Super Linear Magnet Technology
Since the invention of the moving coil loudspeaker, designers have been looking for ways of improving the sonic performance of loudspeaker systems. No Company has put more emphasis on this than ATC, and with the development of the Super Linear Magnetic System one of the longest standing obstacles has been removed. The detrimental effects of magnetic hysteresis have been known for many years, but it has been a combination of timing, the right material coming to market and ATC’s engineering skills that brings the technology into loudspeakers.
The magnetic characteristic of the steel used in the magnet assembly of a loudspeaker is inherently non-linear due to magnetic hysteresis. This results in a distortion of the input signal in the loudspeaker causing audible colouration.
ATC’s super linear magnet development is to add rings of the SLMM to the magnet assembly pole and front plate adjacent to and concentric with the loudspeaker voice coil. The effect of the rings is to reduce 3rd harmonic distortion by between 10-15dB between 100Hz and 3KHz. The addition of the SLMM produces a significant improvement in sound quality, reducing the level of distortion so dramatically as to reveal another layer of information to the listener. Ambient sounds and low level effects that were previously masked are now clearly audible and create an enhanced sense of realism. The resultant improvement in the quality of the reproduction of human voice and piano testifies to its success.
