Acoustical Reality

by Josef W. Manger

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“Human hearing evolved initially

as a survival mechanism to locate
a potential threat. Today our
hearing still works by analysing the
first transient pressure change
from a sound source. Unlike
traditional speakers, the Manger
sound transducer accurately
reproduces transient pressure
changes to give stunningly realistic
sound. This booklet explains why
transient response is so important
and how the unique Manger sound
transducer works.“

Josef W. Manger

AT LAST: A LOUDSPEAKER BASED ON HUMAN PERCEPTION

I am often asked why I am in the business of sound reproduction. Stated simply, it is due to
dissatisfaction with the performance of conventional loudspeakers which to me sound quite
unlike the original.

To my ears and those of others, the conventional loudspeaker does not convincingly
reproduce the timbre of percussive instruments. The spatial information in stereo signals is
not properly revealed, and the loudspeaker itself gives a permanent reminder of its
presence due to a tonal and spatial footprint which crushes the subtleties in the sound to be
reproduced.

My goal has always been to overcome these problems to achieve a quality of reproduction
approaching the original experience both tonally and spatially. This has required extensive
research into both human hearing and transducer design and has led to the world’s first
travelling wave transducer design.

Conventional wisdom cannot explain the Manger sound transducer, but then conventional
wisdom has not significantly advanced the performance of traditional loudspeakers which
repeat today the same mistakes which were clear years ago. To account for the
performance of the Manger transducer, I would simply quote the Chinese saying:
“You have to swim against the stream to reach its source.“

In my case swimming against the stream led away from tradition and into fundamental
research into just how much the human listener could perceive and into the hearing
mechanisms involved. Particular emphasis was given to a study of the human direction
sensing mechanism. This showed that in addition to the well established system of pitch
recognition on sustained notes, the ear has an evolutionarily older mechanism by which it
locates a sound source through transients.

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This mechanism is very powerful because it is the descendant of a highly evolved survival
technique from the dawn of mankind, where the slightest noise, such as the snapping of a
twig, would represent a threat to survival. Noises of this kind were useful information for all
species throughout the world. Speech and music specific to the locality came much later,
the noise of machinery later still.

Transient noises produce a one-off pressure step whose source is accurately and
instinctively located. If these transients are not accurately reproduced, the subconscious
direction finding mechanism is defeated. The sound becomes unrealistic, the stereophonic
image is impaired and the result is listening fatigue.

This research led not just to a confirmation of why the traditional loudspeaker is so poor,
but also to the specification of an ideal loudspeaker. From then on, the problem was simply
how the specification could be met. I was told it was impossible, but I argued that if the
human hearing mechanism could do it, then a man-made device could also do it. After a
great deal of development, the required result was obtained.

In my view, an accurate loudspeaker system should be capable of reproducing all types of

sound equally well. It does not matter whether this is a musical concert or a discussion. It is
just as important to be able to reproduce natural sound such as birdsong and the wind in
the trees where the only human contribution is the sound of a distant church bell. The
loudspeaker itself should contribute nothing to the experience; no resonances and no clues
in the sound field to reveal its dimensions.

The great majority of today’s loudspeakers are only designed to reproduce sustained notes
and frequently employ resonances to augment this process. From the standpoint of human
perception this is quite wrong because any resonance damages the transient response and
leads to unrealistic sound and poor imaging. Loudspeakers should be aperiodic, i.e. they
should have no resonances at all.

As conventional loudspeakers are built by tradition rather than science, myths abound. One
of these is that a good professional monitoring loudspeaker cannot be a good hi-fi speaker.
It seems to me that a loudspeaker which is only good for certain applications is probably not
good at all. Provided it is powerful enough, surely an accurate loudspeaker should be equally
useful in a wide range of applications. It is irrelevant whether the use is for relaxation,
entertainment, professional recording, audiometry or in the testing of microphones.
Conventional wisdom suggests otherwise, yet this is exactly the range of applications where
the Manger sound transducer will be found today.

Josef W. Manger

Josef W. Manger has been active in

transducer research and development
for nearly thirty years and began
manufacturing in 1985. He holds 40
patents and in 1982 was presented with
the Diesel medal, one of Germany`s
highest awards for engineering
excellence.

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CONTENTS

1/ The traditional explanation of human hearing

2/ Perception and hearing explained by new research

3/ Why traditional loudspeakers sound

4/ A new beginning for loudspeakers

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1/ The traditional explanation of human hearing

In a periodic sound there are two quantities which determine what the human listener will
perceive. Fig. 1 shows that the first is the frequency which will be interpreted as the
sensation of pitch. The second is the amplitude which will be interpreted as loudness.
Where the sound is sinusoidal, it will have a single frequency and a fixed period between
similar points on the wave. The distance sound can travel during one period is the
wavelength lambda.

Fig. 1

Sine waves seldom occur naturally. Real sounds contain many frequencies at once. This was
first given a scientific basis by Fourier who showed that any sound can be made by adding
sine waves of various frequencies. An electrically generated sine wave is a useful test tool
and loudspeakers must be able to reproduce such a signal.

In the case of a pitched musical instrument, a small number of extra harmonics give the
sound a characteristic timbre (right centre in the figure). In the case of noise or transients
there is no limit to the number of frequencies which may be present.

The human hearing mechanism is a biological transducer and psychoacousticians have

studied it extensively in an attempt to model its behaviour mathematically. The frequency
analysis of the ear is carried out by the basilar membrane which is enclosed within the spiral
cochlea or inner ear. The basilar membrane resonates to continuous tones at different
frequencies along its length, determining the frequency limits of human hearing. After
resonance has begun, the physical position or place of the resonance along the membrane
allows the listener to determine the pitch. In case of a timbral sound the harmonics will
excite a specific pattern of spaced resonances which will be unique for each type of
instrument allowing the listener to recognise its type.

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This analysis of hearing is called the place

theory and it models the response to
continuous tones quite well as Fig. 2
shows. Despite that, studies remain
incomplete. In 1987, Zenner phrased the
problem as follows:

“These (sensory cells) in the basilar

membrane perform the vital task of
converting the mechanical sound signal
into a bioelectric and biochemical signal.
The precise connection between the two
is not known at the present time.“

As far as the traditional loudspeaker is

concerned, little has changed since then. It
is considered sufficient to produce a level
frequency response to continuous tones,
crossing over between as many different
drive units as necessary, and generally
using resonance to augment low
frequency response. If this is an adequate
specification, why is it that loud-
speakers which all meet it can sound so
different?
Fig. 2

2/ Perception and hearing explained by new research

The human hearing mechanism does not just detect the existence of sound, it also estimates
the direction of the source as well as analysing the content of the sound to determine the
most likely cause. In musical sounds, the pitch will also be determined. Josef Manger has
been studying these mechanisms for over 20 years. He has found that each mechanism
takes a different time to operate following an initial transient. The location and nature of the
sound source are completely discerned before the pitch is recognised.

Pitch and timbral recognition is described by the well-established place theory, described in
Part 1, in which different parts of the basilar membrane resonate according to the
frequencies in the sound. However, various authorities, such as Keidel, Spreng, Klinke and
Zenner, have suggested that there is another, faster acting, mechanism which works in the
time domain.

The theory could not be tested with conventional loudspeakers. Confirmation of the theory
was not possible until Josef Manger used his newly developed transducer as the sound
source.

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Fig.3 illustrates this principle of transient analysis and shows an idealised transient pressure
waveform following an acoustic event. There are three important points made in the figure:

Fig. 3

1/ A complete cycle is quite unnecessary for the recognition of the sound source. Only the
initial transient pressure change A-B is required. The time of arrival of the transient at the
two ears will be different and will locate cause, i.e. the source laterally within around a
millisecond.

2/ Following the event which generated the transient, the air pressure equalises itself along
the line B-F. The period of time between B and F varies and allows the listener to establish
the likely size of the sound source.

3/ Only after the recognition of the source from the transient is the pitch recognised
according to the place theory of the basilar membrane from the part of the wave-form
beyond F.

The information in the initial transient pressure waveform goes beyond locating the source.
Fig. 4 illustrates how the size of a sound source affects the pressure equalisation time.
Pressure waveforms from a hand gun, a rifle and a cannon are shown. It will be seen that
the larger the source, the longer the pressure equalisation time.

Fig. 4

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The above results suggest that anything in a sound reproduction system which impairs
the reproduction of a transient pressure change will damage localisation and the
assessment of the pressure equalisation time. Clearly a loudspeaker which claims to
offer any degree of precision must be able to reproduce transients accurately.

3/ Why traditional loudspeakers sound unrealistic

“Traditional loudspeaker testing is not incorrect in what it measures, but in what it does
not measure.“
Josef W. Manger

Although Part 2 showed that accurate transient response is extremely important for
localisation and realism, the transient response of traditional loudspeakers is generally
extremely poor. Step response testing tells a great deal about the performance of a
loudspeaker. Fig. 5 illustrates pressure step testing. A pressure step cannot be maintained in
air because the pressure equalises to static pressure. All loudspeakers (and our ears) act as
high pass filters and when the voltage step at ! is fed to the loudspeaker, the flat top of the
step will drop as the pressure equalises. The waveform resulting from an ideal loudspeaker
can be calculated and is shown at ". Any departure from this ideal waveform highlights a
problem in the loudspeaker.

Note that amongst those tested the only loudspeakers which come remotely close to the
ideal are the Manger MSS and the Quad ESL-63. The remainder are literally out of control
during a transient.

Conventional wisdom only requires loudspeakers to have a flat response to continuous

tones, and the phase response is generally neglected. The common protest is that “phase
doesn’t matter“ or “the ear can’t hear phase“. People really think that. Most expensive
loudspeakers employ at least three drive units which are fed with different parts of the
frequency range by crossover networks. Again these are only designed for a flat frequency
response and frequently rapid phase changes occur at the crossover frequencies.

The traditional way of extending the low-frequency response without an excessively large
enclosure is to use resonance or time delay. Techniques such as reflex porting, Auxiliary
Bass Radiators (ABRs) and transmission lines only work on steady tones and are unable to
reproduce transient waveforms. The only low frequency technology which can reproduce
the input waveform accurately is the sealed enclosure.

Pressure step testing shows the inadequacy of these traditional approaches. Reference to
Fig. 5 shows that the input waveform is simply not being reproduced. Instead these
loudspeakers are issuing a noise which describes their construction rather than the signal.
Note the sequential pulses where the top, middle and low frequency units respond at the
wrong times, and in some cases the large low frequency oscillation due to the reflex tuning
of the woofer.

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Fig. 5
electrical input

theoretical ideal presuure

step response in air

closed to the ideal

Traditional
Loudspeakers
creating
acoustic footprints

This transient noise is responsible for the loudspeaker’s footprint which it superimposes on
every signal. This is why loudspeakers sound different, because each has an unique
footprint. In addition to causing listening fatigue, the footprint draws attention to the
speakers themselves and their dimensions. The listener is forced to stay close to the “sweet
spot“ midway between the speakers where the timing of the transient noise is the same at
both ears allowing interchannel differences in the input signal to be heard.

The multiple pulses in the transient noise also causes the hearing mechanism to
overestimate the level of the sound and the sensitivity of hearing goes down. The listener
tends to increase the volume in an attempt to compensate. If you ever wondered why
some engineers mix at such ear splitting levels, it is because their loudspeakers are replacing
musical information with noise. Users call for ever more powerful loudspeakers which
unfortunately are likely to be even less accurate. Research has shown that listening to poor
quality loudspeakers at high level damages hearing more than listening with good speakers.
Tragically, many audio engineers have impaired hearing.

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4/ A new beginning for loudspeakers

The Manger sound transducer was designed to meet the strict requirements of accurate
transient response and good directivity, in addition to the traditional
requirement for uniform frequency response. The Manger sound transducer has a magnet
and coil assembly as shown in Fig. 6, but there the similarity to a conventional speaker
ceases. The diaphragm is perfectly flat, but it is not rigid. Although the diaphragm is flexible,
it is made of a specially developed three-layer material which allows travelling waves.

Fig. 6

Over most of the wide working frequency range, the vibrations of the coil launch travelling
waves in the diaphragm which propagate radially outwards until they are terminated in the
star-shaped damping assembly which is visible at the perimeter. The propagation of
transients down the basilar membrane in the inner ear occurs in exactly the same way.

The diaphragm is not uniform, but instead its characteristics change with radius according to
a precisely determined law. This has a number of useful results.

Firstly, the radiating area falls with rising frequency. The lowest notes are radiated by the
whole diaphragm whereas higher frequencies only use the centre. Thus instead of requiring
a number of drive units of diminishing size, the Manger transducer is a single unit whose size
varies continuously with frequency.

Secondly, the coil does not have to accelerate the whole diaphragm at once and so can have
a very short rise time so that transients are faithfully reproduced.

Thirdly the radial propagation speed of vibrations through the diaphragm is carefully related
to the speed of sound in air so that the phase of radiation from the outer parts of the
diaphragm matches the phase of radiation from the inner parts which has propagated
through the air. Fig. 7 shows that this results in a broad radiation pattern which avoids the
narrow “beaming“ of conventional speakers.

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When recently discovered requirements for

a loudspeaker are properly met, listening
takes on some important new dimensions.
The fundamentally aperiodic nature of the
Manger transducer means that the only
periodicity in the sound applied to the ear
must have been in the original signal. It is
impossible to listen to a Manger transducer
because it doesn’t have a “sound“. The
footprint of the traditional loudspeaker is
completely absent, allowing all of the
information in the signal to be revealed to
the listener.

Fig. 7

The Manger sound transducer has a rare combination of time, frequency and spatial
accuracy and offers the following advantages:

1/ Greater realism: sounds are reproduced in a truly natural way. Enjoyable for the home
listener and an essential tool for the professional.

2/ No listening fatigue: listen indefinitely. This is the hallmark of a truly accurate

loudspeaker.

3/ No need to listen at elevated levels for critical assessment. Preserve your hearing!
Although the Manger transducer is capable of high SPL, its sheer accuracy means that the
listener instinctively matches the reproduced level to that of the original performance when
the perceived timbre becomes correct.

4/ No sweet spot. Any sweet spot is due to the footprint of a poor speaker. With the
Manger transducer the room is filled with a realistic sound field and listening can take place
anywhere.

The realism of the Manger transducer is recognised instantly by everyone who hears sound
reproduced by it. No musical or technical knowledge is required to appreciate this realism,
nor should it be.

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