Loudspeakers

More than a few loudspeaker brands are pursuing the goal of super-light/stiff driver diaphragms to optimise performance and push primary breakup modes – which lead to very non-linear behaviour – out to frequencies beyond their passband. This is achieved by recourse to modern materials technology, computer-modelled cone profiles and thicknesses or, as in Canton's research, a mixture of all approaches. The base material for the woofers and midrange cones in all its Reference speakers is aluminium alloy, the latter's swept contour featuring three distinct radii and a separate alloy cap that also serves as a heatsink.

The Young's modulus of the alloy is increased by oxidising the cone to a thickness of 20%, and the resulting aluminium oxide is the stiff 'ceramic' layer mentioned in Canton's literature. The German brand is not alone in using a ceramic/alloy sandwich to stiffen its cones, Monitor Audio is another [HFN Oct '21], but its doping of the oxide with fine tungsten particles – an exceptionally dense and hard metal – is unique to Canton. PM