The electrostatic principle has many advantages; these can apply to the construction of electrostatic speakers. The construction of this kind of loudspeakers helps to create speakers with better transient response, lower coloration, and non-linear distortion. Moreover, the radiation qualities tend to work better with room acoustics.
The electrostatic loudspeaker includes a pretty light and flexible diaphragm. Because of this, the electric received forces operate directly on the air load, which creates sound waves as a result. By applying this principle, the effects of complex vibrational modes are discarded. This makes the acoustic performance more predictable and accurate. These are a type of flat-panel speakers.
A Bit of History on Electrostatic Speakers
The first electrostatic speakers emerged between 1920 and 1930. However, they became popular and efficient until the 1950s. The first ones weren’t successful at all. In contrast, in newer versions, the constant-charge polarization earned respect and practicality. The first marketed electrostatic loudspeaker appeared around 1957 and was accessible to the public.
Electrostatic Speakers: Cons and Pros (but Mostly Cons)
On the one hand, electrostatic speakers have a significant amount of technical problems. Some examples are those regarding high-voltages and single-circuit impedances. In addition to this, you need to carefully control the diaphragm material in terms of mechanical and electrical instances.
Similarly, electrostatic loudspeakers are extremely sensitive to ambient humidity. Along with this, they don’t have a bass response because of their phase cancellation and lack of enclosure. The bass roll-off point occurs when the narrowest panel dimension is equal to a quarter wavelength of the radiated frequency for dipole radiators. Apart from these cons, electrostatic speakers face difficulties when trying to reproduce low-frequencies with a vibrating tight film with small excursion amplitude. Nevertheless, small amplitude excursions move large amounts of energy to the outside.
On the other hand, electrostatic speakers also have many advantages. Some of these are low-distortion levels and great frequency response in both phase and amplitude. We get these advantages because the principle of producing both force and pressure is practically resonance-free.
Conclusions
Even if there are plenty of disadvantages, electrostatic speakers are popular in the music industry. Plus, is good to learn about them due to the fundamental role they play in this field. If you’re looking for something different, try reading our other entries. Digital, electrodynamic, full-range, mid-range, woofer, subwoofer, tweeter, coaxial, and magnetostrictive speakers might grab your interest!
