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Acoustic Lens Technology
Good Vibrations
More than twenty years of acoustic research, experimentation and development went into our groundbreaking new Acoustic Lens Technology.
Bang & Olufsen engineers had been working with the scientific development of acoustics to answer the basic questions of “What constitutes good sound?” and “How do people perceive sound as good?” ever since the 1980s.
For decades, one of the key concerns for loudspeaker designers worldwide has been to control how higher-frequency sound waves spread, and in which directions. Being able to control these higher frequencies is crucial, because it is these that carry most of the sonic information about what you are listening to, and about where you perceive the sounds as coming from. That’s why traditional stereo speakers sound best if you’re midway between them and right in front.
Finally, some chance meetings and contact with Sausalito Audio Works in California resulted in a completely new way to tackle this fundamental challenge – one that got appropriately designated Acoustic Lens Technology, or ALT.
ALT provides a way to distribute sound horizontally with 180º of dispersion, giving you the best possible acoustic experience from anywhere in front of the speaker, with an incredible sense of space and realism.
If you’re a hi-fi aficionado, you’ll probably want to know that this is achieved by placing the acoustic centre of a speaker driver at the lower focal point of an ellipse-shaped cavity. All sound then re-converges at the upper focal point, creating a “virtual” treble driver at that point. The ellipse is also rotated to form a three-dimensional structure – the lens – so that sound is distributed horizontally.
This unique technology greatly extends the area in front of the loudspeaker where the sound is perfect, and ensures constant tonal balance from both direct and reflected frequencies. And because sound emerges from the speaker in the horizontal plane, very little reflects off the floor and ceiling, so everything sounds more natural and real.
In BeoLab 5 speakers, for example, two sleek aluminium discs house acoustic lenses that disperse mid- and high-range frequencies horizontally throughout the room. You can move around or sit in different places, but the quality of the sound you experience will remain the same – unbelievably good.
Acoustic Lens Technology is just one of the many results of the visionary role that Bang & Olufsen has played in the development of acoustics technology for more than eighty years, combining sensory experience with technological excellence.
To learn more about our fascinating BeoLab 5 speakers click here.