Clarus™ C51-2 and C61-2
High-Performance Mobile
Audio Speaker Systems
User’s Manual and
Mobile Audio
Reference Handbook
Table of Contents
(Use your mouse and click to advance to various sections below)
Welcome and Introduction.................................................................... 3
Clarus Individual Component Parameters............................................. 4
Midbass Speakers (Clarus C5 and C6).......................................................... 4
Tweeter Speakers (Clarus C1)..................................................................... 5
Passive Crossover Networks ....................................................................... 5
Clarus System Specifications................................................................. 6
Midbass Thiele/Small Parameters (incl. mounting dimensions) ........... 7
Unpacking/Inventory ............................................................................ 7
How to Use This Manual ........................................................................ 8
Section I - Getting Started – Basic System Installation ........................ 9
Section II - Moving Forward – Advanced System Installation ............ 14
Lessons Learned...................................................................................... 14
Lesson One: Off-Axis Response
Lesson Two: Equalization o Pathlength Di ferencesf f
Lesson Three: The Effect of HRTF, ITD, and IID
Lesson Four: Point-Sourcing
Lesson Five: Reference
......................................................................... 18
............................................................. 14
................................ 14
..................................... 17
.................................................................. 18
Advanced Installation of the Clarus Component Systems............................. 18
Mounting Baffle Considerations
Acoustic Treatment
Advanced Installation Conclusions............................................................. 21
Warranty.............................................................................................. 22
Thank You!........................................................................................... 23
............................................................. 18
.............................................................................. 20
Welcome and Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of high performance Clarus-series mobile audio component
loudspeakers, and welcome to the world of Hybrid Audio Technologies, where high-end mobile
audio loudspeaker development is our passion! When installed and set-up properly, the Clarus
component system you have purchased will make a remarkable improvement in the sound
quality of virtually any mobile audio sound system and give years of superior performance.
Thank you for going “on line” to read and download your User’s Manual. As mentioned in our
leaflet included in your Clarus gift box, our offices are located amongst the evergreens in
North Georgia USA, and we happen to like trees. Aside from the obvious aesthetic benefits,
trees improve our air, protect our water, save energy, and improve economic sustainability.
Additionally, it is expensive to print and distribute thousands of copies of an owner’s manual;
we’d rather invest our production dollars into an incredible line-up of speaker systems for your
listening pleasure. With online resources becoming the main source of information for more
and more people, we are pleased that you’re here, reading this manual on line, verses having
a print copy which might get read once and put back into the gift box, or worse yet, discarded.
With the publication of this user’s manual and reference guide, it is our goal to assist the “do it
yourself” enthusiast and professional installer alike in getting the highest level of performance
out of Clarus 2-way component set using straight-forward installation advice and practical
application of timeless acoustic principles. As you begin to read this document, you will
quickly realize that this is not your typical user’s manual. This manual has been written to be
more or less a miniature mobile audio reference guide that can be used to better any sound
system, and in particular, a system that utilizes the Clarus component speaker systems. It is
an introductory primer to the world of high-end mobile audio; we hope this user’s manual is
not only informative, but motivating. Keep it handy throughout your installation process, and
any time you go to improve your audio system with other Hybrid Audio Technologies products.
We are confident that if the principles explained in this manual are exercised in your own
vehicular installation, you will be ecstatic with the sound quality outcome!
We realize that you have a choice in loudspeakers, and are thrilled that you have chosen the
Clarus-series. For more information about Hybrid Audio Technologies, our philosophies
regarding high-end mobile audio, and for information about our other products, please visit us
online at
Thank you, and happy listening!
www.hybrid-audio.com.
Scott E. Buwalda
Founder – Hybrid Audio Technologies
© Hybrid Audio Technologies, 2008
Page 3 of 23
Clarus Individual Component Parameters
Your Clarus system contains speaker drivers and passive crossover networks that were
developed and assembled with a significant effort in research and development, materials
science engineering, an exhaustive level of sampling and prototyping, real-world testing, and
obsessive attention to detail. The specifications and parameters of your Clarus component
system is detailed as follows:
Midbass Speakers (Clarus C5 and C6)
Frame: Cast
aluminum with black
powder-texture
surface coating.
Cone: Pressed
paper, untreated on
the front side and
treated on the
rearward side.
Dustcap: Untreated
pressed paper.
Surround: Inverted
high-loss rubber
surround.
Spider: Phenolicized
fabric with woven
tinsel leads.
The basket is a high-quality cast aluminum design, which plays a critical role
in aligning the voice coil in the magnetic circuit. Additionally, the cast
aluminum frame allows for better clamping strength verses typical stamped
steel frames, and ensures that the voice coil remains centered in the former.
The black coating on the frame protects it from abrasion and oxidation.
Hybrid Audio Technologies believes that the pressed paper cone is the best
marriage of lightness, stiffness, and ability of the cone to damp unwanted
cone and edge modes and resonances (read: distortion). All of our designs
use pressed paper cones. The damping afforded by the paper cone ensures
the midbass speakers can play lower treble frequencies effortlessly, without
significant cone “breakup.” Our approach to “point-source imaging” is to rely
on the midbass driver to effectively reproduce the lower treble frequencies,
where the human vocal range extends, as well as other imaging-critical
musical instruments, ensuring phase-coherent imaging and stable, lifelike
staging character. The treatment on the rear of the cone helps protect the
cone from periodic drips (such as inside a door panel), while the front of the
cone was left untreated so as to not alter the damping effect of the cone, its
lightness and transient response, and its tonal quality.
The dustcap covers the voice coil to keep dirt and debris from fouling the
voice coil gap. Since high frequency information emanates from the center
of the cone, a paper dustcap was utilized in concert with the pressed paper
cone diaphragm to ensure that the speaker’s response remained linear into
the lower- to mid-treble frequencies.
The inverted high-loss rubber surround (in concert with the spider, detailed
below), helps to provide the compliance and “restorative force” needed for
the Clarus drivers to play effectively into the lower midbass, and even upper
subbass frequencies (depending on in-car cabin gain and other factors).
You'll also know a Hybrid Audio midrange and midbass design by its inverted
surround; this design feature allows for the use of a smaller height grille,
better clearance with OEM panels, and more flexibility in mounting options.
The spider is the brownish/yellow corrugated (rippled) fabric that attaches
the cone and voice coil. The spider for the Clarus designs was the subject of
a considerable amount of our research and development. The spider is a
phenolic symmetrically-rolled fabric which provides excellent restorative force
during excursion, and the woven tinsel leads, often not found in speakers in
this price range, are an asset to the Clarus line because the leads are
protected from physical damage and accidental short circuit. The tinsel leads
are connected to real epoxy PCB, not flimsy cardboard.
© Hybrid Audio Technologies, 2008
Page 4 of 23
Voice Coil and
Motor System: 1”
(25mm) (C5) and
1.4” (35mm) (C6):
Complimentary
design.
The voice coils used in the C5 and C6 midbass are both 2-layer aluminized
copper wire coils on a round former. An “underhung” voice coil was selected
to significantly reduce distortion and improve efficiency. The motor system
utilizes a ferrite magnet with rubber protective boot (which can be removed
to improve mounting depth), complimented by design with a back plate and
rear venting chamber to improve the speaker's thermal power handling and
improved ability of the midbass to play at high amplitudes.
Tweeter Speakers (Clarus C1)
Dome: Small
diameter
impregnated silk
textile dome with
high-loss rubber
suspension.
Voice Coil and
Motor System: 1”
(25mm) (C5) and
1.4” (35mm) (C6):
Complimentary
design.
The C1 has an impregnated fine cloth silk dome diaphragm for a linear,
smooth sound, with a high-loss rubber suspension to damp edge modes and
resonances. The dome is of extremely low mass and is much less
susceptible to mechanical deformation than other designs, and yet yields a
smooth response over the extent of its range. At Hybrid Audio Technologies,
we feel larger diaphragm tweeters sound heavy and unremarkable, lack
detail in the upper treble frequencies, have undesirable polar response, and
are difficult to install. Additionally, we find metal dome tweeters to be harsh,
brittle, and sound unrealistic. As a small diameter, soft-dome tweeter, the
C1 is the antithesis of large diaphragm and metal-dome tweeters, for the
effective and convincing reproduction of treble frequencies.
The motor assembly is “conventional dynamic”, with a compact neodymium
magnet structure to ensure a small footprint size and shallow depth. A
perforated grille protects the dome. The voice coil is ferrofluid cooled and
damped, and the tweeter housing consists of extruded plastic with three
different mounting options, giving the end-user flexibility in not only
placement of the C1 but also in physical installation.
Passive Crossover Networks
Alignment: Second
order (12 dB/octave)
filters for low pass
(C5 or C6) and high
pass (C1)
Network
Components:
Audiophile grade.
The C51-2 2-way passive crossover network includes a unity low pass and
high pass crossover frequency of 5,700 Hz at 12 dB/octave. The C61-2 2way passive crossover network includes a unity low pass and high pass
crossover frequency of 5,200 Hz at 12 dB/octave. The use of 12 dB/octave
filters on both low pass and high pass, often not found in speakers in this
price range, minimizes phase-related distortion typical of crossovers with
mismatched orders, and ensures phase-coherent imaging and staging.
The C51-2 and C61-2 passive crossover networks incorporate super high
quality and low tolerance metalized polypropylene film capacitors, air-core
inductors, and low tolerance non-inductive resistors. No output level
switches were used in the passive crossover design because switches add a
resistive effect and are typically of extremely low quality. Additionally,
“jumper pins” add an unnecessary pair of splices in the signal path to the
tweeter, and were not included in our design either. Rather, all tweeter level
adjustments are done on the board level with dedicated non-inductive
resistors; tweeter attenuation is accomplished by selecting the appropriate
output (-3 dB, 0 dB, or +3 dB) on the passive crossover circuit board. The
components selected are complimentary and ensure no notable signal
degradation between the input and output side of the crossovers.
© Hybrid Audio Technologies, 2008
Page 5 of 23
Clarus System Specifications
Frequency
Response
Efficiency at 2.83
volts / 1 meter
Continuous Power
Handling (RMS)
Peak Power
Handling
Recommended
Power Range
Nominal
Impedance
Thiele/Small
Parameter
Discussion for
Clarus C5 and C6
Midbass Speakers
C51-2: 55 Hz – 22,000 Hz, ± 3 dB
C61-2: 50 Hz – 22,000 Hz, ± 3 dB
Typically, in-car response including vehicular “cabin gain”, or the gain
expected with midbass installed in the vehicle, will result in an extended
midbass and upper subbass response. This is a result of these frequencies
being below the lowest resonance in the vehicle (typically around 50-125 Hz
in most vehicles, described in more detail on page 17). In more practical
terms, install the Clarus midbass into your vehicle and you will see a
dramatic improvement in midbass and upper subbass output, much more so
than just simply listening to the Clarus in a large room, or worse yet, “free
air” (we don’t recommend even trying the Clarus speakers in “free air”
without some form of enclosure or infinite baffle for the midbass).
C51-2: 92 dB
C61-2: 93 dB
C51-2: 90 watts (musical input
C61-2: 100 watts (musical input)
C51-2: 230 watts (musical input)
C61-2: 250 watts (musical input)
C51-2: 20 – 150 watts (musical input)
C61-2: 25 – 175 watts (musical input)
4 ohms
The mechanical and electrical parameters of the Clarus C5 and C6 midbass
are amenable to a variety of different installations and speaker locations.
The high Qms (Q factor of mechanical system) and Qts (Q factor of total
system), coupled with the driver’s Fs (resonance frequency) allow it to be
used in an “infinite baffle” configuration. In more practical terms, install the
Clarus midbass such that the front and back waves don’t “meet” (as detailed
in Section I – Getting Started - Basic System Installation), including in a door
or kick panel (using only the airspace behind the speaker as a pseudo
enclosure), with no need for a real enclosure or “box.” The design goes hand
in hand with fool-proof, high-end sound quality with minimal work.
For more advanced users, please reference the Thiele/Small Parameters,
listed on the following page. Note also the mounting diameter and depth for
the C5 and C6 midbass, respectively.
1
)
1
“Musical input” means power handling with respect to listening to full-range music, not high-amplitude test tones or musical material with
excessively low frequency and/or high amplitude bass tones.
© Hybrid Audio Technologies, 2008
Page 6 of 23
Midbass Thiele/Small Parameters (incl. mounting dimensions)
**please note, the following parameters are for the midbass drivers only**
Parameter C5 5 ¼” Midbass C6 6 ½” Midbass
Overall Diameter 5 1/4” (133 mm) 6 1/2” (165 mm)
Mounting Depth 2 1/4” (57 mm) 3” (76 mm)
Mounting Hole 4 7/8” (124 mm) 5 3/4” (146 mm)
Recommended Minimum Crossover
Frequency
P
Rated Power Input (No Crossover) 40 watts (AES Standard) 60 watts (AES Standard)
nom
P
Rated Power Input (No Crossover) 80 watts (AES Standard) 120 watts (AES Standard)
nom
P
(With Recommended Minimum
max
Crossover)
Frequency Range 70 – 12,000 Hz +/- 3 dB 55 – 9,000 Hz +/- 4.5 dB
Sensitivity 89.6 dB at 2.83 V/1meter 90.4 dB at 2.83 V/1meter
Mms 8.9 g 12.7 g
Cms 819.03 µM/N 294.64 µM/N
BL 4.738 T*m 5.643 T*m
Voice Coil Diameter 25.4 mm (1-inch) 35.55 mm (1.4-inch)
Impedance 4 4
DC Resistance 3.6 3.6
Fs 68 Hz 49 Hz
Qms 6.112 7.920
Qes 0.529 0.833
Qts 0.487 0.754
Xmax 9 mm (two way) 12 mm (two way)
Vas 7.765 L 6.928 L
Sd 8.171 mM
80 Hz 65 Hz
125 watts 175 watts
2
12.87 mM
2
Unpacking/Inventory
Carefully unpack the Clarus carton, and verify that the following parts are included in the box
(CAUTION: use care to remove the midbass speakers with two hands, and avoid pressing your
thumb or fingers against the cone of the midbass
• Two Clarus C5 (5.25” / 130mm) or C6 (6.5” / 165mm) midbass speakers;
• Two Clarus C1 (0.75” / 20mm) tweeter speakers pre-installed in flush-mount swivel cups;
• Two Clarus C51-2x or C61-2x passive crossover networks;
• Two midbass grilles with anodized aluminum Hybrid Audio Technologies nameplates and
ABS grille mounting flanges;
• Four small packages located underneath the midbass drivers, which contain:
• Connection wiring with tinned ends for direct connection to the crossovers and
polarized male/female insulated slide connectors for connection to the midbass
speakers;
2
In addition to being careful unpacking the midbass speakers, NEVER test the speaker’s excursion manually with your fingers by pressing the
cone down. This can cause a critical misalignment of the voice coil within the former, and may permanently damage your speakers.
2
):
© Hybrid Audio Technologies, 2008
Page 7 of 23
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