A quick lesson in Denovo Audio's own SEOS waveguides

Denovo Audio worked directly with the DIY community to produce one of the best waveguides for home audio use. The SEOS (Super Elliptical Oblate Spheroid) waveguide is a newer type of waveguide. They're designed to control the directivity of sound waves coming from the compression driver or tweeter diaphragm. The SEOS benefit is to improve the dispersion characteristics and optimize the interaction between the speaker and the listening environment.

Here are some key points about SEOS waveguides:

1. Dispersion Control: SEOS waveguides were designed to control the dispersion of sound waves. By carefully shaping the waveguide, they help direct the high-frequency sound in a specific pattern, ensuring even coverage across the listening area and reducing reflections off your walls and floors.  This ensures that everyone in the room hears the same thing without as many room reflections that can muddy the sound.

2. Shape: The shape of the SEOS waveguide is in a spherical and slight exponential form. This shape helps in maintaining a consistent directivity pattern, especially in the high-frequency range.

3. Optimized Sound Quality: SEOS waveguides enhance sound quality by reducing off-axis coloration and improving the overall coherence of the speaker system. The controlled dispersion helps minimize reflections and diffractions that can negatively impact the listening experience giving you a much clearer sound.

4. Waveguide Materials: SEOS waveguides by Denovo Audio are constructed using  ABS plastics or fiberglass composites. The choice of materials can sometimes influence the performance characteristics of the waveguide, so Denovo chose a very thick ABS material to increase the damping effect.

5. Commonly Used in DIY Speaker Designs: SEOS waveguides are popular in the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) speaker building community. Denovo has incorporated the SEOS waveguides into their speaker designs to achieve more controlled and consistent high-frequency response.  They've been very common in home theater builds for the past 12 years but they're also used around the world in other hifi commercially available speakers.

6. Compatibility with Compression Drivers: SEOS waveguides are often used in conjunction with compression drivers, which are specialized high-frequency drivers found mostly in high powered pro audio style speakers. The combination of a compression driver and a well-designed waveguide can result in a highly efficient and controlled high-frequency output.  Commercial grade parts can easily handle home audio requirements so you end up with less strained components which give you less distortion and cleaner sound.

If you need help better understanding why the SEOS waveguides are so often used in home theater speakers, please contact us for more information.