Copernicus II Listening System
Why Copernicus?
Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543), the Polish astronomer, took the long-accepted conceptions about our universe, and turned them on their heads, in his 1530 work De Revolutionibus, in which he had the audacity to assert that the earth rotated on its axis once daily, and traveled around the sun once yearly. Heretofore, it was believed that the earth was a fixed, immovable mass, at the center of the universe, around which the sun and stars revolved. Copernicus II changed the way man viewed the universe, and his position in it.
Likewise, the Copernicus II Listening System challenges current perceptions and approaches to sound reproduction. The current paradigm strives to achieve an expansive sonic image, both horizontally and vertically, throughout the listening area, regardless of its size and character. This is not unlike trying to illuminate an entire warehouse with a single lightbulb. Small speakers have improved tremendously, but do not have the power for most settings. Horn-loaded systems can fill large areas, but require considerable floorspace. And at that, they are still fighting the unique ambient characteristics of the room, based on linear size, volume, shape, and reverberance. Too often, the result is an unbalanced, uneven sound; in short, not what the artists and engineers created when the music was recorded.
The Copernicus II Approach
The Copernicus II Listening System succeeds in accurately reproducing the musical recording, as it was intended, by concentrating the sonic energy in a unique listening area. It is unaffected by the rest of the room, whether a carpeted living room, a brick-walled warehouse loft, or a building lobby. The system provides absolutely reproducable imaging, depth, orientation, and timbre through its time alignment technology.
Engineers and consultants at ATS have extensive experience in the field of medical sonography; and understand how critical time alignment is to sonic generation and reception. They have applied techniques developed in Doppler phase array technology to the field of music reproduction. The result is a slender, curving tower, housing sixteen full-range drivers. The visual elegance of the cabinet echoes the true beauty of the design; it is the precisely placed speaker array which is key to the system’s performance. Each driver is positioned to focus its output to a targeted “sweet spot,” at the apex of the triangular area formed by the two speaker towers and the listener.
Significant Advances in Speaker Array
The direction and positioning of the speaker elements toward this listening area produces a number of significant advantages: first, the sonic power is greatly increased, allowing these high efficiency drivers to achieve a dynamic range comparable to horns. The power requirements are almost minimal, while the potential output of the system is well outside the recommended range for “safe’ listening. The same speakers which can accurately reproduce a “whisper” of a voice or instrument, can also meet the full requirements of “ear-splitting” hard rock music.
The Sound Stage
The precise, stepped array of the drivers also helps create a “stage,” with accurate placement of instruments and voices, as they were recorded. Each performer is three-dimensionally placed across the stage. The presence of the lead singer, as it was recorded, comes out into the room. There is no focused sound emanating from the drivers – to the listener’s ears, the players are palpable, both by their location and the depth and resonance of their sound.
The curve of the tower also significantly reduces any standing waves, limiting any artifacts to the reproduced sound. The speaker cabinets are meticulously constructed with solid hardwoods, and internally damped with NASA-developed sound absorption material. The small profile and tightness of the construction result in minimal resonance; but as the reflected sound of the system is 12dB lower than the focused sound, the cabinet acoustics may be considered essentially irrelevant.
True Stereo
Paired with each tower is a subwoofer, located at the base in a truncated hexagon cabinet. The enclosures, constructed of 1-1/2” thick hardwood laminates, are specifically designed to reduce standing waves. The 10” long-throw drivers are precisely time-aligned with the tower drivers, and their extended range (20Hz – 120Hz) and placement with the array results in true stereo, with an accurate, musical response throughout the full dynamic range.
Personally Attuned
Think of the targeted listening area, or “sweet spot,” as being at the apex of a triangle formed by the two speaker towers and the listener. Each side of the triangle is eight feet long. The speakers face the listener at a slight angle from each other. The “sweet spot” is approximately one foot wide, three feet deep, and only 3 inches tall. Persons outside the spot will experience a very pleasant, full sound, comparable in quality to many fine speaker systems. But the person inside the listening area will experience a sonic experience which is breathtaking in its presence, clarity, depth, and accuracy. The imaging experiencing will be almost “visual.”
In order to “fine-tune” this targeted area to individual listeners, ATS engineers have incorporated in the Copernicus II Listening System unique, remote-controlled actuators to raise or lower the speaker towers. At the touch of a button, the tower moves smoothly to perfectly match each person’s ear level. The result is a personal listening experience unlike any other.
Can Audiophiles Co-exist With Cinephiles?
Just as many music-lovers have been forced to listen to their favorite performances on systems optimized for Star Wars and Mission Impossible soundtracks, so too have cinephiles been forced to watch fine movies on stereo systems with limited dynamic range and power (no rumbles or explosions), no surround imaging, and questionable placement of actors’ voices. Can the two be reconciled? ATS is pleased to announce that the Copernicus II Listening System will be available in a special version which will successfully allow both music listening and soundtrack reproduction, with no compromise for either format. We have already discussed the extraordinary audiophile experience possible with this system. For movies, the system will meet or exceed the requirements of soundtrack reproduction with its current attributes, plus One. The system has incredible power capacity, which will allow the full audio range of a movie, from whispers to cosmic explosions, with depth and detail. The music on the soundtrack, whether orchestral, vocal, or rock, will be exceptional in fidelity throughout the dynamic range. Dialogue will be placed accurately, not above or below the screen, as is usually the case. To this high performance system we add One, our “virtual surround” system, licensed by Dolby, and fully incorporated into our digital system processor. The human ear and brain can detect nearly infinitesimal differences in sound placement. Our speaker system is able to achieve remarkable spatial placement with this unique sound processing system, in essence turning a “stereo” into a “five-speaker” surround system. Unbelievably, One audio system can handle both media – beautifully. It is the Copernicus II.
Alltronics Technical Systems
3289 East 55th Street
Cleveland, Ohio, 44127 USA
1-800-255-8766
www.atssounds.com