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The Solus DR-id8 is a two-way high performance loudspeaker system made for custom in-wall installation where external or free-standing speakers are prohibited by space limitations, or where architecturally aesthetic considerations are primary. It is intended for use as a high quality home theater surround sound / sound distribution loudspeaker as well as a high-end audio loudspeaker for in-wall placement.
System Parts
Frame: The frame for securing the baffle to the wall is a molded 12 1/2" by 15 1/2" polystyrene unit. It has a 3/4" lip as a decorative cover fitting over the drywall cutout edges in addition to 4 hardened plastic screw-held clamping feet for securing the frame itself to the wall. There are also 4 protruding feet as part of the frame itself each with a hole down the center. These frame feet allow for direct stud secure attachment by putting a screw through each foot into the wall stud. The stud attachment can be optimized by wedging a ¼" rubber O-ring between the stud and the frame foot, and then securing with a screw through all three. Such attachment now allows for isolation from vibration for improved bass response and overall clarity as well as solid stud security, a unique installation advantage of Solus Diamond Reference Series products.
Speaker Baffle: The speaker baffle itself houses a 8" co-poly cone woofer, a 1" 'Silk Soft Dome' extended range driver, and a quasi-linear-phase, 6dB/octave filter with accompanying Zobel network. The bass driver is a proprietary design, designed, tested and QC'd at Solus. The silk soft dome is built for Solus to its design specifications and totally tested and QC.'d at Solus. The filter network is computer optimized for integration with the above drivers. A fitted metal grill covers the system with final finish out flush with the wall. Both the frame and grill, which come standard in decorator white, can be covered with cloth for custom applications. The metal grill itself is also treated for use in high moisture area applications such as bathrooms.
Solus Components - DR-id8 Woofer
The id8 bass unit is a proprietary 8" talc damped polypropylene cone, focused field woofer. Cone properties stress inertness, enough to dampen all unwanted spurious signal responses, and rigidity, enough for high power, low distortion performance. A Nitryl surround is used that is light in weight allowing for 90dB efficiency at one meter with 2.83 volts input. It's unique inverted roll structure also eliminates edge reflections usually occurring around 1000 Hz in a woofer of this size.
Enhanced power handling capacity has been gained through the use of Black Kevlar* voice coil formers. Besides being lightweight and rigid in structure, it uniquely radiates heat to the pole piece and top plate more efficiently than aluminum yet doesn't conduct heat longitudinally to the temperature sensitive coil / cone juncture. The result is greater thermal cooling, less chance for overheating, and greater power handling capacity. These benefits are further enhanced with Solus's shaped magnetic gap, which yields greater efficiency, damping, and lower harmonic distortion at high listening levels. This is accomplished through the use of an undercut or 'T' shaped pole piece and chamfered top plate focusing magnetic lines of force evenly into the gap. The end result is a symmetrical energy field drive. To ensure the even distribution of moving mass parts split lead wires are used, one each on opposite sides of the cone.
Unique to Solus in the DR-id8 woofer is its optimized high frequency roll off. It is specifically engineered to achieve an 18 dB per/octave acoustical roll off rate when integrated with a single pole, 6dB / octave minimum phase electrical filter and Zobel network. First order electrical filter networks are preferred for their known accuracy of maintaining original signal integrity, and their open, uncompressed sonic attributes, but usually not considered protective enough of driver components for sustained high power input. Engineering both the woofer component and the electrical filter network to work together as an "integrated design" negates this precept and uniquely optimizes the desired high-performance qualities of efficiency, high power-handling capacity, and voice coil protection.
DR-id8 'Planar Dispersion Control' 1' Soft Dome Extended Range Driver
Outstanding transient response, flat frequency response (+/- 1.2 dB from 2 KHz to 25KHz), and a smooth, amplifier friendly impedance are but a few of the features of the Solus 'Planar Dispersion Control' driver. The diaphragm is made of lightweight silk textile composite impregnated for rigidity. A neodymium magnet, a considerably more powerful material than ceramic, drives it. An aluminum voice coil former is used for efficiently radiating heat away from the coil windings where it can be safely dissipated improving power handling capacity. It is additionally Ferro-Fluid cooled with magnetic oil in the voice coil gap. This fluid pulls heat away from the voice coil further providing increased power handling capacity. FerroFluid also increases the dampening of the mechanical system resulting in greatly improved transient response, and a smoother extended impedance curve. This final attribute in turn results in significantly less electrical phase shift through the cross-over region allowing for a more accurate and improved spatial image and sound stage presentation.
The Solus dome also utilizes a damped pole piece in the form of a felt disc mounted on top of the pole piece. It serves to eliminate a perceived overall loss of detail as well as the standing waves that cause response errors audibly detected as an unnatural "nasal tonality" in female voices.
High output ability is enhanced in the Solus dome by the use of a "Symmetrical Magnetic Gap". This is created by incorporating a "dished" pole piece, which shapes the magnetic flux lines thereby concentrating gauss intensity where needed to drive the voice coil. Output is improved and lower harmonic distortion results as well.
Unique to the DR-id8 dome is its "Controlled Dispersion Lens". Its' precise shape and size combination seamlessly couples the output of the tweeter diaphragm on a controlled dispersion basis to that of the listening area. The result is an even 360-degree dispersion radius while maintaining extraordinarily smooth frequency response beyond 20KHz.
DR-id8 Filter Network
A 6dB/octave electrical filter and matching Zobel network are employed as the low pass filter for the proprietary Solus 6" woofer to achieve an 18dB / octave final acoustical filter slope. This is symmetrically coupled to the 18dB/octave low end acoustical roll off filter for the Solus 1" "controlled dispersion" dome tweeter achieved with a 12dB / octave electrical filter. The iron-core laminate inductor for the woofer is designed and tested by Solus to meet exact required value. The dome employs a series, low ESR, high quality polypropylene capacitor and bypass with an optimized Solus inductor for precise achievement of a symmetrical acoustical slope with that of the woofer. A current limiting protection circuit is used just in case of amplifier misbehavior. To flatten out even further and already relatively smooth impedance response, a Zobel, or impedance compensating network is used on the woofer. System impedance measures an extraordinarily smooth +/- 6 ohms from 80Hz to 20KHz.
When used together, steep, protective, symmetrical 18dB/octave roll off rates are achieved through 3 octaves on both sides of the cross-over frequency.
DR-id8 Integrated System
As a complete integrated system the DR-id8 achieves high performance quality in power handling, output capacity coupled with superior musical definition ability. Steep 18dB/octave acoustical roll off rates provide greater protection against excessive power, improve power-handling capacity, and allow for cleaner presentation of information from each driver. Symmetrical acoustical slope achievement through the extended bandpass range further results in lower IM distortion providing a cleaner more detailed sound. Additionally, the flat system impedance, +/- 6 ohms, 80 Hz to 20 KHz, is totally amplifier friendly, and less amplifier stress usually lends itself to cleaner, more enjoyable sound and greater overall system longevity.
DR-id8 "In-wall" Loudspeaker Specifications:
Woofer Size: 8 Inch
Tweeter Size & Type: 1 Inch Silk Soft Dome, Neodymium Magnet
Crossover Type: 6dB / Octave, Low Pass with Zobel (Impedance Compensation) Network 12dB / Octave High Pass
Crossover Frequency: 2000Hz
Sensitivity: 90 dB, At One Meter, 2.83 Volts Input, Full Frequency Pink Noise Rated
Frequency Response: 50Hz - 50KHz, +/- 2.4 dB
Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms
Suggested Maximum Power: 200 Watts IEC
Outside Frame Dimensions: 12 1/2 Inches by 15 1/2 Inches
Depth: 3 1/4 Inches
Warranty: Limited Lifetime |
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