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X-ART Technology

The X-ART Technology

The X-ART (eXtended Accelerating Ribbon Technology) tweeters and

midranges incorporate a new approach to the Air Motion Transformer

concept originally developed by Dr. Oskar Heil. ADAM Audio has

improved upon this splendid idea utilizing superior geometries and

materials to achieve unprecedented audio ﬁdelity. X-ART strikes a

new path concerning the kinematics of moving air, resulting in a

dramatic improvement in the quality of audio reproduction.

The X-ART membrane consists of a pleated diaphragm in which the

folds compress or expand according to the audio signal applied to

them. The result is that air is drawn in and squeezed out, like the

bellows of an accordion.

The ADAM X-ART design overcomes the piston-like motion of all

conventional drivers and their inevitable problems (see previous

page) by achieving an improvement in air loading by a factor of 4

over conventional transducers. To illustrate the basic principle by a

comparison: When you breathe, your thorax is moving slowly whereas

the air is moving comparably fast. Similarly, the X-ART diaphragm

More area = more dynamic

Diaphragm area is another important factor in determining the

dynamic range of a transducer. Basically, what you see is what you

get. The cone area you can see is always the acoustically active area

of the loudspeaker–this is true for practically all other drive units. By

folding the X-ART diaphragm into the 3rd dimension (as seen from

the listener’s position) a larger foil can be used, thus increasing the

acoustically effective area of the diaphragm by a factor of more

than 2.5 times. This results in higher dynamic output with extremely

wide dispersion.

presses the air faster in or out of its folds than they themselves

are moving. This markedly superior ”motor” is responsible for the

unprecedented clarity and pristine transient reproduction that can

be heard with the ADAM X-ART drive units.

In addition, the X-ART tweeter’s pleated membrane avoids the

typical breakup/distortion and subsequent dynamic limiting at

higher frequencies of stiffer voice coil designs, such as those found

in dome and cone tweeters. Another positive result of the X-ART

design is that the driving ”stripes” are in direct contact with the outer

air and are cooled immediately.

Fig. 5: Area comparison between the unfolded X-ART tweeter

diaphragm and a 1” dome tweeter

Fig. 2: Phase response of the X-ART tweeter compared to a

1” dome tweeter

Fig. 3: Unﬁltered X-ART tweeter with microphone position

in 0°

Fig. 1: X-ART tweeter impedance: linear within ± 15 mΩ

(green) in comparison to a 1” dome tweeter (red)

Fig. 4: The X-ART Principle: moving the air in a 4:1 ratio