Huntingdon firm NXT (LSE:NXT) has announced the launch of a new technology, dubbed BMR for Balanced Mode Radiator.
NXT is not only producing such devices as the nice and tiny "Mission" M-cube (see our article); It provides its technology to more than 250 companies in over 50 countries under license contracts, like NEC that announced its SoundVu-equipped laptop in November, Suzuki who displayed a helmet at the last Tokyo motor show (NXT exciters are fitted to the visor of the helmet which vibrate the surface to produce audio with good clarity), or even Philips, which uses NXT technology.
Philips Cineos uses NXT technology
NXT has a long-standing experience in flat panels using the so-called DML (Distributed Mode Loudspeakers) technology; Such technology produces an excellent dispersion of sound in the room. Now they come back with a new "radiator". Let's see.
The new system is using a new technoogy, dubbed Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR). NXT's flat panel technology consists in placing "exciters" in flat panels that pulsate when electrically activated, thus allowing these flat panels to be used in wide bandwidth drive units. The BMR technology makes the most of such expertise in bending wave physics techniques. The BMR panels can be either circular or rectangular and they are mounted in a conventional chassis, like any conventional unit. NXT claims that such configuration (they use the term "similarity") facilitates the manufacturing process because the BMR drive unit can be built "using conventional loudspeakers techniques."
BMR's low frequency performance is "equivalent to conventional drive units of similar size"; High frequencies is extended with the characteristic wide directivity (hearing the same sound wherever you stand in the room, which is one strong point of these techniques). The result, NXT says, is that increasing the bandwidth allows to reduce the number of drivers required to cover a given frequency range. In addition, the technology is "scalable", i.e. full range drivers are feasible, "potentially eliminating any requirement for low frequency-specific loudspeakers."
NXT believes that BMR is "suited to a broad range of applications"; In particular, rectangular devices are well suited for your ultra-slim, "Danish design" aesthetic flat panel. Question: what about the circular ones? NXT Chief Technology Officer, Henry Azima, commented "Ten years after the filing of the original Distributed Mode Loudspeaker (DML) patents, our development teams continue to invent and evolve our existing technologies. The latest NXT technology is a result of our commitment to inventiveness and underlines our expertise in the field of bending wave physics".
Anyway, NXT may have another breakthrough here...
Technological advantages (source: NXT)
BMR technology - Flat on-axis frequency response, Wide directivity even at high frequencies, Extended bandwidth, Room filling sound, Full range drivers are possible Single diaphragm - Approximates point source radiation, correct timing across the frequency range, No crossover components Flat diaphragm - Shallow profile, flexibility of mounting location, no acoustic cavity inherent in cones Modular design - Low cost manufactureVisit NXT website here
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