Meyer Sound has been granted a US patent on proprietary digital technology used in the Bluehorn loudspeaker system, ‘to reproduce complex musical signals with absolutely flat frequency and phase response across the full audio bandwidth’.
‘This patent award underscores why the Bluehorn System has become such an important tool for audio professionals,’ says Meyer Sound CEO, John Meyer. ‘Some studio monitors may flatter the programme content with potentially pleasing colorations generated in part by phase anomalies, but that is only misleading to the mixing engineer. The Bluehorn System is absolutely true to the input signal, and it retains the same precise phase linearity from a delicate whisper up the highest listening levels that would be prudent for even short-term monitoring.’
The patent (9,992,573 B1) is formally titled Phase inversion filter for correcting low frequency phase distortion in a loudspeaker system, and outlines the digital signal processing techniques involved in cancelling out the phase anomalies inherent in all loudspeaker systems due to the physical mass of the loudspeaker drivers and resonance of the loudspeaker enclosures. The patented technology restores the original phase relationships, even at the lowest audio octaves, by applying an inverted phase response.
The patented filter algorithms are hosted in a dedicated hardware processor placed in front of both the two-way, mid-high loudspeaker and the separate low-frequency loudspeaker. The system-specific correction algorithms hosted by the processor were developed by meticulously analysing all physical and electrical nonlinearities throughout the entire system, from 25Hz to 20kHz, in order to bring acoustic output – at any level – into phase and frequency alignment with the input signal. Essentially, the digital processing nullifies the nonlinearities of drivers and enclosures, resulting in a phase-coherent response previously achieved only by open-air electrostatic headphones with their extremely low mass diaphragms.
The Bluehorn System is designed for high-resolution monitoring applications in mid-sized rooms for music recording, cinema postproduction, music mastering and other applications requiring high-accuracy sound reproduction. Externally, Bluehorn System’s two-way component shares the same cabinet footprint, driver dimensions and waveguide configuration as Meyer Sound’s Acheron Designer loudspeaker. On the inside, however, it uses an upgraded HF driver and new amplifiers with ultra-low noise and distortion. Complete Bluehorn Systems are available in either stereo or LCR configurations, with each channel comprising a two-way mid-high loudspeaker, a separate low frequency element, and the dedicated digital processing.
More: www.meyersound.com
