The Magic of SW1X Field Coil Drivers

[@davidzoller9617]

There is no such thing as a best speaker driver ever.

[@Borednlonely]

i had the pleasure of listening to the Monitor 963s with field coil drivers. Its the best hifi system Ive ever heard. We often talk about hifi creating an illusion that the performers are right in the room. This was the only time I felt this statement to be true. Ill definitely be buying the speakers soon.

[@jamesoneil9757]

You said that in a permanent magnet driver the flux density changes as the voice coil moves to extremes. This is also true of a field coil induced magnetic field. The shape of the magnetic field or change in flux density versus excursion is entirely determined by the geometry and configuration of the pole pieces, NOT the magnetic source. Either you really don't understand how this works or you are intentionally misleading people in order to sell your field coil concept.

[@keantoken6433]

Yes, even if your field coil has zero resistance and a perfect voltage source, the voicecoil and field coil are still not perfectly coupled because the magnetic system is very leaky, which it has to be in order to allow excursion with reasonable linearity.

[@BrentLeVasseur]

I think what he meant was you can vary the magnetic flux in a field coil where as you can’t with a permanent magnet.

[@keantoken6433]

@@BrentLeVasseur Yes, you can adjust the resonance if you can accept the change in sensitivity. But the misconceptions about field coils in this video are fairly common. I wish it was possible for smart people's creations to stand on their own merits without needing some kind of gimmick to sell it.

[@bentleygt3716]

your RM that made me distracted and lost focus about the things you were saying. so had to re-start watching the video ☺ thank you for this very informative video. i heard about the field coil driver before but didn't know what it was about. thanks again.

[@drdyna]

I've been building speakers for about 35 years now, I've always wanted to try a field coil design, and it might cool to try some of these drivers, but it doesn't look like there's anywhere to order a pair, not like they're probably affordable anyways.

[@josesimasyt]

Search Voxativ for field coil drivers but the prices are sky high.

[@jfbaquero]

Great video, I have been very interested in field coil drivers but have found very little information of how to design and build them. Do you happen to know any available book, paper o info about field coil drivers design? Line Magnetic form China and Shindo Labs form Japan are also building vacuum tube based field coil power supplies.

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

Thank you for the feedback. Most Chinese, Korean and Japanese FC PSUs we came across, are either just copy or imitation of Western Electic ones- there little understanding or original approach behind them. The FC PSUs are not executed well either. There is no much literature about FC- this is a lost art. We spent a lot of time experimenting to find out what works and what does not work so well

[@annebokma4637]

​​@@sw1xaudiodesignwith not much literature.. why don't you write a definitive guide on the subject? If only to preserve the knowledge.

[@Pierre-Leloup]

Very nice concept, bravo. That said, why not invest in a good pair of microphones and let us hear the difference, it seems logical to me and others like me are doing it (and I've nothing to sell), even if it's imperfect via KZbin...

[@SonicJourneys-lo1rk]

Some say ribbon dipoles like Poppori will have less distortions than any dynamic driver incl fieldcoil or alnico. Any scientific reasons why not?

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

1. we are talking full range drivers not narrow range. 2. why would not you form your own opinion by trying a full range FC driver and then revert to opinions of others

[@realhi-fihelplarry8047]

What about the noise in the background, is it then removed so it is more of a dark background. Or is the sound now more clear and upfront?

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

the sound with FC drivers gets vivid and alife- which is missing on PM. the music is now articulated like it is played by emotional humans and voices sound lifelike and scary like they are in the room- with FC the sound has an analogue character and PM drivers sounds digital in comparison. with great FC power supply and FC drivers inside horns, there is additional layer of low musical information that is being retrieved. with sound like this one could not care less about noise

[@emmet7208]

Why do we not see them in the cost no object category if they are as good as you say?

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

we cannot speak for others but the FC techniology are part of our top end loudspeakers.

[@FOH3663]

iirc, every major hifi show I've attended, I've encountered field coil platforms.

[@ABC-rh7zc]

Are there any field coil headphones?

[@ferdinandbardamu3945]

No, but there are electrostatic headphones that use an electric field instead of a magnetic field.

[@ABC-rh7zc]

@@ferdinandbardamu3945 Of course, but it would be interesting to try field coil headphones

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

yes, our speakers are the closest to a headphone design than any other speaker because they use a single full range driver without any cross-over - just like headphones only a bit larger :)

[@MichaelBeeny]

@@sw1xaudiodesign The only problem with single full range driver loudspeakers is power handling. They neither go down very low or up very high. Bass needs to move a lot of air. You cannot do this with a small driver. If you make the driver larger, it won't go up very high in frequency. This is not opinion it's science. Too large and you will get cone brake up. The main issue is intermodulation distortion. Again fact, not opinion. Very easily demonstrated. You can get away with a single driver at low power levels and play none demanding music, IE limited dynamic range. A single driver in headphone is not an issue as power levels are only a few milliwatts. On the subject of field coils, no reason they should not sound good. Just a pointless expense for NOTHING extra.

[@antonsyd7077]

​@MichaelBeeny You're right. FR drivers don't have that frequency extension, yet it may be enough for some of us. Nevertheless, they are the best in terms of sonic coherence (even coaxial drivers may have some issues with it) and mid range transparency

[@fx-studio]

Would be nice if we could hear a set of SW1X speakers working - even with YT compression.

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

You can find product demonstrations in our Playlists shorturl.at/ZuUxk 👈

[@subdynoman]

I knew this would be making a comeback...i had plans to build my own just to save weight for car audio since most car audio systems are inefficient anyway.

[@Lif-999]

I find your article very interesting. Your suggestion that FCD designs can be 'better' than more conventional PM implimentations has certainly piqued both my interest and my scepticism. After all, though crucial for the proper function of this type of mechanical transducer, both methodologies only impinge indirectly on the cone - air - ear interface. No doubt there is a plethera of reference material on this subject to be had online. Many thanks.

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

FC design done right articulates the music on a different level. All PM does not even come close and sounds digital in direct comparison

[@markfischer3626]

She sells sea shells at the sea shore. Moby the snail.

[@Pierre-Leloup]

[@seventeendegree]

That’s a beautiful explanation! Now I‘m interested in that topic. From what I know so far, field coils are extremely expensive. Beautiful speaker design in the back by the way! Okay, I checked out your speakers. Truly state of the art stuff, unfortunately nothing affordable for a entry-level audiophile. Small typo on the horn speaker product page. Whenever I get the chance to listen to your products, I‘ll use it.

[@sw1xaudiodesign]

your feedback is appreciated. FC technology if full of nuances and does not come cheap unfortunately

[@tolgadabbagh1877]

regulated dc is regulated dc . i wonder if you made up the rest too .

[@ulrichbahr1531]

Moin, ja ganz nett aber , Hier meine Eckdaten : 1500 Watt ( 5000), 9 Gang elek. Nabe (Kennfeld in vorbereitung ), 200/220mm Federweg variabel, antrittsneutral, impulskorrigiert, perfekte Bremsbalance, ca. 70 km/h, ca. 120 km Reichweite, und 33 kg leicht ;) Und das an einem Rahmen den ich vor 25 Jahren konstruiert habe und war konsequent modular ! -> Nahe zu jeder Motor/ Getriebe geht . Btw. ja man kann das Surron auch mit einem "richtigen "Hinterbau versehen ;) und z.B. einer Kupplung oder Geoverstellung während der Fahrt ( Patentiert)

[@ryanchappell5962]

It sounds like your design eliminates compression. Compression can also be mitigated in other ways, minimizing cone movement is the main strategy. In an active four-way speaker, all of the high frequency and mid range sound is emanating from drivers that are hardly moving at all. A fraction of a millimeter. There won’t be much of any compression in that scenario.

[@thinkIndependent2024]

I'm personally waiting to be impressed by Field Coils.. As a partime historian I recall they were created based on lack of magnetic materials .. Speaker Technologies created prior to Alan Blumlein invention of Stereo are always suspect to me I feel many misunderstood his invention thats based more on the Acoustic Wave Front Plane as opposed to a single speaker technology or type... The problem Alan left behind was Crosstalk Cancellation of the 200 microseconds ear to ear that could only be solved in the Acoustic Wavefront..... Making a single driver sound musical is the past!!! Unless one is more of a Mono listener a better Acoustic Wave Front Presentation is the modern goal in my opinion. My statement is based on his demonstration of 3 Piano's playing and each being heard distinctively right down to the direction of the keys.

[@AngryManSki]

Sounds expensive. White rooms are expensive. Should I 👀 at the price 😢