quadral GmbH & Co. KG
1) The RiCom M and its special features
The PLATINUM tweeter RiCom M is a completely new development and, like the larger AURUM RiCom before it, generates superb sound by way of an annular diaphragm. Nevertheless, there are significant differences between the two. For example, the RiCom M is equipped with a smaller and lighter diaphragm of rigid titanium which is centred on its outer and inner edges by a flexible fabric bead. A further difference lies in the fact that the larger unit has a large double magnet while the RiCom M is driven by a smaller but equally powerful neodymium ring.Soundwise fascinating: The ring radiator doesn’t produce any sound of its own, and thus neither sounds like a dome unit, nor like a ribbon, or even like the professional-standard ring radiator that is thought highly of because of its efficiency. Instead, it makes for mercurial liveliness, optimal definition, broadband frequency response and outstanding acoustic neutrality.
Visually, the RiCom ultra’s painstakingly designed sound radiation channel system brings a volume-boosting horn to mind, but in actual fact it also serves to enhance the efficiency and dynamics in the lower trebles.
However, this is no more than a welcome side effect, since the actual purpose of the channel system is to adjust the tweeter’s angle of radiation in the vicinity of the crossover frequency to that of a larger midranger. The success of this concept is reflected in the exceptionally high degree of homogeneity exhibited by the PLATINUM loudspeaker in the middle and treble range. All the overtones come over like a unified whole, as if reproduced by one single chassis rather than two.
The influence exerted by this channelling lessens as the frequency increases, with the result that the RiCom ultra’s excellent acoustic dispersion of the high trebles creates what is even then an exceptionally wide soundstage.
The PLATINUM speakers thus retain their excellent characteristics in terms of sound even beyond their main axis – and make for the very finest reproduction of the high trebles for listeners sat right to their side as well.
What makes the quadral RiCom different to other tweeters?Soundwise, this is above all down to its high sonic resolution, i.e. the clarity, transparency and ease with which it sets itself apart from dome tweeters. The RiCom is very similar to the ribbon tweeter in this respect. That the RiCom boasts these characteristics is down to its flexural-resonator diaphragm which, in contrast to piston-type resonators (such as, for example, domes), do not have to displace so much air in order to produce sound.
However, the RiCom also has other advantages over ribbon tweeters. For example, thanks to its flexible silk-fabric diaphragm, this tweeter is capable of working down into the upper midranges where its response is far nimbler and faster than a larger, heavier midrange diaphragm. Not only that, but its sound distribution is more wide-angled, due to the fact that ribbons are in principle subject to tight limits up to the mid-treble range.
Overall, this means that the RiCom surpasses dome as well as ribbon tweeters, both soundwise as well as in metrological terms. In order to achieve this, quadral carried out around two years of continuous research, testing and ongoing improvement before the RiCom was finally ready for series production.
Citation: AUDIO 3/07, PLATINUM ULTRA 9 about RiCom ultra (procedessor of RiCom M):
"... You won’t find a better configured and matched tweeter in this price class – even when measured on different axes, the RiCom unit remains fascinatingly linear."
