Полочная акустика — Vivid Oval B1

The Oval B1 is a floor-standing loudspeaker from Vivid Audio, now listed by the company as a legacy product. It was first launched in 2005, and Vivid names the Kaya 45 as its closest successor. The enclosure is made from a complex loaded carbon fibre filled polymer and finished in high gloss automotive paint.

Key specs that matter

The B1 uses four drive units, and below 900 Hz the work is split between two woofers. A D26 26 mm metal dome tweeter and a D50 50 mm metal dome midrange both have tapered tube loading, and two C125 125 mm metal-coned units share the low frequencies in a vented cabinet. Crossover frequencies are listed as 100 Hz, 900 Hz and 3,500 Hz. Sensitivity is 89 dB at 2.83 V RMS at 1 m on axis, and nominal impedance is 4 ohms. The frequency range is 35 Hz to 36,000 Hz at the -6 dB points, while the response on the reference axis runs from 39 Hz to 33,000 Hz within 2 dB. The D26 tweeter reaches its first break-up at 44,000 Hz. Each speaker stands 1,202 mm high and 370 mm wide, with a cabinet depth of 374 mm and 420 mm at the base, and weighs 38 kg net. Shipping cartons measure 1,250 x 430 x 530 mm and weigh 50 kg each.

Engineering and use context

One C125 is fixed to the front baffle and the other to the rear baffle, and the two are coupled inside the cabinet by a screw tensioning unit so that their reactions cancel. Both receive the same signal below the lowest crossover point, and above that point the drive to the rear unit is progressively reduced, leaving the front driver to carry on alone. This keeps the spacing between drivers small around the crossover. Fourth order filters are used to hold phase coherence through both main crossover points and give symmetrical polar behaviour. The stand is part of the enclosure and is moulded from the same carbon fibre loaded polyester compound, with arms of small frontal area. Five custom spikes are mounted around the edge of the base. Separate conduits inside the arms guide Van den Hul interconnecting cable from the two internally mounted crossovers down into the base.

Pairing

Amplifier connection is through precision machined WBT gold plated terminals set at the rear of the base, which keeps cabling out of sight. Vivid rates the B1 for power handling of 300 W RMS into its nominal load.

Alternatives

The Vivid Audio Oval B1 Decade is the later model in the Oval range, built with a balsa-cored quadraxial glass composite sandwich cabinet.