Now take a look at the last animation called " Acoustic Output of Time Incoherent Speaker" Here, we have generalized the typical speaker that does not have acoustically aligned drivers, and that employs a second, third or fourth order crossover. Now, and here's the dirty little secret... These 'steep' crossovers by their very nature delay parts of the signal, and - and here's the worst part - even invert parts of the signal! That's how they work - for reasons that unavoidably descend from the basic physics of what happens in a crossover circuit.

Watch the delays and inversions.

This is ugly, horrible stuff...so obviously wrong that you may find it hard to believe what I'm saying... and even worse, that most speakers actually do behave this way.

Well, I'm not making this stuff up...just pick up a Stereophile and see for yourself!

No other component is 'allowed' to do this - and I think you can see why.

But, the fact is that there are two classes of speakers out there: time coherent and time incoherent.

And when you consider, as we just have, the billions years that it has taken for nature, mind and heart to arrive at the time for music to play in your living room, why in the universe would you want a speaker that goofs it up in the last few moments?

It's your choice...but now you are armed with knowledge.

Sincerely,

Pat McGinty