SEAS High-Performance

The SEAS Prestige Line

• Prestige Tweeters
• Prestige Midranges
• Prestige Woofers
• Prestige Coaxial Drivers
• Prestige Passive Radiator

Dome Tweeters

SEAS Prestige dome tweeters are produced in 19 and 25 mm voice coil versions, using both wide and narrow surround diameters. SEAS offers dome materials of cloth, aluminum, and titanium. Soft surround materials of textile or plastic are employed to suspend the dome diaphragm in a precise and dependable manner. All cloth and non-anodized aluminum diaphragms, as well as all dome surrounds, are produced in-house.

The rigid chassis (front plates) are injection molded from glass-filled engineering grade plastic. The cosmetic standard of the SEAS chassis is very high, and allows for custom designs in specified shapes, surface finishes, fixing holes, logos, etc. within wide limits. The corresponding tooling expense for customized designs is very cost effective. Aluminum diaphragms may be protected by wire mesh or perforated metal grilles, or by plastic diffusers, integrated into the chassis. Diffusers can also be optimized to flatten the high frequency response to an amazing degree.

25 mm voice coil dome tweeters with ferrite magnets may be equipped with a damped hole in the magnet pole and with a rear chamber, thereby offering a lower resonance frequency. The voice coil may also be fitted with braided lead out wires for applications that involve larger coil excursions.

The Prestige product range also offers compact dome tweeters with 25mm voice coils that use highly efficient magnet material made from Neodymium, lron and Boron. These are available in both textile and metal dome materials, with applications as individual tweeters or for use in SEAS Coaxial drivers.

All SEAS tweeters are available with magnetic fluid in two different viscosities that dramatically improves heat transfer from the voice coil to the pole piece. The magnetic fluid also provides mechanical damping for the voice coil, thereby smoothing the impedance curve, and allowing for simpler crossover design.

Cone Drivers

Prestige cone drivers are built on injection molded zinc chassis in sizes from 12cm to 26 cm, The molding process allows the material to be located exactly where it is needed for stiffness and strength, which is essential to high quality sound reproduction. The chassis are protected using an attractive and durable powder coating process. Prestige drivers are offered in a wide range of cone materials:

• Aluminum, yet reasonably light.
• Paper-available in a wide range of pulps, with or without coating.
• Polypropylene-unfilled or mica impregnated for extra stiffness.
• XP-an optically transparent polymer material that is light, stiff, and
• well damped.
• Glass Fibre-a woven material that is impregnated for stability and dynamic control.
• Surround materials are available in a wide range of consistencies, from low loss natural rubber for specialized woofers, to high loss synthetic compounds intended for the highest possible accuracy at midrange frequencies.

Spiders

Impregnated fabric spiders are generally flat, with a slightly progressive stiffness characteristic, for EXCELlent linearity and stability. Voice coils are made from copper wire with duroplastic coating, to withstand coil temperatures of 220-250 degrees centigrade without disintegration. Voice coils made with copper clad aluminum wire (CCAW) are also available for applications where lower moving mass is desired. Most Prestige line cone drivers are equipped with two layer voice coils, except in situations where higher inductance and reduced high frequency output are desirable. In these cases, four layer voice coils may be specified.

Voice Coils

Voice coils are generally wound on aluminum formers for high strength and heat dissipation. For certain applications, SEAS also supplies highly stable non-conducting formers made from Kapton, Nomex or glass fibre.

Voice coil lead-out wires are made from high quality materials for durability and dynamic control. SEAS also takes great care in dressing the wires so that they flex in a smooth, controlled way, without buzz or vibration.

Dust Caps

The dust cap is critical to the performance of a drive unit, particularly at higher frequencies. The SEAS soft dust caps are made from various paper formulations or from textile fabric. Furthermore, these can be coated for improved dynamic control. Where stiffer dust caps are required, SEAS can supply them in Polypropylene, Aluminum and various grades of PVC.

As an excellent alternative to dust caps, SEAS can also supply phase plugs, which eliminate the cavity inside the coil former, thereby lowering sound coloration. Phase plugs improve air circulation around the coil windings, improving power handling, while reducing voice coil temperature variation and sensitivity modulation.

Magnet Systems

Magnet systems for Prestige drivers are based on high quality barium ferrite magnets, and soft steel parts that are either precision turned or fine blanked, to ensure the tightest dimensional tolerances in the critical gap area. The parts are bonded together with a heavy-duty two-component adhesive.

Optional compensated magnet systems are offered for AV applications where a CRT is in close proximity. For the lowest possible stray field, a shielding cup enclosing the compensated magnet system may be added. Separate shielding kits are also offered for DIY or aftermarket shielding applications.

Assembly Process

Assembling all the components of a loudspeaker consistently, and in a durable way, requires the use of high quality specialized adhesives, applied in a highly precise manner. Many glue joints, especially those involving the cone and surround, are critical to the acoustical performance of the driver. SEAS therefore uses automated application equipment that precisely meters the amount of adhesive to be applied. During the curing process, precision jigs and fixtures hold all parts firmly in position, ensuring that the driver you purchase has all the performance and consistency for which SEAS products are famous.

http://www.seas.no