Talisman Designs SE Reference Tower - Manual (Page 5)

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some areas exceeded our goals by systematically engineering the Talisman SE to optimize performance.
Please note the following factors:
Frequency Response:
For a speaker to be considered "accurate" it must have a smooth frequency response that is free of
major dips, peaks, troughs or plateaus. The Talisman SE exhibits exceptionally flat response;
±
3db from 20Hz
to 20Khz and better than
±
1.25db from 50Hz to 10kHz! The ultra-throw side-firing woofer combined with
computer optimized equalization provides exceptional bass performance down to the cutoff frequency. The
front-mounted mid-bass coupler provides exception detail and resolution in the critical upper bass range.
Of nearly equal importance is the off-axis response of the speaker. This response from 15 to 45
degrees off the axis of the speaker determines the smoothness of the early reflections from the wall surfaces.
In video applications the off-axis response characteristics are extremely important for accurate voice and
special effects reproduction. In most domestic listening situations this energy is nearly equal to the on-axis
response in determining the balance of the system. The off-axis response should show a gradual decrease in
output with increased frequency. The Talisman SE has an exceptionally well controlled and smooth off-axis
dispersion pattern.
Tight quality control procedures are necessary to assure that your Talisman SEs sound every bit as
good as our lab samples. Incoming shipments of raw parts including cabinet materials, drivers and crossover
components are subject to extensive testing to verify that they meet our exacting standards. For example, the
industry standard for crossover component tolerance is usually 10%, sometimes as high as 20%. ACI’s
standard is tighter than .1%!
Dynamic range:
Dynamic range in a speaker requires;
•
Adequate sensitivity so that it may be driven to realistic levels with available amplification. The C-weighted
sensitivity for the Talisman SE is 87db.
•
An easy load for the amplifier. A speaker can have a high sensitivity number but may present a difficult
load for the driving amplifier. The impedance curve of the Talisman SE never drops below 7 ohms and is
an easy load for any receiver or amplifier. Equally important, the Talisman SE woofer is self-powered up to
150Hz. This means your amplifier will only be asked to deliver power from 150Hz on up. This effectively
doubles or even triples your available amplifier power!
•
Low distortion drive units are necessary to keep the music from becoming edgy or gritty as the volume is
turned up. The drive units used in the Talisman SE have very linear suspensions to reduce distortion
components to inaudible levels and contribute to the excellent sense of "clarity". The crossover used
keeps low frequencies out of the tweeter and protects it from over-excursion at resonance, which would
otherwise cause increased distortion. The high-quality, silk-dome tweeter by ScanSpeak of Denmark
provides excellent damping, smooth crossover transition, and excellent power handling. The midrange
driver actually can be used full range with good results. The unique mid-bass coupler helps the Talisman
SE successfully achieve extreme dynamic peaks without compression by allowing a 300Hz crossover to
the mid-range.
Delayed Resonance Control:
The ultimate control of delayed resonance required extensive use of Cumulative Spectral Decay
analysis coupled with accelerometer testing of the cabinet wall surfaces. This extensive testing allowed us to
develop the most cost-effective internal bracing to create the vault like solidity of the Talisman SE. The
midrange driver and mid-bass coupler each have their own separate inner chamber that is used as a part of
the cabinet bracing scheme. The entire cabinet is formed of an incredibly inert and well-damped medium
density fiberboard (MDF) specified at 49.3 pounds per cubic foot density, with solid hardwood panels added
over the MDF cabinet. Try to lift a Talisman SE and you'll be visiting the doctor. All drive units were designed
with effective resonance control in mind.
We've attempted to show you some of the important design considerations that go into the Talisman
SE system. To fully document the design process would require many hundreds of pages. We haven't even