Wilson Benesch Eminence

The new Tactic 3.0 drive unit is exclusive to the Eminence loudspeaker. Made possible thanks to advances in the companies manufacturing technology, the Tactic 3.0 features the new 3D printed Fibonacci element which is comprised of Carbon Fibre-Polymer composite.

Inspired by solutions found in nature and interpreted by Fibonacci’s formula, the new Fibonacci element results in a drive unit that produces text-book perfect roll-off without any inductor, extended frequency response up to 4KHz and flat frequency response within its operating range.

The Tactic 3.0 drive unit retains the isotactic polypropylene cone which offers the optimal balance of stiffness and damping. This unique blend of material properties allows Wilson Benesch to maintain the crossover free, directly amplifier coupled design for the midrange drive unit that has been seen in our reference loudspeaker designs to date. The direct link maintains zero-phase distortion. It is the harmonious relationship between these two elements that opens the heart of the music, providing the listener with a realistic, immediate, highly articulate, yet natural character of the sound.

In 2012, Wilson Benesch introduced the Semisphere, the world’s first hybrid tweeter dome design. Based on a Silk-Carbon Fibre composite dome, the design highlighted our understanding of composite materials technology, specifically the need for damping as well as high specific stiffness in audio structures.

The latest iteration of Wilson Benesch tweeter technology builds upon the revolutionary Semisphere tweeter design pushing it into the next generation. The exquisite Fibonacci tweeter faceplate is formed from a Carbon Fibre - Polymer composite structure, creating a geometrically optimised waveguide, tailored exactly to the unique output of the Silk-Carbon Hybrid tweeter. This faceplate and the motor is in turn decoupled from the rest of the tweeter chassis, achieving not only ruler  at frequency response and ultra-wide dispersion characteristics but also optimal frequency and timing integration with the Tactic 3.0 midrange drive unit.

The proprietary Neodymium magnet – open architecture precision machined componentry ensures optimal energy paths for both acoustic and thermal energy; critical design considerations where super low distortion levels are aspired to.

Following the same principles of the A.C.T. 3zero Monocoque, the carbon fibre top in the Eminence, the Cardinal and the Endeavour have been designed firstly to damp internal cabinet born resonance and secondly to negate standing waves interacting with the loudspeaker surface. The overall effect is vastly improved signal-to-noise ratio.

These carbon fibre tops are the most complex carbon fibre forms ever created by Wilson Benesch. Starting life as a hand-formed clay sculpture, evolving in turn to a wax model, the model is laser-scanned by our partners at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield to create a 3D computer model. This process allows a highly complex organic structure to be created, the like of which would be almost impossible to create digitally. The result is a beautifully sculptural form, which ultimately makes no compromises in terms of its function.

Following the same principle as the A.C.T. 3zero Monocoque, Wilson Benesch have optimised the design of the Eminence and before it the Cardinal and Endeavour baffle, creating a curved profile to reduce flat surfaces on the loudspeaker.

Much like a mirror, flat surfaces reflect sound waves directly back in the direction from which they came, with little of the energy of the original wave being dissipated. This type of wave reflection is called a standing wave.

A curved surface on the other hand reflects a sound wave across a wide angle, diffusing the sound wave and in turn dissipating the energy of the original sound wave into many waves. In a listening room, this means that any reflected sound is more difficult to discern, therefore lowering the loudspeakers noise signature.

First introduced in the kinematic bearing design in the Wilson Benesch A.C.T. One Tonearm in 1991, the bearing was designed on the principles of kinematic coupling. The fundamental principle of kinematic coupling is to selectively eliminate each one or all of the six degrees of mechanical freedom that any physical body has.

In the Eminence, three 28mm steel threads, each tipped with a 12.5mm steel ball, meet with three 12.5mm steel balls, held captive inside the floor protector. This creates a triangulated structure, with a contact point of less than 1mm2. This provides high-integrity, stable location of the loudspeaker.