Community Professional Loudspeakers was granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its Carbon Ring Cone Technology.
The technology development uses a ring of rigid carbon fibre placed around the outer edge of a specially designed cone, resulting in a structure that is both lighter and stiffer than a conventional cone.
"An ideal loudspeaker cone would be infinitely rigid and have no mass," explains Community founder and president Bruce Howze. "Carbon ring cones are a realistic step toward this ideal."
The increased edge strength also enables the use of a deeply pleated narrow surround. A narrow surround permits a larger cone diameter, providing greater piston area in a given frame size.
"In short, a carbon ring cone is lighter, larger, and stronger," says Howze. "A speaker employing a carbon ring cone will have higher sensitivity, higher mechanical power capacity and reduced cone break-up."