Ambitious speaker units

There are several design principles that can produce sound, however, not all principles are suitable for reproducing sound with high sound quality, and there is no principle that is superior in all reproduction parameters. 

Our goal is to create exceptionally good sound and our focus is on creating better reproduction - from the speakers - because they are the weakest link in the reproduction chain. Therefore we are constantly working to find materials, methods and technologies that can improve sound reproduction.

In this section we will describe how our new speaker units differ from traditional constructions.

By far the most common speaker principle is the electromagnetic principle. The principle, which was invented by the Danish inventor Peter Jensen in 1915, is effective for reproducing sound.

The principle is used everywhere in an incredible number of contexts - in traditional home stereos, in car stereos, in mobile phones, in all kinds of devices, in cinemas, PA systems - and in real High End systems.

However, the principle is not without weaknesses. When the principle is used to create truly lifelike music experiences, factors such as membrane geometry, material selection, suspension system, magnetic motor, chassis, airflow are incredibly critical.

Around the world, developers are looking to optimize the rendering and a lot of work is done to make the components better and more cost effective.

Ambitious Audio Design has tested a large part of the high-quality units available in the market and we have custom-made speaker units. Unfortunately, no one has been able to live up to the requirements in the uncompromising A-Series. This is the main reason why Ambitious Audio Design develops and produces its own speaker units.

New cone technology 

All speaker units have “their own sound” and it is common for audiophiles to discuss the pros & cons of using different diaphragm materials. Some audiophiles swear by hard cone materials (e.g. beryllium, aluminum, titanium, carbon) and special surface treatments (anodizing, ceramics, Diamond Like Carbon/DLC) - because the sound experienced can be more clear and detailed.

The price is (usually) a very marked break-up pattern (=distortion) because the damping in the hard materials is low.

The breakup patterns need to be removed because it can be very uncomfortable. The crossover filter can eliminate some of the problems, however, a crossover filter has an effect on the sound. The more corrections that need to be made, in short, ‘the greater the loss of music experience’.

 
 

Other audiophiles swear by soft cone types (e.g. plastic, paper) because they have a higher damping and therefore can have less critical breakups in the membrane. Therefore it can be less complicated to manufacture crossovers. There are always exceptions.

We like the relaxing, ultra-clear and super-detailed reproduction of sound – like live music. So we have been looking to make speaker units with those features.

For many years we have dreamed of manufacturing a membrane that had a hard surface - but without the traditional breaking tendencies. That… is almost contradictory.

 

Over the past 10 years, we have made an incredible number of attempts at "the impossible task".

But we've cracked the code.

Our new cone is composed of many different materials and complex internal and external geometries. The result is a cone with high stiffness and high damping. This means, for example, that the new 6” midwoofer, in a test baffle (in wall setup), can be used without a crossover because it has a very nice roll off.

 
 

 

Linear Lossless Suspension - LLS

After several years of research and development, we are pleased to present a new linear and lossless control system for the bass and midrange units in the A-Series.

Introduction to the problem:

  • The power from your amplifier is sent through the speaker unit's voice coil and then to the speaker's cone. As seen in the video below the voice coil is centered in the magnet system air gap where the magnetic field is concentrated.

  • In electrodynamic speaker drivers, the voice coil is centered with a so-called "spider". The spider is typically a piece of ribbed fabric that sits just behind the membrane.

  • The control of the voice coil is necessary to center the voice coil in the magnetic gap. Without control, the voice coil will touch the magnet system causing loud mechanical noises and distortion.

  • Since the first practical electrodynamic loudspeaker was invented by the Danish inventor Peter Jensen, various types of spiders have been used to make the speaker units work.

The spider solves the centering problem. However, there are several disadvantages. For example:

  • The spider is relatively heavy and stiff, and its weight and inertia reduce the cones ability to start and stop (impulse handling)

  • The spider (yellow in the video) is not linear.
    At some frequencies it will even move in opposite phase relative to the movements of the oscillating coil and cone.

  • The spider usually covers a large part of the back side of the cone, thus impeding the free movement of sound.

These are factors that prevents a true-to-life reproduction of the music. In particular the clarity of the sound, the reproduction of details and the experience of atmosphere in the music.

 

Less is more.

We want to give the listener an amazingly great music experience - but the spider is one of the elements that stands in the way of the great music experience. Although the spiders have gotten much better over the years and many speaker developers have tried to omit the spider, no good producible solutions have been found. 

Ambitious Audio Design has been researching the problem for 10 years and many prototypes have been tested. We are therefore pleased to present a completely new linear lossless suspension system.

We call the Linear Lossless Suspension: LLS

The benefits of LLS are:

  • We remove the spider. Doing that the weight is significantly reduced - typically more than 95% compared to the weight of a traditional spider.

  • There is no air resistance in the LLS.

  • Full linear control of the movements of the voice coil is achieved.

The results are:

  • Smoother frequency response

  • Better impulse handling

  • Higher efficiency

  • Lower driver resonance

 
 

The Ambitious Tweeter:

Searching for the best tweeter for the A-Series we have tested a lot of tweeters. For the A-Series we cannot accept too many compromises. At the same time we had some ideas on how to improve high frequency performance. We simply wanted to find out how to eliminate some of the weaknesses in conventional tweeters.

Striving for better and more natural performance we started “the dream tweeter project” in 2015.

The development went well and now we are proud to present the first Ambitious Tweeter. 

 A few highlights:

  • Unlike a dome tweeter, we do not use a traditional voice coil and we do not use any suspension.

  • We use a small ultralight membrane for best dispersion and impulse handling.

  • The voice coil is an integrated part of the membrane. Distortion is very low because there are no breakups in the membrane.

  • We do not use any transformer or electronics in the signal path.

  • The Ambitious Tweeter has a smooth frequency curve from 2,000-50,000 Hz 

The Ambitious Tweeter is manufactured in Denmark by Ambitious Audio Design.

 
 

EnCLOSURE

The design and strength of the enclosure is very important for the sound quality.

The A-Series is based on an extremely solid enclosure. Many components are included in the construction to achieve high strength, damping - and high weight.

The outer structure is made of high quality aluminum. Aluminum has high strength in relation to its weight - and at the same time good cushioning. To increase the strength and increase the damping, carbon rods, stainless steel, copper, brass and high performance plastics are built into the outer structure. To ensure maximum strength and cushioning, the cabinet is glued together under pressure.

A large part of the cabinet is machined out of blocks of aluminum - combined with high-strength materials.

Front

The front is made of different kinds of material to achieve strength, weight and damping. The outer front is made of a solid block of aluminum. To avoid vibrations of the signal the outer front is supported with an inner front made of a solid block of high performance material with high damping.


Normally, you will mount the drivers directly into the front. The bass and midrange drivers, especially, send vibrations to the front, adding coloration distortion to the signal. We want to avoid that kind of distortion.


 
 

Ambitious Mounting System

To avoid that kind of coloration we have made at new mounting system. 

With the new system there is no mechanical contact between the drivers and the front of the loudspeaker. Instead of mounting the drivers in the front the drivers are attached to a solid anchor in the back of the enclosure.

STAND

To ensure maximum stability, we also paid attention to the stand.The principles from the construction of the enclosure have been the inspiration…again. A solid aluminum construction is reinforced and damped with different materials. For highest strength and damping, the parts are glued together.

 

Foot

A1.1 must stand, rock solid, on the floor. Again - to ensure maximum stability, we paid attention to the foot. The foot is made from a 50 kilos block of aluminum. After 10 hours of CNC machining the foot is combined with separate adapters. There is no mechanical contact between the foot and the adapters.

The result is a stabile and well damped component. The total weight of the foot is 15 kilos. 

 

 

TERMINATION

At the bottom of the foot you will find two sets of binding posts. Normally, you will mount the speakers' crossovers inside the enclosure and connect the speakers to a set of binding posts on the backside of the enclosure. The speaker cables will hang in the air. 

Mainly for aestetic resons we are not fond of cables hanging in the air so we put the binding posts at the bottom of the foot.

EXTERNAL CROSSOVER

To ensure flexibility and access to the best crossover, we have chosen to make an external crossover. For some audiophiles, the best crossover is still a traditional passive crossover, where an amplifier drives both bass and tweeter. For others, a digital electronic crossover will be the optimal solution.

The A1.1 comes standard with a passive crossover, but Ambitious Audio Design also offers a digital electronic crossover. It will be possible to purchase the digital crossover from the start. 

The digital solution requires an additional amplifier, but the solution also has some technical advantages.