Eminent Technology
Eminent Technology is a company established in 1983 by Bruce Thigpen to create innovative products for the audio field. Their first product was an air bearing straight line tracking tonearm for phonograph playback, this was the first implementation of a captured air bearing for tonearm use and was followed by a more advanced version of the concept which became a market leader in the (Comparatively small) high-end tonearm market.
In 1985 Eminent Technology began developing planar magnetic loudspeakers and in 1987 introduced the world's first full range push-pull planar magnetic loudspeaker, the LFT-3. Another of the company's products is the so-called Thigpen Rotary Woofer. Typical subwoofer products are inefficient at producing desired sound pressure levels at frequencies below 20 Hz. The TRW is designed to cover the zero to 20 Hz portion of the sound spectrum.
In the 90s Eminent Technology developed a smaller planar transducer for automotive applications. This was adapted for computer speakers as the LFT-11, a well-regarded multimedia speaker system.[1] The company licensed the technology to Sonigistix and it appeared in Monsoon and other brands.[2]
Currently five US patents have been granted to Eminent Technology products. The company manufactures most of its products at its own facility in Tallahassee, FL.
External links
- Rotary Woofer site
- International Audio Review site
- Stereophile blog
- Ultimate AV Magazine
- Stereophile discussion of Bruce's contribution to turntable tonearm development, the linear-tracking tonearm
- Michael Fremer writeup on Eminent Technology and the Rotary Woofer breakthrough
- Eminent Technology website
References
- ↑ LFT-11 planar magnetic multimedia loudspeakers by Gary Beard in the December 2003 issue of Positive Feedback magazine
- ↑ History of Eminent Technologies, retrieved March 11, 2009