Magnepan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Magnepan is a high end audio speaker manufacturer located in the USA. Magnepan speakers are somewhat different from conventional speakers since they use a quite different sound reproduction system. Rather than using speaker cones Magnepan use a planar or "ribbon" system consisting of thin aluminum foil-like strips attached to a thin sheet of PET film. The PET film sheet resides in a magnetic field created by a set of permanent magnets. When an amplified signal is applied to the aluminum foil the PET film sheet vibrates projecting sound in all directions. The benefits of this approach are many, but the most quoted is the extremely short response-to-signal time which creates a sharp, precise and 'large' soundstage. See "ribbon" within Loudspeaker.
Magneplanar Technology uses a very simple concept of having the amplified signal driving a membrane that moves back and forth over a grid of magnets. This uses the same underlying concept of a direct radiating cone speaker and it's electromagnet. However it's "voice coil" is applied flat on to a very thin mylar membrane. Then a grid of magnets behind the speaker causes this membrane to vibrate. There are many advantages to this. This page goes into better detail on that.[1]
