Music consists of a mix of lower and higher frequencies (among other characteristics we will not cover for the purpose of this article). The lower the frequency, the greater the size of its sound wavelength and the driver (woofer) dedicated to its reproduction. Due to the woofer’s bigger size compared to the tweeter, it is harder for the electrical signal to move the radiating membrane back and forth and reproduce sound. Because of their stronger inertia, low frequencies lag behind higher frequencies. Low and high frequencies that should be heard simultaneously will be heard separately if this delay is not fixed.
To address the loudspeakers’ phase distortions resulting specifically from X-OVER filters Goldmund developed Leonardo.
To help you better understand how phase distortions affect the listening experience, our engineers created an experiment. They modified one track (Castanets) with software to simulate filters having different group delay behaviors (without touching the signal amplitude) that were pushed to extreme levels for easier identification.