cost half of one which is 1 meter. There are costs that we can't cut down, so it is a very hard task.
Courtesy Pearl Evolution for TNT-Audio.
Copyright © 2008 Lucio Cadeddu