Hybrid Audio Technologies Legatia SE Stage VI, Legatia L6SE Stage VI Carbon, Legatia L4SE Stage VI Carbon Specifications Library & Car Audio Reference Manual
Legatia SE Carbon-Series Component Speakers
Specifications Library & Car Audio Reference Guide
Contents
Welcome and Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Legatia SE Carbon Speaker Design Considerations ...................................................................................................... 5
Motor .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Voice Coil........................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Shorting Cup ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Cone ................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Suspension ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Basket ................................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Thiele/Small Parameters Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7
Application to Thiele/Small Parameters to Legatia SE Carbon Designs ................................................................. 8
Enclosure Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 8
Dipole Applications ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Legatia L4SE Carbon Midbass ........................................................................................................................................ 10
History .............................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Attributes .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Mechanical Drawing ....................................................................................................................................................... 13
Thiele/Small Parameters ............................................................................................................................................... 14
Frequency Response Graph ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Legatia L6SE Carbon Midbass ........................................................................................................................................ 16
History .............................................................................................................................................................................. 16
Attributes .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Mechanical Drawing ....................................................................................................................................................... 19
Thiele/Small Parameters ............................................................................................................................................... 20
Frequency Response Graph ........................................................................................................................................ 21
Legatia L4G Grille Assembly ............................................................................................................................................ 22
Legatia L6G Grille Assembly ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Advanced System Installation .......................................................................................................................................... 24
Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................................................................ 24
Lesson One: Off-Axis Response.................................................................................................................................. 24
Lesson Two: Equalization of Pathlength Differences ............................................................................................... 24
Lesson Three: The Effect of HRTF, ITD, and IID ...................................................................................................... 26
Lesson Four: Point-Sourcing with Tweeter ................................................................................................................ 27
Lesson Five: Reference ................................................................................................................................................ 27
Advanced Installation of the Legatia SE Carbon Component Systems ..................................................................... 28
Mounting Baffle Considerations ................................................................................................................................... 28
Crossovers ...................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Time Correction .............................................................................................................................................................. 30
Scenario 1 ................................................................................................................................................................... 30
Scenario 2 ................................................................................................................................................................... 30
Scenario 3 ................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Amplitude Equalization .................................................................................................................................................. 31
Acoustic Treatment ........................................................................................................................................................ 31
Advanced Installation Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 32
Warranty .............................................................................................................................................................................. 33
Thank You! .......................................................................................................................................................................... 34
References .......................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Welcome and Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of high performance Legatia SE Carbon-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
Legatia SE Carbon component system you have purchased will be the finest loudspeakers you have
ever heard and give years of superior performance.
Thank you for going “on line” to read and download your User’s Manual. 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 specifications library and car audio 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 Legatia SE Carbon component speakers and sets using straight-forward
installation advice and practical application of timeless acoustic principles. The first part of this
manual is comprised of a specifications library for all of our available Legatia SE Carbon component
speakers, passive crossover devices, and available accessory hardware. Simply scroll through the
library to learn more about the wide variety of Legatia SE Carbon products. The second part of the
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 Legatia SE Carbon
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, or perhaps to take advantage of our lifetime guaranteed value trade-in
program. We are confident that if the principles explained in this manual are exercised in your own
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 Legatia
SE Carbon series. For more information about Hybrid Audio Technologies, our philosophies
regarding high-end mobile audio, to learn more about our lifetime guaranteed value program, and for
information about our other products, please visit us online at www.hybrid-audio.com.
Thank you, and happy listening!
Scott E. Buwalda
Founder – Hybrid Audio Technologies
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 4 of 30
Legatia SE Carbon Speaker Design Considerations
The Legatia SE Carbon-series component speakers are electrodynamic drivers that are comprised of
a diaphragm that is set in motion by a motor system that has both electrical and mechanical
components. The Special Edition Carbon midbass designs boast several key elements which
enhance the driver’s performance in vehicle-specific applications, notably applications which require a
shallow-depth midbass driver, such as typically found in numerous German-manufactured
automobiles (Audi, BMW, Porsche, and etc.). Likewise, the Carbon midbass’ can be used at the enduser’s discretion in a variety of automobile settings where a shallow-profile, long-throw midbass is
required. The Legatia SE Carbon midbass differ vastly from the Legatia SE-series wide-bandwidth
drivers, as follows:
• Considerably shallower mounting depth;
• Considerably smaller motor profile;
• Inclusion of a “double-S” treated cloth surround for enhanced excursion, restorative force,
compliance, and edge-mode damping, for authoritative midbass operation;
• Narrower recommended bandwidth operation, as compared to the wide-bandwidth Legatia SE
series, but with enhanced midbass and lower midrange authority;
• Inclusion of a composite carbon fiber cone and dust cap for exceptional strength, while
balancing moving mass and resonance frequency;
The following design tenets are similar by comparison to the Legatia SE-series wide-bandwidth
drivers:
• Same basket diameter, mounting hole, and bolt circle diameter as its sibling Legatia SE widebandwidth driver (but with considerably shallower depth and motor diameter, as described
above);
• Incredibly low inductance;
• High thermal power handling by AES standard;
• High thermal power handling with suggested crossover;
• High compliance of motor system;
• Use of woven dual tinsel lead spider for mechanical balance, improved radial compliance, and
to eliminate tinsel lead slap;
• Inclusion of nickel-plated, spring-loaded binding post terminals for enhanced connectivity;
• Inclusion of high-energy opposing double-stacked neodymium cup and motor for increased
motor performance and smaller diameter motor;
• Inclusion of aluminum radiator for heat dissipation and increased thermal power handling;
• Inclusion of rose-tinted, laser-etched back plate cap with Hybrid Audio Technologies logo and
Special Edition nomenclature.
The following design tenets are typical of all Legatia SE Carbon-series midbass drivers:
Motor
The motor of the Legatia SE Carbon midbass speakers are paramount to the performance of the
drivers, providing for a flat and wide BL curve. The BL curve is flat and extended in all models,
yielding exceptional two-way linear excursion, resulting in the Legatia SE Carbon midbass drivers
being able to accurately track the input signal. Reduced distortion and greater dynamics are the
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 5 of 30
immediate sonic benefits. The motor includes an opposing double-stacked high-grade NdFeB
magnet assembly to improve restorative force, compliance, motor strength, displacement, and power
handling, but also to serve a small diameter form-factor. The voice coil fully surrounds the opposing
double-stacked magnet.
Voice Coil
The voice coil diameter of the Legatia SE Carbon range of midbass drivers represents the optimal
balance of diameter, power handling, and moving mass. The L4SE Carbon uses a 25.5mm (1-inch)
voice coil, and the L6SE Carbon uses a 35.5mm (1.4-inch) voice coil. The voice coil diameter serves
several key functions: elevated power handling, dissipation of heat (thereby lowering power
compression), and maximizing the size of the magnet assembly for enhanced motor compliance. The
voice coils used in all Legatia SE Carbon designs are high-purity aluminum, which is superior to
copper for heat dissipation, as well as significantly reduced moving mass. The result is an extremely
light weight winding with good power handling and low inductance.
How much amplitude a speaker can reproduce depends on the volume of air it excites without
overheating. The volume of air that a speaker excites is determined by the surface area of the cone
and the excursion capability of the motor system. Xmax is defined as the width of the voice coil that
extends beyond the front plate, and relates to how far the speaker can move in either direction
without appreciable distortion. The Legatia SE Carbon designs boast exceptional one-way linear
excursion (Xmax).
Shorting Cup
All Legatia SE Carbon midbass drivers come equipped with copper shorting cups. The shorting cups
consist of an optimally sized and placed cup of copper (Cu) to create a total inductance profile that is
not just low, but flat over stroke, frequency, and power. Inductance is the number one limiter of high
frequency extension and modulation of inductance with stroke, frequency and power, and is the
primary source of intermodulation distortion (IMD).
Cone
The shape, weight and strength of the Legatia SE Carbon midbass cones relate directly to the
authoritative midbass ability of each design. The Legatia SE Carbon cones are concave-shaped
hybrid carbon fiber diaphragms, described below. Convex shaped cones, typical of “dome”
midranges, typically exhibit “peaky” frequency response, so we opted instead on a concave cone
topology for the resultant smoother frequency response. And contrary to common belief, most
convex cones have a narrow directivity pattern. The concave cone of the Legatia SE Carbon
midbass drivers have a wider directivity pattern, and are excellent for use in “off-axis” applications.
The SE Carbon is a complete departure from the typical Hybrid Audio Technologies philosophy of
point-source midbass and midrange (full-range) drivers. The composite cone, although not ideal for
wide-bandwidth operation, does an aplomb job of effectively recreating midbass and lower to middle
midrange tones effectively. In concert with a low-resonance tweeter, the ultimate two-way front stage
can be created. When placed in close proximity to a tweeter device, such as the Legatia L1 Pro or
Legatia L1 Pro R2, one can achieve having all imaging cues emanating from the pair of drivers in an
installation, ensuring stable stereo imaging across the fundamental frequencies which define image
placement and definition. The Legatia SE Carbon midbass drivers include a carbon fiber diaphragm
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 6 of 30
with low moving mass. Carbon fiber is acknowledged as being an exceptionally strong material, but
exhibits edge-mode distortion at high frequency, and therefore should be appropriately filtered using
active crossovers, or custom passive crossovers. By nature, the carbon fiber cone and dustcap are
water resistant.
Suspension
All Legatia SE Carbon midbass drivers include a rolled “double S” surround made of treated cloth
which is highly consistent. The surround topology terminates mechanical vibrations well, having a
low stiffness for positive damping of resonances. The surround, which acts as an air seal between
the cone and the basket, adds to the restoring force of the spider. Another function of the surround is
to absorb cone flexure waves as they are transferred up the cone. You'll also know a Legatia SE
Carbon midbass design by its double-S surround; this design feature allows for the use of a smaller
height grille, and more flexibility in mounting options. The surround is also instrumental for taming
edge mode distortion.
The spider material was chosen for optimal performance in all models; the spider is a 90/10
cotton/Nomex blend with single-dip low viscosity phenolic. This material provides the stiffness
desired without being overly brittle or stiff, where vibrations in the spider are well damped and do not
translate into the former or the cone.
Basket
The basket of the Stage VI Legatia SE Carbon series drivers are a shared design with the same
size/diameter drivers in the Stage VI Legatia SE, and Stage V Legatia drivers, for easy change-out
potential; the frames of similarly-sized drivers are interchangeable in mounting topology. The basket
is a high-quality cast aluminum design, and contains a large flange providing for the mounting of the
driver via four screw holes. The Legatia SE Carbon frame features large openings behind the cone to
eliminate chuffing and other aerodynamic-based noises, as well as provides adequate communication
to the back of the cone for acoustic suspension and proper operation.
Thiele/Small Parameters Introduction
Acoustics pioneers Neville Thiele and Richard Small developed a way to predict speaker
performance and frequency response. These parameters are known collectively as “Thiele/Small
Parameters”, and are divided into physical characteristics and response parameters:
The Physical Characteristics of a speaker are:
Re: The D.C. resistance of the voice coil measured in Ohms.
Sd: The surface area of the speaker’s cone.
BL: The magnetic strength of the motor structure.
Mms: The total moving mass of the speaker including the small amount of air in front of and behind
the cone.
Cms: The stiffness of the driver’s suspension.
Rms: The losses due to the suspension.
The Thiele/Small Response parameters are:
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 7 of 30
Re: The D.C. resistance of the voice coil measured in Ohms.
Sd: The surface area of the speaker.
Fs: The resonant frequency of the speaker.
Qes: The electrical “Q” of the speaker.
Qms: The mechanical “Q” of the speaker.
Qts: The total "Q" of the speaker.
Vas: The volume of air having the same acoustic compliance as the speaker’s suspension.
Application to Thiele/Small Parameters to Legatia SE Carbon Designs
Enclosure Recommendations
The mechanical and electrical parameters of the Legatia SE Carbon midbass drivers are amenable to
a variety of different installations and speaker locations. In a typical vehicular installation, Hybrid
Audio Technologies recommends that the Legatia SE Carbon drivers be placed in an “infinitely large”
enclosure, which is more notably known as “infinite baffle.” Small sealed enclosures are not needed
to be constructed, nor are typically recommended in most circumstances for any of the Legatia SE
Carbon range of products (there are some minor exceptions, based upon application, intended use,
power handling, and etc., please contact us for details). Hybrid Audio has also had great success
incorporating the Legatia SE Carbon midbass drivers in dipole configuration (detailed below),
transmission lines, and in larger vented enclosures.
In a typical installation, Legatia SE Carbon midbass products should be mounted with unrestricted
access to airspace. The reason why the speaker was designed in this way is highly empirical. When
a speaker is mounted in a small closed box, it radiates as much energy forward of the cone as it does
rearward of the cone. All speaker cones and dust caps (diaphragms) are a weak sound barrier at
best, and the result of the high amount of energy being “pushed” into a small enclosure is the energy
transmitting through to the outside of the cone (an additive phenomenon to the incidental wave). It is
conjectured that this effect is most notable in the low hundreds of Hz region, where acoustical stuffing
materials are ineffective and the internal dimensions are not small enough for the internal air volume
to act as a pure compliance. Consequently, Hybrid Audio has designed this speaker to work well
without an enclosure, and as such, should not be significantly prone to enclosure back-pressure and
sound coloration when placed infinitely baffled. The “infinitely large” enclosure, per se, improves
spectral response and power response variation between high and low frequencies. And in the case
where an infinite baffle operation is difficult or impossible to achieve in your car’s environment, we
highly suggest the use of acoustic resistors (aperiodic membranes or trade name Variovents®) in
sealed enclosures to help dissipate the backwave energy. If you absolutely must use a sealed
enclosure, we recommend that you contact us for details and assistance in targeting a sealed
enclosure volume applicable for your intended purpose. In all cases, the use of loosely-packed
fibrous damping materials, such as fiberglass, Dacron, or long-fiber wool will also significantly
improve the final installation, no matter what type of baffle and enclosure configuration is chosen.
Dipole Applications
While infinite baffle or resistive sealed enclosures are highly recommended for this driver, you might
find that in the rare instance that the Legatia SE Carbon drivers can be placed in a completely open
baffle, i.e. dipole. A word of caution: Legatia SE Carbon drivers mounted in an open baffle have to
move more air than a similar Legatia SE Carbon driver mounted in a resistive sealed enclosure, or
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 8 of 30
infinitely baffled, just simply for the fact that there’s a progressive acoustic short circuit between front
and back waves below the speaker’s resonance frequency (Fs) in the open baffle configuration.
Great care must be taken in this instance, because there is no acoustic compliance afforded in a
dipole configuration, and the speaker will reach its mechanical limits much quicker (and will net
increased distortion). However, in certain instances, a dipole-style midbass may work well in a
vehicular installation, in that radiation from the rear of the baffle, having undergone enough phase
shift as it comes around to the front, adds to the total sound at off-axis angles. Of great importance in
the dipole midbass configuration is the setting up of crossovers and weighing the negative effects of
distortion of elevated amplitude levels.
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 9 of 30
Legatia L4SE Carbon Midbass
History
The Legatia L4SE Carbon’s topology is a derivative of the massively successful Legatia L4SE
transducer which was first launched in August 2010.
At the onset of the Legatia SE Carbon program, the purpose for the series was to be an exceptionally
high-end option for shallow-depth midbass drivers to be used specifically in German automobiles, and
in other vehicles where typical-depth high-quality midbass drivers would not fit, and where depth was
at a premium. By early Spring 2011, a beta prototype pair of Legatia L4SE Carbon’s had been
refined after hundreds of hours of testing and development; these highly-evolved drivers were sent to
close industry affiliates for third-party testing and evaluation, specifically in the Porsche 928 vehicle
platform as a dedicated door-mounted midbass, paired with a low-resonance tweeter. After countless
hours testing the speakers under various circumstances, and four full revisions of the Carbon L4SE,
final approval was given. Production refinements were mid-Summer of 2011, to incorporate features
inclusive and proprietary to the Legatia SE Carbon line, and final production commenced August
2011. The Legatia L4SE Carbon was launched in October 2011 and is the reference 4.65-inch
dedicated midbass driver in Hybrid Audio’s product category known collectively as the Legatia SE
Carbon Series.
Attributes
The Legatia L4SE is a 118mm (4.65-inch) midbass driver to compliment both two-way and three-way
system designs, where a shallow-depth, long-throw, small-format midbass is required. The following
are the L4SE Carbon’s design attributes:
Basket
The basket of the L4SE Carbon is a shared design with the Legatia L4 and Legatia L4SE for easy
change-out potential; the L4, L4SE, and L4SE Carbon are interchangeable in mounting topology.
The basket is a high-quality cast aluminum design, and contains a 118mm flange providing for the
mounting of the driver via four screw holes (the use of 3mm cap head screws is ideal). The overall
dimensions of the driver are very amenable for use in the car audio environment, and in locations
typical of the standard “4-inch” driver, or in custom locations at the discretion of the end-user,
boasting a depth of just 42mm (1.65-inch) (16mm less than the Legatia L4SE). The basket features
large openings behind the cone to eliminate chuffing and other aerodynamic-based noises, as well as
provides adequate communication to the back of the cone for acoustic suspension and proper
operation.
Motor
The motor of the L4SE is paramount to the performance of the driver, providing for a flat and wide BL
curve (as a learning note, BL is the equivalent of torque in a car; a car with a flat and constant torque
curve provides much better acceleration and performance than a car with a peaky, non-constant
torque curve). The BL curve is flat and extended, yielding 6mm of two-way linear excursion, resulting
in the L4SE Carbon being able to accurately track the input signal. Reduced distortion and greater
dynamics are the immediate sonic benefits. The motor of the L4SE Carbon includes an opposing
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 10 of 30
double-stacked NdFeB magnet to improve restorative force, compliance, motor strength,
displacement, and power handling. The magnet assemblies are fully surrounded by the voice coil.
Voice Coil
The voice coil diameter of the L4SE is a large 25.5mm (1-inch), which is the proper balance between
size and moving mass in super high-end mobile audio midranges/full-range drivers. The voice coil
diameter serves several key functions: elevated power handling, dissipation of heat (thereby lowering
power compression), and maximizing the size of the magnet assembly for enhanced motor
compliance. The voice coil is high-purity aluminum, which is superior to copper for heat dissipation,
as well as significantly reduced moving mass. The result is an extremely light weight winding with
good power handling and low inductance.
Suspension
The unique double-S shaped surround is treated fine cloth which is highly consistent, and does not
suffer the variance one might find in natural rubbers, foam, or untreated cloth. The surround
terminates mechanical vibrations well, having a low stiffness for positive damping of resonances. The
spider material was chosen for optimal performance; the spider is a 90/10 cotton/Nomex blend with
single-dip low viscosity phenolic. This material provides the stiffness desired without being overly
brittle or stiff, where vibrations in the spider are well damped and do not translate into the former or
the cone.
Cone
As noted in the introduction, the SE Carbon is a complete departure from the typical Hybrid Audio
Technologies philosophy of point-source midbass and midrange (full-range) drivers. The composite
cone, although not ideal for wide-bandwidth operation, does an aplomb job of effectively recreating
midbass and lower to middle midrange tones effectively. The Legatia SE Carbon midbass drivers
include a carbon fiber diaphragm with low moving mass. Carbon fiber is acknowledged as being an
exceptionally strong material, but exhibits edge-mode distortion at high frequency, and therefore
should be appropriately filtered using active crossovers, or custom passive crossovers. By nature,
the carbon fiber cone and dustcap are water resistant.
Hybrid Audio Technologies recommends the use of a low-resonance tweeter to be used in concert
with the Legatia L4SE Carbon, such as the Legatia L1 Pro or Legatia L1 Pro R2. When placing the
midbass and tweeter in close proximity to each other, one can achieve having all imaging cues
emanating from the pair of drivers in an installation, ensuring stable stereo imaging across the
fundamental frequencies which define image placement and definition. Naturally, crossover filter
selection is paramount.
Shorting Cup
The L4SE Carbon uses a copper shorting cup. The shorting cup consist of an optimally sized and
placed copper (Cu) cup to create a total inductance profile that is not just low, but flat over stroke,
frequency, and power. Inductance is the number one limiter of high frequency extension and
modulation of inductance with stroke, frequency and power, and is the primary source of
intermodulation distortion (IMD).
Legatia SE Carbon User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 11 of 30
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