Clarus-Series Component Systems
Installation Manual & Car Audio Reference Guide
Contents
Welcome and Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Clarus Individual Component Parameters ........................................................................................................................ 4
Midbass Speakers (Clarus C5 and Clarus C6) ............................................................................................................ 4
Tweeter Speakers (Clarus C1) ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Clarus System Specifications ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Thiele/Small Parameter Discussion for Clarus Midbass Speakers .......................................................................... 6
Midbass Thiele/Small Parameters ................................................................................................................................. 7
Clarus C51-2 Mechanical Drawing .................................................................................................................................... 8
Clarus C61-2 Mechanical Drawing .................................................................................................................................... 9
Clarus C2x Passive Crossover Mechanical Drawing ................................................................................................... 10
Clarus C1 Tweeter Mechanical Drawing (Installed in Flush-Mount Cup) .................................................................. 11
Clarus C1 Tweeter Mechanical Drawing (Installed in Angle-Mount Cup) ................................................................. 12
C51-2 Frequency Response Graph ................................................................................................................................ 13
C61-2 Frequency Response Graph ................................................................................................................................ 13
Unpacking/Inventory .......................................................................................................................................................... 14
How to Use This Manual ................................................................................................................................................... 14
Section I - Getting Started – Basic System Installation ................................................................................................ 14
Section II - Moving Forward – Advanced System Installation ..................................................................................... 18
Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................................................................ 18
Lesson One: Off-Axis Response.................................................................................................................................. 18
Lesson Two: Equalization of Pathlength Differences ............................................................................................... 18
Lesson Three: The Effect of HRTF, ITD, and IID ...................................................................................................... 20
Lesson Four: Point-Sourcing ........................................................................................................................................ 21
Lesson Five: Reference ................................................................................................................................................ 21
Advanced Installation of the Clarus Component Systems ........................................................................................... 22
Mounting Baffle Considerations ................................................................................................................................... 22
Acoustic Treatment ........................................................................................................................................................ 23
Advanced Installation Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 24
Warranty .............................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Thank You! .......................................................................................................................................................................... 26
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. 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 sets 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, 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 Clarus
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
Clarus User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 3 of 26
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 Clarus C6)
Frame: Cast aluminum with black powder-texture surface coating. 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. The frames are similar in size and format to the Mirus,
Imagine, and Clarus-series drivers, allowing for upgrade potential from these product lines to the
Clarus series.
Cone and Dustcap: Pressed paper, untreated on the front side and treated on the rearward side. It
is widely acknowledged that pressed paper cones are the best marriage of lightness, stiffness, and
ability of the cone to damp unwanted cone and edge modes and resonances (read: distortion). 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 paper cone, known for its excellent sonic attributes, is water resistant, thanks to a polymer
developed exclusive and proprietarily by Hybrid Audio Technologies. The treatment does not change
the look and parameters of the driver like old-fashioned “glossy” polymers which added an
appreciable amount of moving mass and significantly colored the sound. No, the Clarus cones look
like any “normal” paper cone. The treatment protects the cone from periodic drips (such as inside a
door panel), as well as accidental splashes to the front of the cone.
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.
Surround: Inverted high-loss rubber surround. 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 surround is a
shared technology with the Imagine series coaxial and convertible component sets.
Spider: Phenolic fabric and tinned tinsel leads. 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
Clarus User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 4 of 26
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.
Voice Coil and Motor System: 1” (25mm) (C5) and 1.4” (35mm) (C6): complimentary design. The
voice coil used in the Clarus midbass is a 2-layer aluminized copper wire coils on a round former. An
“overhung” voice coil was selected to improve sensitivity while still keeping distortion to a minimum.
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. The C1 is a
shared technology with the high-end Unity U1 tweeter, boasting 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.
Voice Coil and Motor System: 20mm complimentary design. 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 in component set
mode, giving the end-user flexibility in not only placement of the C1 but also in physical installation.
Passive Crossover Network (Clarus C2x)
Alignment: Second order L/R (12 dB/octave) filters for low pass (C5 or C6) and high pass (C1). The
C51-2 2-way passive crossover network includes a Clarus low pass and high pass crossover
frequency of 5,700 Hz at 12 dB/octave. The C61-2 2-way passive crossover network includes a
Clarus 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 phasecoherent imaging and staging. The alignment topology is a shared technology to the high-end Unity
U2x crossover design and features asymmetrically-aligned network components.
Network Components: Audiophile grade. The C51-2 and C61-2 passive crossover networks
incorporate super high quality and low tolerance metalized polypropylene film capacitors for both
highpass and low pass, in concert with 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
Clarus User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 5 of 26
crossover circuit board. The components selected are complimentary and ensure no notable signal
Parameter
Clarus
C51
-2
Clarus
C61
-2
degradation between the input and output side of the crossovers, and serve only to filter frequency
response, and not to equalize the input signal. The network componentry, design, circuitry, and
polyethylene case with transparent cover are shared technologies to the Unity series, and the Unity
U2x crossover design.
Clarus System Specifications
Frequency Response†
55Hz-22KHz
+/-3dB
50Hz-22KHz
+/-3dB
Efficiency 2.83 V/ 1 meter 92.0 dB 93.6 dB
Continuous Power Handling (transient music input) 110 watts 120 watts
Peak Power Handling (musical transient peak power handling) 230 watts 250 watts
Recommended Power Range 25-150 watts 25-175 watts
Nominal Impedance 4Ω 4Ω
† 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 23). 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).
Thiele/Small Parameter Discussion for Clarus Midbass Speakers
The mechanical and electrical parameters of the Clarus midbass speakers 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, or in the case of a motorcycle, in the fairing (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 for the Clarus-series midbass drivers:
Clarus User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 6 of 26
Midbass Thiele/Small Parameters
Parameter
Clarus
C51
-2
Clarus
C61
-2
**please note, the following parameters are for the midbass drivers only**
Overall Diameter Φ151.3 mm Φ166 mm
Mounting Depth 58.3 mm * 78.5 mm *
Bolt Circle Diameter Φ138 mm Φ156.5mm
Mounting Hole Φ 118 mm Φ143.5 mm
Recommended Minimum Highpass
Crossover Frequency (fourth order)
Pnom Rated Power Input (No Crossover) 40 watts 60 watts
Pmax Rated Power Input (No Crossover) 80 watts 120 watts
Frequency Range of midbass driver alone (not including
tweeter device)
Mms 7.1 g 14.1 g
Cms 667 µM/N 674 µM/N
BL 3.896 T*m 5.4 T*m
Voice Coil Diameter 25.5 mm 35.5 mm
DC Resistance 3.4 Ω 3.4 Ω
Fs 73 Hz 50 Hz
Qms 6.358 5.527
Qes 0.728 0.532
Qts 0.654 0.485
Xmax 10mm (two-way) 14mm (two way)
Vas 6.1 L 14.9 L
Sd 8.012 mm2 12.4692
60 Hz 45 Hz
60-12,000 Hz
+/- 3dB
50-9,000 Hz
+/- 3 dB
* Mounting depth includes removable rubber magnet boot cover. By removing the boot cover (which
does not affect the performance of the midbass), the depth improves by approximately 2.5 mm.
The following six pages contain mechanical drawings of the Clarus C51-2, C61-2, C2x, C1, and the
Clarus accessory tweeter hardware, as well as frequency response graphs1 of the C51-2 and C61-2
showing the three steps of tweeter-level attenuation.
1
Please note that the response peak at approximately 170 Hz is a testing room mode and is not indicative of the speaker’s
performance at that frequency. All speakers tested show this same phenomenon, and it has been concluded to be a room artifact.
Clarus User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 7 of 26
Clarus C51-2 Mechanical Drawing
Clarus User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 8 of 26
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