NEW AUDIO IDEA

[Dennis Murphy]

Intermodulation Distortion
Intermodulation (IM) is the interaction of two or more frequencies. This interaction creates new frequencies that are the sum and difference of the reference tones, e.g., 100 &1000 Hz, may produce sidebands of 1100 and 900. Intermodulation adds non related, highly dissonant frequencies that are far more objectionable than harmonic distortion, and audible at levels lower than any other nonlinear distortion. Music is made up of many simultaneous frequencies making IM distortion a major concern. It is consistently agreed that IM is more detrimental than other forms of nonlinear distortion.
This would be the main reason I thought of my idea in the first place.

I have tested my idea on a very basic level and it works and it does sound better to me and a friend of mine, but I need a full scale setup to tell for sure and proper audio files and a good listening panel to know for sure if this is something that can go anywhere.

I will definitely keep everyone posted on my progress.

I'm still confused. It sounds like you're trying to clean up distortion that exists in the primary source, not the speaker.

 

[j_garcia]

I was going to ask that as well. At what point in the chain is this being addressed? Various points can introduce their own issues, all the way back to the mic.

 

[Randy Robinson]

I was going to ask that as well. At what point in the chain is this being addressed? Various points can introduce their own issues, all the way back to the mic.

IM Distortion may happen somewhere before the speaker, but it still happens at the speaker...
My Idea adresses all aspects of the audio chain, except the mic, that is what makes it different or difficult to find that anyone has done it before.

Again, really sorry I can't share the exact details. But I will make this happen one way or another and I will keep you guys posted.

 

[mtrycrafts]

IM Distortion may happen somewhere before the speaker, but it still happens at the speaker...
My Idea adresses all aspects of the audio chain, except the mic, that is what makes it different or difficult to find that anyone has done it before.

Again, really sorry I can't share the exact details. But I will make this happen one way or another and I will keep you guys posted.

Electronic IM is so low I doubt it is audible. Certainly many magnitudes below a speaker driver created IM.
You are wasting your time solving electronic IM issues without factually knowing it is audible.
Work on speaker IM issues that is not solvable. All frequencies a driver tries to reproduce will interact with each other no matter how far apart they are in frequency.

 

[ski2xblack]

There was a little thing invented way back in 1946 that addressed IM distortion at the speaker level. It was designed by Paul W. Klipsch and it's called the Klipschorn. They still make them today, and they still sport some of the lowest IM distortion numbers out there.

 

[rojo]

 

[DukeL]

Randy may well have come up with something new and practical, or a least something that's a worthwhile improvement, so I hope he gets the chance to fully test his ideas. The art is advanced by someone having an innovative idea and then figuring out a way to make it a reality. Sometimes that someone is an engineer working for a company, and sometimes that someone is a hard-core DIYer. The path between idea and working model is one of trial and error and lots of unpaid late nights. Even if the odds are against the would-be innovator, it is good for the soul to be true to your best ideas and give them a fair chance of success.

It is even good for the soul to run into some skeptical opposition along the way - lets you exercise some character muscles that may not get called upon every day, and may raise valid concerns that you need to face up to.

 

[annunaki]

Randy, if you are serious about the patent and the idea and believe you have something worth a patent the first step is a patent search. You can do this for as little as $200 - $300 through companies such as Legal Zoom. When submitting you will need to thoroughly describe your idea in somewhat technical detail. They will then respond to you with any patents that may exist already that include all or a portion of your idea.

Once you can clearly differentiate that you have something unique, you can then apply for a patent and will receive patent pending status. Understand that your patent could still be accepted or denied at that point.

Additionally if you are serious about getting assistance, you should have a non-disclosure agreement prepared and seek out an expert for assistance to help you. NDAs are available on many of the legal help sites.

Best of luck in the process. Don't let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. You may fail but in the process you learn. The Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, etc all failed many many times before the had siginicant breakthroughs.

 

[shadyJ]

I don't know how you would get rid of IMD totally. First, as was mentioned, you have to determine how audible it is, which is no simple thing. There have been studies which have shown audibility of IMD in simultaneous tone testing, but measuring its audibility in real world listening is a very different thing. And every component generates it- including your own ears! One thing that helps alleviate IMD is multi-way speakers and electronics. The smaller a band that a component has to deal with, the less IMD can be a problem. But again, who cares if it is not audible in the first place. Something else that helps alleviate it is by keeping component far away from any non-linear performance ranges, ie. keeping drivers within xmax, etc. The Klipschorn approach, as was mentioned.

By the way, you can get rid of IMD from your own ears by destroying your Cochlea's outer hair cells. It also has the effect of reducing loudness compression of your hearing, thereby making the scale of loudness more linear. The cost, however, is hugely reduced dynamic range in your hearing, among other disadvantages.