Funk Audio's New 8.2P Floorstanding Speaker

Hallo! I would really be interested in your opinion about these, because i had my eyes on FunkAudio for a while!

I'm curious what the xover point is with such a large CTC spacing for an MTM?

MSRP? Competing Models?

AH posted a PREVIEW, not review.

The only thing that concerned me was the statement about how the speakers were NOT made to be "flat" on FR. I'm okay with as much as +/-3dB variance, but I don't want Wilson-like or Zu-like measurements of +/-10dB on FR.

Bose is also +/-10dB.

Just got word on AH that the Funk speakers will be accurate speakers w/ FR within the +0/-3dB, gradually tapering and good off-axis up to 60 degrees.

I just find those specs hard to believe. 96db, 35hz, 8" drivers with 12.5mm xmax... High excursion 8" drivers will have lower sensitivity and/or extension. Not that there's anything actually wrong with the speaker, or its SQ, but those specs are misleading.

Well, let's wait for Audioholics to measure those Funk speakers first. I get the feeling AH will be reviewing them.

I doubt Funk would make any false claims period, but especially knowing Audioholics would measure the speakers.

Not necessarily. One can get both with enough motor force. Though I'm not sure the claim is 12.5mm xmax; I think it's 12.5mm total throw. But I could have read the blurb too quickly) Also, the cabinets look pretty big and are vented, so the claim is not on its face impossible.

Some people may not know enough be able to tell much about a speaker by the drive-unit configuration, but the Funk speaker shows some interesting tradeoffs. I didn't see anything about the woofer-planar crossover, but let's assume arguendo that it's low enough that the woofers are still more-or-less hemispherical radiators in the crossover region. The speaker is still going to have a smaller sweetspot than most controlled-directivity speakers, because the planar is pretty wide. So it will start to beam fairly low. Also, the tight vertical pattern indicates that it's a speaker one can optimize placement for sitting or standing, but not both. For someone with the cash who finds the above limits outweighed by other factors, it's probably worth a listen.

They stated 1" peak to peak. This design has many questionable choices, no doubt. It's also likely that Funk is using very pricey custom drivers that none of us have access to

Does AH do only in-room measurements or also quasi-anechoic?

I look forward to the review.

@DS-21

I work on the design end on some of the Funk Audio products. We have some pretty interesting things coming down the pipes. This is one of the first to be released.

Your statements quoted above are interesting in that you have a keen interest in the technical side of the loudspeakers.

Our choice of a planar for our MTM has a great deal of thought behind it.

Vertical spacing in an MTM is an issue that needs constant attention. Most MTM are tradeoffs between a dome tweeter and the midwoofers. In most designs there is beaming with the midwoofers that have to be crossed over a little to high inorder for the tweeter not to go up in smoke. And then you have the usual problem of a dome tweeter not having enough excursion to keep up with the woofers. I have always disliked the MTM arrangement when done with anything larger than a 5 1/4 inch midwoofer. They just didn't work. Not at any realistic volume at any rate.

So when Nathan asked my opinion of what would make a good MTM I had an idea up my sleeve that caught his interest.

Our design goals were to stand apart, offer something that is being done by few companies in the first place and do it better! We chose to keep the efficiency as high as was possible. And to use some of the finest components that are available.

So I offered this. Lets do this, use a large format planar, it would allow a low crossover point. A planar radiates over it's full height. So it is almost the ideal driver for an MTM as there is essentially no center to center distance lost in this type of arrangement. The only center to center distance we have to incorporate is the two driver cone radius. This is the same as one drivers cone diameter.

The planar will keep the high frequency floor bounce to a minimum. A good trait in an MTM. Yes there is little vertical directivity in a planar, but this is one of the largest planars you have seen believe me! It gives quite a tall vertical coverage. Dispersion in a planar narrows across the horizontal plane as the frequency gets higher. Literally as the frequency of sound goes higher, the wavelength is smaller. So this is not really to much of a problem.

Our midwoofers are very well designed 8 inch drivers. They have a healthy X-max, and a large X-mech of 24mm (P-P). You can use this tower for quite a bit of music without a sub if need be.

We use a newly created special acoustic loading for the woofers. It is a double tapered venting system that allows good efficiency down to the designed Fs even when using a driver that has a very strong motor. It has very low air particle velocity at any reasonable power input.

And almost no port compression up to levels that will keep all but the most rabid bass fiends happy.

So you have what I hope is one the finest MTM's available. We have paid very careful attention to most of the weaknesses I have observed in designs over the last 25 years.

We have pushed the envelop about as far as is possible at a reasonable price.



Mark Kravchenko

Consultant and Designer

Kravchenko-Audio