The Moya M1 was born of circumstance. Quarantined in a hotel room for 10 days by the global pandemic, Laurence Dickie began to sketch out an idea for a speaker that could do it all.
Physically, that concept would evolve many times through the R&D phase but the vision remained unchanged: the non plus ultra of loudspeakers, able to handle anything with aplomb. A loudspeaker so imbued with power and authority, particularly from the lower frequencies, that it could deliver any and all types of music with effortless grace.
As the Vivid Audio team went into test phase, the design of the Moya began to take shape. An imposing stack of bass drivers became the dominant feature of the curvaceous design. Early results reaffirmed the observation that an extended low frequency range actually helps with the overall perspective of the entire frequency range.
Of course, a loudspeaker is much more than just the bass, but the low frequency section does play an outsized role. Most importantly, it sets the system efficiency and, since it is relatively straightforward to create high efficiency mid-band drivers, these have to be attenuated back to the level set by the bass.
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
“In most loudspeakers, the bass section determines performance, as far as the laws of physics will allow.
A cone moving this far at this frequency will supply so many dBs and no more. The length of the linear electromagnetic ‘push’ is set by the length of the voice coil and magnetic gap. Not far behind is the suspension design which eventually pulls tight and stops further movement.
Therefore, to increase the volume of air being moved, you must increase the cone area. Every doubling in cone area creates three more dBs, or, for the same level, a halving of the cone excursion. The more cone area you can have, the smaller the cone displacement and the easier the loudspeaker has it – hence ‘effortless’.
With its 45mm magnetic gap, the C225 driver is no slouch but reducing the excursion by a factor of eight through the use of eight drivers means that they’re just ticking over while you enjoy a massive auditory slam.”
POWER IS NOTHING WITHOUT CONTROL
Opening the throttle of a powerful car as you go into a racetrack curve; hitting the high notes in a trumpet solo; the muscular thrust skyward of a world-class ballerina. All need raw power, but every application of power requires finesse too. Sometimes, measuring the smallest things entails the largest machines.
Without control and refinement, power is just an unruly force. Any large loudspeaker can play loud, but that’s only part of its purpose. The listener must also be able to pick out the subtlest detail from the hullabaloo of an orchestral crescendo or hear an exclamation of appreciation in the midst of an explosive drum solo.
Moya M1 delivers this precision to the Nth degree, while also being able to reproduce rock concert levels of sound in your living room. From an organ symphony on a huge Cavaillé-Coll instrument to low-end bass from a 90s house anthem, the Moya M1 delivers audio thrills at every octave.
WHEN EIGHT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH
A casual glance at the Moya M1 and one thing registers immediately: the eight imposing bass drivers. But why eight drivers? It all comes down to efficiency and power handling.
Compared to the two C225s of our Giya G1 Spirit model, Moya features four times the driver complement, which equates to an extra 6db of efficiency. In Moya we chose to use some of that gain to push the low frequency extension below 20Hz.
When the voice coil runs out of magnetic road it manifests in obvious distortion. But something less obvious is also happening. The power going into the coil also heats it up, causing resistance to rise and efficiency to drop – as much as 6dB if the coil gets up to 230°C. Now a subtle degradation of the loud passages creeps in. And a tired speaker creates a dull listening experience.
Keeping a check on power compression calls for a large area of voice coil, hence a large diameter coil. Eight drivers, each with a 100mm voice coil, is the same as having 400mm voice coils on a pair of drivers. Even the most powerful 21 inch drivers have no more than a 150mm voice coil, let alone 400mm.
MASTERING THE SEQUENCE
The next question was which driver to put next in the sequence. The C125-75 midrange, used in our G1S speaker, is a great driver but would be excursion limited down to 400Hz to keep up with the immense output of the lower frequency.
Alternatively, taking the eight bass drivers up to 400Hz would be pushing the limits of what was reasonable for such a large array. Clearly, another frequency band was needed to bridge the gap, necessitating a complex five-way crossover and the addition of a pair of C175 bass/mid drivers.
Using computer-aided network analysis and optimisation, in conjunction with ideally-behaved drivers, a seamless five-way dividing network was perfectly achievable.
Now the delicate balance of highs, lows and mids was perfectly harmonised – for an optimal experience that will reveal new details from your record collection at every listening session.
TWEETERS MINING MATERIAL GAINS
Exotic tweeter dome materials appeared in the audio world as far back as the 1990s. Noting the trend, Vivid Audio weighed the choices and made a pivotal decision.
Blending the rigidity of carbon fibre with an aluminium dome crafted into a catenary shape, we achieved a measured response that rivalled the performance of rare and costly beryllium, while delivering subjective results that surpassed even diamond tweeters.
One key advantage of our reinforced aluminium dome over diamond lies in its lower mass. Creating a reliable diamond shell requires a 100-micron-thick layer deposit. When combined with diamond’s increased density over aluminium, it results in a moving mass three times greater than that of aluminium.
This leads to a significant reduction in efficiency – approximately 10dB lower! The subjective improvement derived from requiring only one-tenth of the power for the same sound pressure level should not be underestimated.
It is fundamental to the effortless sound reproduction for which Vivid Audio loudspeakers are now renowned.
A LAYER OF BLACK MAGIC
While the outstanding performance of our D26 tweeter is undisputed, we never cease trying to elevate tweeter performance to new levels. This requires constant evaluation of new materials and coatings.
The breakthrough came with a material called Diamond-like Coating, or DLC. With a modulus nearly equal to crystalline diamond, it is apply to the surface of aluminium domes at a temperature well below melting point.
Increased stiffness is always the primary goal but enhanced damping of break-up modes is an added bonus. The contrasting properties between the DLC and the aluminium substrate heightened shear losses and significantly dampened the ‘Q’ of the break-up.
Both the D50 upper mid-frequency driver and D26 high-frequency driver benefit from the DLC, but the enhancements to the new series of drivers extends further.
While the magnets used in our standard drivers have an energy content of 35MGOe, material with an energy of 52MGOe is now possible. Efficiency gains at this extreme end of the driver spectrum are hard-earned and the 2dB increase in output is important.
Aesthetically, the DLC adds a shiny black to an already eye-catching tweeter – and more than a little black magic to the sound.
MID RANGE A COMMANDING PERFORMANCE
Occupying the all-important mid-range spotlight is our venerable C100SCu mid-driver. This unit is a reliable soldier for the critical space on the audio spectrum where the demands of soprano vocals and violin strings must be met.
In honour of its new position in the centre of the Moya M1 baffle, its already stellar performance is now further enhanced with high-energy magnet material and a high-purity copper shield over the central pole.
This stabilises the magnetic flux in the face of the influence of the musical signal, yielding extended highs and dramatically reduced distortion.
Adding three carbon fibre rings to the cone assembly produces a notable increase in the break-up frequencies, placing an even safer margin between them and the uppermost extent of the working band – the top C6 of the soprano’s vocal range.
AN AGILE PARTNER
The C175 now finds itself in a new role covering the low mid-band between 125Hz and 550Hz. While not being called upon to reproduce the lowest bass, this agile driver is ideally suited to delivering those chest-rattling drum notes with impact and urgency.
Formerly underpinning the bottom octaves of our Giya G2 loudspeaker, the C175 has long-term power handling in abundance, essential in a band where so much of the fundamental energy of strings and vocals is centred.
Two exponentially-tapered partitions extending the full height of the enclosure ensure the complete annihilation of parasitic eigen-resonances, resulting in fantastically accurate transients in the band that is responsible for so much of the system’s impact.
BASS DRIVERS ROCKING THE FOUNDATIONS
The Moya M1 bass array is one feature you can’t miss. Eight legendary C225-100H drivers, each one capable of handling 800W, arranged in a new high-shove configuration. An awesome display of power!
The C225 uses a radially polarised magnet structure, in this case twelve 45mm-long segments of high energy rare-earth magnet in an 11kg lump of high-purity steel. Wound on a virtually indestructible glass-reinforced former, capable of handling over 300°C, the edge-wound copper-ribbon voice coil can take extreme power in its stride.
Each pair of drivers is arranged in a horizontally-opposed configuration on either side of the bass module, with magnets united by a substantial steel tie-bar to completely eliminate reaction forces and the need for a heavy enclosure.
A foam-cored composite sandwich is used throughout the cabinet, which features extensive composite bracing to ensure a resolutely stiff enclosure with all structural modes safely out of band.
Ultimate low-end is provided by a pair of reaction-cancelling ports, which, by virtue of the exceptionally low crossover frequency of the bass section, can be generously proportioned, thereby minimising any turbulent effects which might limit low-end linearity.
As with the entire Vivid Audio range, the Moya M1 uses exponential absorbers. In the bass systems this is achieved by terminating the tapered chamber with an arrangement of nested concentric shells, accurately defining the exponential taper and safely dissipating any unwanted resonances.
The Moya M1 bass array is one feature you can’t miss. Eight legendary C225-100H drivers, each one capable of handling 800W, arranged in a new high-shove configuration. An awesome display of power!
The C225 uses a radially polarised magnet structure, in this case twelve 45mm-long segments of high energy rare-earth magnet in an 11kg lump of high-purity steel. Wound on a virtually indestructible glass-reinforced former, capable of handling over 300°C, the edge-wound copper-ribbon voice coil can take extreme power in its stride.
Each pair of drivers is arranged in a horizontally-opposed configuration on either side of the bass module, with magnets united by a substantial steel tie-bar to completely eliminate reaction forces and the need for a heavy enclosure.
A foam-cored composite sandwich is used throughout the cabinet, which features extensive composite bracing to ensure a resolutely stiff enclosure with all structural modes safely out of band.
Ultimate low-end is provided by a pair of reaction-cancelling ports, which, by virtue of the exceptionally low crossover frequency of the bass section, can be generously proportioned, thereby minimising any turbulent effects which might limit low-end linearity.
As with the entire Vivid Audio range, the Moya M1 uses exponential absorbers. In the bass systems this is achieved by terminating the tapered chamber with an arrangement of nested concentric shells, accurately defining the exponential taper and safely dissipating any unwanted resonances.
• Enlarged horn loaded bass reflex system for an uncompromising bass power and performance. • New generation EvolutionAA drivers for increased dynamics, lower distortion, and even purer sound. • Innovative XT3 tweeter with new ‘Long Throw’ Horn, extended super tweeter frequency range and record-breaking low distortion values. Variable phase correction of the XT3 tweeter via a precision mechanism with a user-friendly rotary knob. • Coplanar arrangement of the acoustic centre of all drivers, for stunning musical and spatial coherence. • NatureCapPlusAA, Avantgarde’s unique, proprietary new pure copper super-capacitor, with outstanding specs and incredibly delicate sound. • Equipped as standard with the E-Fuse circuitry, an electronic fuse for an even more precise dynamic reproduction. • Optional patented and fully active iTRONAA Current Drive, for perfect control of the driver output and the ultimate sound. • Iconic and instantly recognizable design language, combined with future-proof modular technology for easy, future electronic upgrades. • Multiple lacquer or wooden veneer finishes of the bass cabinets and new elegant colour and design options for an even more individual configuration of your dream loudspeaker.
