A System Approach Though generally known as a loudspeaker manufacturer, Sonicweld does not design or sell speakers alone - we produce complete systems exclusively. This means that each Sonicweld product requires only a source component for operation, which could be anything from an ultrahigh performance multi-format disc player to an iPod. We believe passionately in this unconventional, holistic approach, because it transcends on every level the performance and aesthetics available from a conventional system cobbled together with components from disparate manufacturers. The Sonicweld design philosophy might be summarized in two words: synergistic minimalism. By intimately melding the amplifier and signal processing electronics with the loudspeaker design, we are able to achieve a level of harmonized integration between the different sub-systems that would be unattainable otherwise. For instance: when designing conventional electronic components such as preamps or amplifiers, it is common practice to use DC blocking capacitors in the input and output circuits; otherwise any DC present on the signal cable would be greatly amplified, wasting power, robbing dynamic range, and potentially damaging the downstream speakers. Caps in the signal path have long been recognized as sonically undesirable, yet designers generally use them because they have no way of knowing whether the upstream components have DC offsets or not. In a Sonicweld system, the input and output conditions under which the amplifiers operate are precisely known. We are therefore free to eliminate undesirable, unnecessary components such as DC coupling caps, amplifier output protection circuits, connectors, and wiring. In fact, our design process is centered on completely avoiding the limitations of conventional, multi-component systems. These inherent shortcomings are often controversial and confusing, such as the choice of speaker cables. There are hundreds of models on the market - how is the beleaguered audiophile to chose among them? Each claims to provide exclusive, almost magical benefits to the lucky owner, but sampling even a small percentage of all the available cables is cost and time prohibitive. By contrast, there are no speaker cables in a Pulserod. Each amplifier is mere inches away from the speaker it drives, connected by custom-designed printed circuit boards that are optimized for this specific task. We believe that eliminating a component is always preferable to even its most expensive, exotic alternative. Only by realizing that an audio system functions as one large, complex component can a truly optimal design be achieved. Crossover Design The controversial art of crossover design is critical to high-performance loudspeaker operation. A crossover is an array of filters, necessary in multi-way systems to properly blend the outputs of multiple drivers into a coherent whole. In 1998, our award-winning Timpanogos loudspeaker system featured a crossover design which, in keeping with our philosophy of signal-path minimalism, featured only wire in the signal path in a non-reactive configuration, and which presented the amplifier with an almost purely resistive load. This, we felt, represented the pinnacle of passive crossover design. However, years of subsequent work have clearly established that active crossover design (wherein each woofer, midrange, tweeter, etc. is driven with a dedicated amplifier, and the filtering is performed before the amplifer) far surpasses any passive crossover design, however cleverly executed. Ergo, we have no plans to produce passive speakers again, considering them fundamentally flawed. Active systems convey a host spectacular benefits, such as greatly increased dynamic range, freedom from intermodulation distortion, lower harmonic distortion, and shocking resolving power. In a Sonicweld system, the crossovers are executed in dedicated DSP hardware. This digital filtering method is simply the cleanest and most flexible, with the highest possible fidelity. It enables mathematically intense processing that would either be impractical or impossible in the analog domain. Specifically, digital signal processing allows the designer to correct for the imperfect frequency and time domain response that is characteristic of all loudspeakers, filter much more sharply than can be attained with analog filters, and even ameliorate many anomalies of the acoustic environment in which the speakers are operating. These sophisticated abilities put Sonicweld products in a rare class of performance that cannot be approached by more pedestrian passive speakers. To learn more about the cutting-edge DSP system included with our products, we encourage you to visit www.deqx.com. Physical Design and Construction With an uncluttered, form-follows-function aesthetic and a decidedly modern look and feel, each of Sonicweld’s designs are meant to be enjoyed as works of functional art. Because we have dispensed with bulky amplifiers and inconvenient speaker cabling, our designs achieve a high degree of domestic compatibility while delivering uncompromised performance. At Sonicweld, bigger is not better. We always strive for the most compact, clean design which meets our high standards for high dynamic range and low-distortion performance. Efficient, sleek dimensions offer two advantages: firstly, diffractive behavior in the upper frequency ranges is greatly improved, helping to give our designs the astonishing breadth and depth of imaging they're well known for. Secondly, smaller dimenisions push the resonant frequencies of the enclosure's walls well above the passband, minimizing excitation and energy storage. In the quest to eliminate spurious enclosure vibrations which would mar the sound, construction has long been recognized as a critical aspect of loudspeaker design. Innumerable methods and materials - such as cast cement, lead lining, mineral-loaded plastics, and laminated medium-density fiberboard (MDF) - have been employed in a marginally successful effort to address fundamental shortcomings of enclosures. Sonicweld offers the superior alternative of solid metal structures, carefully milled to form - a method we pioneered in 1998. There is nothing like the unmistakable look and feel of a precisely machined component. This expensive and exacting method of manufacturing has been used for years in high-tech disciplines such as formula car racing and aerospace, yet Sonicweld was the first to fully apply it in loudspeaker chassis construction. Why hadn't this been done before? Quite simply, few manufacturers were up to the task. The economics of working in wood are favorable, and the techniques are relatively simple. Our computer-optimized designs are machined almost entirely in-house, on our own state-of-the-art CAD/CAM machining center. Each new design represents thousands of pounds of metal consumed in prototypes, and generally several hundred hours of refining the CNC programs, fixtures, and choice of tooling. Why Metal? The mechanical properties of metal make it an ideal material for loudspeaker construction, provided it is properly damped and treated. While most metals in raw form will exhibit a very "high Q" ring, Sonicweld makes extensive use of constrained layer damping. This results in the most inert loudspeaker structure ever realized. The sonic results are amazing: the sound is cleansed, unfettered by the transient smearing and boxy sound that characterize loudspeakers which use conventional materials and enclosure construction. Imaging ability is transformed. Dynamic contrasts are startlingly realistic. Longevity In A Disposable World Our global economy has flooded the market with inexpensive consumer electronic goods which are ubiquitous to the point of being disposable. While the availability of high technology is of great benefit to many, the uninspired design and shoddy construction that are too often representative of consumer goods also has the consequence of producing a uniquely post-modern consumer fatigue. This is the weariness of being surrounded by cheap, unimaginitive devices, cloned en masse in some farflung, soulless factory. The modern connoisseur still longs for the memory of a bygone era when products were handcrafted and built to last, and Sonicweld products are built in this spirit and tradition of craftsmanship. Their every detail is indicative of a type of quality rarely seen in today's world of imitation, facade, and fakery. In contrast to the widespread practice of global outsourcing (or even rebranding products designed and made entirely overseas), all Sonicweld products are entirely designed, machined, and assembled in Utah, USA. Environmental Responsibility All Sonicweld products are made largely of aluminum and stainless steel, two of the most recycled materials on earth. In fact, all of the aluminum scraps generated in our machining operations are dilligently recycled. Our products are engineered and hand-built to last for an extraordinarily long time - each comes with a full ten year, transferrable warranty! - but when they reach the end of their useful life, their design and construction make for simple teardown and recycling. The products are designed to be as electrically efficient as possible during their operation, using sensitive neodymium drivers in arrays, fed by advanced switching amplifiers and power supplies that waste an absolute minimum of power. In addition, we purchase over half of our facility's monthly electric power from renewable sources.