Warwick Acoustics Designers at Work

Technology

The ElectroAcoustic Panel (EAP)

Inspired by two generations of patented electrostatic transducers developed for our multi-award-winning headphone systems, Warwick Acoustics introduces the automotive world to the lightest, most power-efficient and sustainable ElectroAcoustic Panel for the vehicles of the future.

Our ElectroAcoustic Panels are made up of two elements, our patented ElectroStatic Transducers (EST), and a custom designed Electronics Drive Module (EDM).

In bringing together these two elements into panels specific to each use case, the result is the most remarkable, immersive and authentic sound experience to be delivered in a vehicle environment. But it’s not just about the experience. It’s also about the multitude of benefits ElectroAcoustic Panels deliver compared to a conventional speaker system.

Electrostatic Technology

Underpinning our ElectroAcoustic Panels is our patented electrostatic transducer technology. The ideal loudspeaker transducer would have zero mass, respond infinitely quickly to any signal, be perfectly damped, have no distortion and be perfectly linear. Until now, the technology that best exemplifies those characteristics is electrostatic.

In its simplest form, our ElectroStatic Transducer module vibrates air using a thin (15μm), conductive multi-layer membrane centred between two thin, electrically conductive stators. The membrane is kept at a high DC potential relative to the stators and the audio signal is applied across the stators. This results in the membrane moving in response to the audio signal thus generating acoustic output. Due to the moving membrane having such a low mass, it responds very quickly and precisely to changes in the audio signal making for clear, extremely accurate sound reproduction.

At Warwick Acoustics, our R&D team have spent over 10 years developing this ground-breaking and patented technology that has been evidenced by the success of our multi-award-winning headphone systems and is set to revolutionise the in-car audio entertainment of the future.

ElectroStatic Transducer (EST)

Fundamental to our technology is the patented cell structure design to allow the sound to be directed and focussed around the car to deliver outstanding and authentic acoustic experiences.

The EST’s membrane is affixed to the open (cell) structure of the insulating spacers and the film is precisely machine-tensioned. In this way, small ‘drum-skins’ are created by the cells.

The shape, size and distribution of cells allows the EST’s frequency response and directivity to be tailored for a particular application.

Electronic Drive Module (EDM)

Each ElectroAcoustic Panel comes with a matched Electronic Drive Module (EDM) to provide bias power and audio signals necessary to drive the ElectroStatic Transducer (EST).

The EDM can be powered by the vehicles standard 12V power rail. The EDM supplies a transducer bias voltage of between 1,300V – 2,000V depending upon the system requirement and the audio output signal. The audio input signal can range between 100mV – 2.2V.

Given the ultra-low mass of the transducer and capacitive nature of the load, power consumption of the EDM is extremely low, with typical average power requirements as low as ¼ of that required to drive a conventional transducer.

Our EDM is compatible with Analog Devices’ Automotive Audio Bus A2B network and can use the A2B phantom power rail for DC drive. Inertia and other safety devices can be connected to the vehicle’s CAN at system or A2B level to disconnect power in the event of a crash.

The EDM can either be integrated with the EST, on the EAP chassis or located separately between the ‘A’ and ‘B’ surfaces of the vehicle due to the minimal packaging space required.