Loudspeakers for Audio and Home Cinema
Loudspeakers
We have a close working relationship with HQ Acoustics – who are a specialist British owned Loudspeaker manufacturer based in Milton, Cambridge. HQ Acoustics have the capability of producing loudspeakers to meet the exacting requirements for state–of-the art Audio and Home Cinema systems.
With stunning styling – these speakers truly stand out from the crowd.
The HQ speaker range consists of both bass reflex and transmission line loudspeaker designs, and the choice of which one is best for you depends largely on your listening environment and your partnering equipment.
For exemplary audio applications we recommend the NEW HQ Inspiration range of Transmission line loudspeakers which we believe are more than a match for loudspeaker systems costing several times the price.
The main benefits of transmission line loudspeakers was summarised by Dr Joe D’Apollito – one of the most respected loudspeaker designers in the World who said:
“Transmission Line loudspeakers have long enjoyed a small, but dedicated following. The advantages of TL's are well known. They are essentially non-resonant enclosures, producing a deep, well-controlled bass response. For a given driver, bass response will extend well below that produced with either a vented or sealed enclosure using the same driver. Above a few hundred Hz, the line filling material completely absorbs the driver backwave, giving the TL an open, non-boxy sound.”
A further endorsement of the transmission line principle is by B&W who developed their unique Nautilus loudspeaker using the Transmission Line principle. This loudspeaker has become a legend in its own life time.
In Summary Transmission Line Loudspeakers have:
- virtually no sound emanating from the enclosure except the loudspeaker
- a large scale open sound – with a total lack of boxiness
- a very smooth mid-range
- the ability to reproduce the human voice with uncanny accuracy
- precisely defined imaging, particularly in the bass region
- precisely timed bass without echo or reverberant 'booming'
- excellent transient response and uncompressed dynamics
- a typical extended bass below a half wave frequency of the reflected line
- length typically, even loudspeaker-impedance, from the unchanging consistent load (no reflection resonances)
- high efficiency – can be used with low output SET/DHT amplifiers
Acoustic Perfection believes that the range of Inspiration Transmission Line Loudspeakers from HQ Acoustics represent the true “state of the art” in loudspeaker design.
Our range offers a loudspeaker for every room size, and occasion and are available in a variety of painted finishes.
At the present time – the brand new HQ Inspiration 1 Mk1 is available for demonstration, and prototypes of the Inspiration II mk I and III mk I can also be auditioned.
The HQ Inspiration I Mk 1 with its unique design, small footprint and superb hand finished cabinet. It is an exceptional performer for its size, and uses a magnesium coned bass/midrange driver coupled with a high quality ribbon tweeter. This combination results in a speaker which has a very linear response, a fast transparent sound with low distortion and excellent phase characteristics.
The combination of these two modern driver units ensures a superbly extended but controlled bass, and a pure, detailed and transparent midrange and treble. The response above 250Hz is ruler flat to 22- 30 KHz –which provides a totally natural reproduction of the music – without highs or lows where you don’t expect them. The cross over design is crucial to this performance and the use of critically designed and selected components ensures a first class result.
HQ also specialises in stand mounted bass reflex loudspeakers which are suitable for both Audio and Home Cinema applications where space in the listening environment is restricted.
The HQa 35L mk I stand mounts provide a performance that belies their size, being only 145mm wide 220mm high and 220m deep, and have a measured frequency range of 50Hz to 18KHz. Being manufactured from High Density Fibre board, and critically tuned to 1Hz, cabinet resonances are well controlled, resulting in a loudspeaker that has outstanding clarity when partnered with high quality equipment. Matching sand filled stands are available as an option.
Under development is a small scale stand mount new loudspeaker, the HQa 35L mk II which promises to deliver a superb performance for its size. Being slightly larger than the 35Lmk I, is stunning good looks and high gloss Silver finish will make this stand out from the crowd.
More details will be published later when prototypes are available.
Home Cinema
The demand for high quality audio for home cinema is growing with the advent of newer and newer sound formats, mainly being driven by primarily by the advent of Blu Ray.
Whilst there are many home cinema speaker packages on the market – the majority of them are built down to a price and often fall well short of delivering the required performance.
The newer formats of True-HD, Dolby® Digital Plus, and DTS® HD will place a further burden on the speaker system – and therefore only specially designed high quality speakers will fit the bill.
The most important loudspeaker for Home Cinema by far is the centre channel speaker. Invariably the design of this speaker is a compromise with many expensive units on the market having a restricted bandwidth, on account of their small size.
The LFE sub woofer unit itself is often a compromise in both in extension and slam, and can sound boomy or flabby. The surround speakers need to convey an atmosphere of spaciousness and direction – adding movement within the listening environment and seamlessly integrating with both the centre channel speaker and the LFE sub woofer. The HQ range of Subwoofers now includes the brand new compact “Significant” capable of delivering 500W of pure energy below 20Hz! The driver unit alone has a peak power of 700W a 3” voice coil and weighs in at 13Kg so this should be on your list of subs to audition.
Acoustic Perfection has set its objectives for Home Cinema speakers:
- Wide dynamic range
- Centre channel with excellent clarity for speech and good bass response
- Excellent integration across the speaker matrix
- Superior off axis response linearity to the horizontal configuration
- Fast, accurate, clean transparent sound
- Lifelike performance
- Sub woofer should have tight low bass with plenty of slam without boom
The HQ range consists of:
- AV-1 (Home Cinema System 1)
- AV-2 (Home Cinema System 2)
The HQ “Significant” compact high performance sub woofer.
This awesome sub- woofer is compact at just over 33 Litres - but delivers bass in a way the vast majority of mass produced sub woofers can only dream about. The prototype speaker will weigh in at nearly 50Kg in weight!
Specification
enclosure: critically tuned port
enclosure capacity: 33L ( 1 cu ft)
Driver unit: 10" Hi Vi SP10
frequency response: flat down to 20Hz
Amplifier: 500W
features: auto - off /on, adjustable cross over frequency, cross over bypass switch, parametric equalisation (Q, level, and freq), adjustable sub sonic filter ( 12, 16,20, 25Hz)
Signals to Noise Ratio: 105dB
distortion: <0.3% @ 500W, < 0.05% 5W - 420W
phase control: 0deg - 180deg
Cross over range: 40Hz - 120Hz
Cross over topology: 24dB / Octave