Loudspeakers

Is the FR20 a diminutive FR30 [HFN Jun '22]? In terms of the crossover points, ABR performance, distortion and impedance trend it is, while the physical separation of woofers and mid/treble drivers in the FR20 has more to do with PS Audio utilising the floor boundary reinforcement to boost bass. However, the FR30's flat response trend is traded in the FR20 for one that shows a broad ~7dB depression centred on the 2.5kHz mid/treble crossover, followed by a boosted presence and steep dip at 11.4kHz [see Graph 1]. This stepped response – largely unaffected by vertical listening axis – results in large ±5.1dB and ±4.3dB errors, respectively, and a slightly diminished 86.5dB sensitivity (or 86.7dB averaged between 500Hz-8kHz). These features, and the 1.5dB pair matching, are largely unaffected by the snap-on magnetic grilles [blue trace, Graph 1]. Otherwise, as with the FR30, distortion from the 250mm planar magnetic midrange is very low at ~0.06% (re. 90dB SPL) and neither mid nor treble driver shows any significant breakup modes on the CSD waterfall [see Graph 2, below].

Nearfield analysis reveals the woofers have a 44Hz-460Hz bandwidth (–6dB), PS Audio again specifying a 400Hz low-pass crossover, while the 255mm ABRs peak at 25Hz [green shaded area, Graph 1], albeit with mild resonances at 72Hz, 107Hz and from 125-525Hz. There are further resonances associated with the carbon-fibre/Rohacell sandwich cone bass drivers [see CSD waterfall, Graph 2 and response, Graph 1] but, in combination, the pairs of woofers and ABRs deliver a creditable diffraction-corrected bass extension of 32Hz (–6dB re. 200Hz). PM