The best designers in the business. Danny Richie [lead engineer] and Mark Schifter [president of AV123] and more have many years of experience, and have reached a high level of respect in the industry. It isn't just about numbers on paper, it's about listening to variations of the product with trained ears, and giving you the best possible product they know how to build.
A Line Source speaker does not quite work like a typical loudspeaker (most speakers are what is called 'point source').
First, the waveform (the sound you hear) is cylindrical in a Line Source rather than spherical as is with a point source. Take a look at the example here:
You can see the launch of the sound wave is HUGE compared to even very large point source speakers. This provides a rather different listening experience: A much wider sound stage and an image 'sweet area' instead of just a 'sweet spot'. Overall, the sound stage is very wide with a large front to back and side to side sweet area. Additionally you will bbe presented with more consistent volume levels throughout your room. Why? A point source speaker's volume level drops off at a rate of 6dB per doubling of distance away from the speaker. Line Source speakers drop off only 3dB per doubling of distance.
Line Source Propagation
As frequency increases the vertical response decreases and limits floor to ceiling interaction. Top octave information is pretty well limited to the length of the array. In the top end you get much less room interaction than you'd get from a standard point source speaker.
As frequency decreases the output does begin to pass the length of the array. In the lower ranges the output forms an infinite array as the lows go floor to ceiling (up the ceiling towards you and down the floor towards you).
Below 200Hz or so it can begin to load the room (mostly below 100Hz). Those wavelengths become more omni directional just as if they were coming from a subwoofer. So the more air space there is in the room (more volume) the harder it will be to overload the room simply because there is more air to have to compress.
Vaulted ceilings will have less effect on a line source than it will a point source.
Placement
Placement of LS series speakers is no more difficult than any other speaker - save for the size of the speaker possibly! Where you place yourself is equally important as the placement of the speaker. With the LS6, you want to sit at least 8' (2.4M) away. With the LS9, that moves out to 9' (2.7M). The distance of the speakers apart can be as little as 6'.
What happens if one listens to the LS closer than the recommended distance of 8 or 9 feet? What you don't want is for the distance differential between drivers in the center of the array (at ear level) to drivers in the top and bottom of the array to become too great. If so then the delay in time will cause cancellations. At a normal listening distances the differential is and inch or so and limits the cancellation (comb filtering effects) to the upper ranges of the top octave.
Height
With the LS speakers, the vertical dispersion is limited so once you reach the top of the tweeter array, the highs will start to roll off. If you are exceptionally tall, you should consider the LS9's. With the LS-6 (and standing very close) you'll get highs starting to roll off at a height of about 62 inches. With the LS-9 that height moves up to about 74 inches - again, standing right in front of them. As you move away from the speaker, this becomes less of an issue.
Tweeters in or out?
We recommend tweeters to the outside. It is the woofers that anchor the imaging, and the tweeters that add the air, harmonics, etc. So with them to the outside the sound stage is a little bigger and less stacked between the speakers.
Bass Management
The LS6 is capable of some pretty serious bass. High output at low frequencies. We've seen many installations where the LS6 plays flat below 20Hz!
Because of this capability, the speakers do have the potential to 'load up' smaller rooms - meaning you would have TOO MUCH bass. Nice problem to have eh? Well, we have designed a bass management system that allows you to fine tune the output to your room.
On the back of the speaker is a small trap door. Remove the door and you will find a small 'daughter' crossover. Here you adjust the low end output of your LS6's to your liking. Easy and highly effective.
Drivers
We don't buy off the rack drivers. Many of our competitors call a vendor and order 6.5" drivers by the thousands. The drivers used for the Line Source speakers were designed specifically for this application and nothing else.
For the Line Source speakers, Peerless India is building our custom designed 6.5" woofer with a curvilinear shaped treated paper cone. The dust cap is precisely shaped to enable as perfect a response as possible. The woofer uses a polymer chassis to prevent transmission of resonances to the front baffle and the voice coil is vented on the outside through the frame and pole piece.
The motor of the driver is enhanced considerably with XBL2 technology (patented). This allows the cone to move twice as far versus a typical woofer but ours maintains linearity throughout. In short, this driver can pump out serious bass but remain clean and flat while doing it.
The tweeter may look familiar at first glance - it is based on the Bohlender Graebner Neo8 planar magnetic. The version you see in our Line Source Series of Loudspeakers is not off the shelf; it has been modified per our instructions for greater performance in the Line Source application. The result is a driver with excellent controlled directivity and higher impedance. The BG Neo8.8 (as we call it) is wonderfully detailed, resolving of the tiniest of nuances. A perfect partner for the 6.5" woofers.
When you assemble all these parts together, something pretty amazing happens. Our Line Source speakers are two-way speakers... meaning all the tweeters get the same signal and all the woofers get their own same signal. They couple and work together. Because we have so many woofers working together, they move much less versus a traditional speaker. With the LS6, the woofers move only a fraction of the distance versus a normal two-way speaker with a single woofer. That means the bass you hear is extremely tight and powerful. You've likely not ever heard bass like this before - except at a live unamplified concert. It is the same for the tweeters. Very little movement means they stay super clean and linear.
The LS6 can realistically recreate the live event with all the dynamics intact. Front row at a Tool concert? No problem. Want to experience a full symphony in your living room - at realistic levels? No problem. They will do this with ease, effortlessness, transparency and the lowest distortion.
Speaking of Drivers... let's talk about bass for a moment...
Let's just look at the performance of the LS6's versus a sub and what it would take to get a good match. We will try to put all of this in layman's terms. Bear with us on this. It is just for the sake of a simple example.
Let's compare the bass output and quality to a popular subwoofer. Put aside the issue of which will go lower or move as much air or SPL. Let's put them head to head and look at the more important and yet overlooked aspects in regard to sound quality.
Now the LS6 sensitivity is about 91db and the sensitivity of this sub is barely over 85. So we'll need to use two of them with double the power to get the same output levels, but lets set this aside too. Let's look at them as one speaker (one LS6) compared to one 12" sub. If we lay a 200 watt input on the 12" sub we only need about 50 watts of input on the LS6 to equal its output. But there are eight woofers in the LS6 sharing the load so each woofer in the LS6 will only see 6.25 watts of power. Read that part again. Each woofer only sees 6.25 watts each. Now we send each of them a 25Hz note to play. The 12" sub with the 200 watt signal laid on it is playing very hard. It had to move way out there. It also has a lot of moving mass. The moving mass is 183.5 grams. That much mass put into motion has a lot of stored energy in the form of inertia. Suffice to say it takes it a while to stop.
Let's say that signal we sent was really a deep bass drum track. So we hear the initial strike of the drum but the decay of the drum is covered over by the much longer decay of the woofer. It goes boom, boom, hits real hard, but really sounds nothing like a real drum. The decay of the woofer totally smears the decay of the recorded drum. The LS6 on the other hand hit the same output level with each woofer only having to move a fraction the distance (less inertia) and the moving mass of each woofer is only 18.9 grams. By comparison the moving mass of the 12" woofer is nearly 10 times as much. So with the LS6 we hear the strike of the drum but now we hear the real decay of the drum and NOT the decay of the woofer. The LS6 plays it and stops immediately compared to the 12" woofer. It is not even close. Each of the eight LS woofers has to move a much shorter distance to move the same amount of air. Big strokes (long excursions) also cause a lot more flexing of the cone (due to the air pressure loading on it), motor non-linearities, and much higher distortions. So the smaller woofers in the LS not only don't have to move as far, but have MUCH less mass, and on top of all of that will actually play lower than the 12" sub.
Now what would it take to match the speed and resolution of the LS6 in the low bass region using 12" sub woofers? First let's divide the input across 8 woofers (eight 12" woofers) so that each woofer sees less power, has less distance to travel, and has less stored energy. 8 subs makes it even now right? We divide the load into 8 woofers on each speaker just like the LS6. Not really. Each of the 8 subs still has far more mass to move. The subs still have a lot more stored energy and inertia by comparison even though we reduced the amount of air (and travel distance) that each woofer had to move. I guess since we have nearly 6 times the moving mass we can use six times as many so that they only have to move 1/10th of the distance (this is a generalization). That will reduce the inertia to a level that it would be comparable to the LS6. Now we are close. Let's see now 6 subs per side times 10. That's 60 subs per side or 120 subs total. That might get you comparable sound quality. That is not even realistic huh?
Bottom Line: You haven't heard detail and resolution in low bass until you hear the LS6's.
Crossovers and Wiring
We use simple crossover networks that are easy to drive. No hard phase angles and low impedances here. You can power these monsters with 50 watt tube amps if you like - and some do. Of course some also prefer 300-500 watts per channel to really make them talk loud.
The crossover network is a wonderfully designed collection of Sonicap and Erse PulseX capacitors, Mills and Erse resistors and Erse inductors. All top quality parts with unerring construction by Erse.
The LS speakers take a lot of wire... I mean A LOT of wire. That's why we use our special UPOCC wire (Ultra Pure One Crystal Copper). It is horrendously expensive but it is worth it.
Break In
The LS speakers need a serious amount of break in time before they are at their full potential. We recommend 500 hours. The drivers move very little in the LS speakers; this is why the break in time is so much longer than normal. Please note: Because of the extended burn in time for the LS speakers, if you are auditioning and want more than our normal 30 day period to try them out, please feel free to ask for an extension.
If you do not know what break in is or are unsure what really happens during this period, please take a look at this informative paper on driver break in.
Construction
The cabinet is made from 25mm MDF and every driver is individually braced. The cabinet is lined with a special asphalt backed dampening material to control any resonances. This keeps the playback as clean as can be.
The finishes we offer are all real wood veneers that are plantation grown, and come from a renewable source.
Click the photo to get a closer view:
Add in seamless construction and a custom formulated satin finish that is truly furniture grade, along with book matching your speakers, and you have a pair of enclosures that we believe are some of the best in the industry.
Experience
Many years of system design and voicing of speakers, give each product a unique signature sound. We actually listen to the speakers, and constantly make changes, sometimes to existing product, to offer the best sound we know how to build.
Considering using Line Source in your Home Theater?
The LS6's can do it all... from delicate piano to explodey action films. A dedicated center speaker is in the works for the Line Source speakers. If you can't wait and want a center NOW, we have two options for you.
Purchase a single LS6 and lay it on its side under your screen. Be sure to prop it properly so the tweeters are aimed at your head while seated. The only caveat with this method is all audience members must be sitting within the width of the tweeter array. If they sit outside the array, the high frequencies will be attenuated (quieter). This is by design of course; recall the controlled vertical (now horizontal since the speaker is on its side) dispersion we spoke about earlier.
Your other option is to utilize our x-voce open baffle center. It's a five driver three way center. The outer woofers are sealed while the tweeter and midrange are open. It creates a very transparent and detailed soundscape and works very well with the Line Source speakers.
For rears, we suggest you look at another pair of LS6's but if that is not possible, consider a pair of x-statik's or x-omni's .
There Must be a Downside
After reading all these amazing things, you must be thinking - "If this design is so great, why aren't all speakers Line Sources?!" The answer comes in three parts...
1) Designing these is very difficult. There are plenty of very bad line source implementations out there - we've heard them! Thankfully the members of our team are supremely skilled.
2) They are larger than most speakers. Line Source speakers must be large or they would not be a line source. We see this as a plus - they can't be stolen from your house very easily!
3) Distance - you must sit at least the length of the array away from the speakers; preferably even a little more.
Bottom Line: All loudspeakers are sets of compromises, and the LS speakers make far better choices than most.
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The LS6 is an all-new speaker. Please check back for updated availability information, specifications and photos.
