Coaxial speakers are systems in which the individual driver unit emits a sound from the same point of axis. There are two main types of this variant: compact and two-way high-power. This kind of speakers is popular in live concerts for on-stage foldback duties, which gives the performers a more even sound field.
Compact Coaxial Speaker
Firstly, the compact coaxial speaker is common in-car audio. It includes two or three speaker drivers. In addition, it includes a tweeter or a tweeter and a mid-range driver and it is usually located in front of the woofer. Thus, the low-frequency sound waves emerge from this and they remain untouched. Without time-alignment correction, the sound produced by the tweeter might arrive before the sound produced by the woofer.
Two-way High-power Coaxial Speaker
Secondly, the two-way high-power coaxial speaker, also known as single-source or dual-concentric loudspeaker, aims at professional audio applications. The sound results from two drivers that originate in the same source. Moreover, this allows a wider field of listening to a synchronized summation of speaker drivers. Within this design, the response pattern is symmetric around the axis of the loudspeaker.
Coaxial Speakers: the History
Electronic Industries Inc. made compact coaxial speakers highly popular around the 1970s. A few years after that, the Jensen Loudspeakers launched. Afterwards, other designs, such as Sparkomatic, Clarion, and Infinity came to live.
Initially, McCune Sound used Altec 604s in the 1980s. Later, Professional Audio Systems (PAS) adopted Time Alignment technology from Ed Long and sold the SW series of compact stage wedges that had a 12 to the 15-inch woofer. Finally, Eastern Acoustic Works, in partnership with Clair Brothers, L-Acoustics, Radian Audio Engineering, RCF, Beyma, dB Technologies, Fulcrum Acoustic, and Rat Sound designed other stage monitors that employed coaxial designs.
