MUSICALITY IS OUR GOAL - EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF TECHNOLOGY
Musicality, just what does it mean? To an audiophile it means hearing all of the music without artifacts, seams or boundaries. It means perfect sound reproduction with no emphasis on anything but reality. Musical Bass unlocks this dimension in the entire musical spectrum just like a key.
Why are there only large expensive subwoofers listed in the class A and B subwoofer categories in Stereophile magazines recommended components list or those of other magazines for that matter? There is a recent trend to establish a subwoofer to be used with music once and for all as their origins are in home theater. In fact no sub has remained on these lists because the marginal performance achieved cannot be guaranteed in each listeners situation and none achieve the magic of operating totally synchronized with the mains. Small ones definitely don't sound musical with massive heavy drivers and large ones overload the room and sound like a sub is on. Even the best reviewed had characteristics outlawing their unequivocal recommendation even if they were affordable and of reasonable dimensions.
At TBI we want to emphasize the need of speed, driver acoustic isolation and placement versatility for musicality in subwoofers. We don't mention the room because we have no control of the rooms' acoustics. The subject of low frequency extension in an audiophile system is a very controversial one and is almost certainly the reason that most audiophiles don't add subwoofers. Now we make it easy for you to choose the proper TBI™ Anti-Subwoofer for your audiophile situation. We prefer to refer to a TBI™ Subwoofer as a TBI™ Bass Extension Module or a TBI™ Anti- Subwoofer for the sake of music so we shall rotate names through most of this document to associate you with the differences from conventional designs intended for the same purpose.
Music, unlike sound effects, requires that harmonics and fundamentals from the subwoofer and the mains maintain close timing relationships in acoustic space for realism. Harmonics by definition must arrive at the ear at the same time as the fundamental to sound real. A string will vibrate in the first part, the second part and so on when it is plucked or bowed so the first part, second part and so on must stay together until you hear it. An Acoustic Bass instrument reproduced with improper timing of its' sonic elements has poor resolution, smears the soundstage and masks the detail of the other instruments. If we get it right for the acoustic bass instruments everything else will sound as it should for the recording. Typically a conventional subwoofer will provide a secondary source for the harmonics and fundamentals that will not be in sync with the main speakers and the room will treat this source differently from your mains. The result will be two incompatible low frequency sources, okay for boom-boom, but not for your music. Remember musical notes that stay together sound like the original source and that is the goal with any audiophile quality sound presentation.
Now with TBI™ Bass Extension Modules you can match the speed of your mains precisely, with the room having a positive - supportive effect on the results. The driver is acoustically shielded from reflections allowing the room to support the bass in a positive way. Low frequency room treatments are typically unnecessary for a properly set-up TBI bass extension system.
The very low mass driver requires little diaphragm travel to produce long wavelength signals in this patent pending design. This combination of attributes provides a platform for fast launching of the low frequency waves. The hybrid alignment combines the best attributes of reflex and transmission line models and is the result of extensive research and development. The resulting products are setting a new precedent in objective bass quality and uniformity for high quality audio systems.
You will find a product compatibility chart at the bottom of each product page that will give you some guidance in choosing the right bass extension setup for your high quality audio system.
TBI and Vinyl
Vinyl is alive and well in the high-end with sales up for both
software and hardware. If you own a turntable system chances
are that you are not using it with a subwoofer. The one real
benefit of the CD is its immunity to acoustic and mechanical feedback.
In the old vinyl days we had to pay real attention to the room
especially if it had wood floors. The whole room could go
into oscillation if the volume wasn't kept under control...
High-end HT
What is the difference
between home theater sound and two channel sound? In modern motion
picture productions audio is recorded with the same stringent requirements
as that of audio only recordings. The differences in quality for
modern multi-channel recordings is little when you realize that
music only dts® and DD 5.1® CD's and DVD's are breaking tremendous
ground for bringing realism to the playback performance...
Technical
Subwoofers are a relatively new audio category and if you had looked at an
audio magazine in 1976 you wouldn't have seen such a product or
category of separate bass systems for consumer audio. In fact the
pro audio subs of the day (and today) only went down to 40 Hz they
were just loud. Efficiency has been the name of the game with T/L...
PROFESSIONAL
There is a thin
line between professional audio recording/playback and audiophile
playback. TBI™ Bass Extension Modules are an excellent choice for
bringing seamless bass extension into the recording studio. This
is the environment where quality recordings are made so this is
where musical bass extension begins or should begin...
ACOUSTIC BASS INSTRUMENTS
Acoustic
bass instruments represent the greatest challenge for low frequency
sound reproduction. This variety of bass instruments will not sound
natural in an acoustically compromised environment either live or
enhanced using a conventional subwoofer-room combination. Orchestras
and other types of classical music assemblages typically perform
using only acoustic instruments. Jazz bands can exhibit an all-natural ...
High-end Vehicle
We have resisted this because we know how many audiophiles feel when it comes to the association of mobile audio and the high-end. After the request from several of our dealers who got requests from their customers asking if it could be done and some placing orders to do so, we decided to add some information associating the use...
ETL Monitor Technology
The requirement for the audio/video marketplace is for a professional audio monitor that is efficient, has low distortion, flat frequency response, is not room-placement specific and that has a totally neutral sound dispersion pattern. It must also be small, affordable and blend acoustically with a subwoofer that may have...
HD Sound Standards
HDSS adressess the issues in the large scale application of high definition audio required for consistently accurate sound reproduction. Unlike audiophile consumer high-end, HDSS assures that all audio and video sound sources will be accurately reproduced under the normal equipment and acoustic conditions that exist at the individual level. This objectivity is required for reproduction of multichannel high-definition audio associated with video as well as high-quality 2 channel audio of analog or digital sources.
