Patent ID: 7920712

Claim:
A loudspeaker for receiving an electrical signal and transmitting an acoustic signal through a transmission medium, comprising: (a) a coaxial transducer for receiving the electrical signal and producing the acoustic signal representative of the electrical signal, the coaxial transducer comprising: (i) a high-frequency driver arranged to transmit high-frequency acoustic signals generally along a central axis of the coaxial transducer; and (ii) a mid-frequency driver that is coaxially arranged relative to the high-frequency driver, the mid-frequency driver including a diaphragm about the central axis of the coaxial transducer through which mid-frequency acoustic signals are transmitted; and (b) an acoustic transformer having a first end positioned adjacent to the coaxial transducer and a second end opposite therefrom, the acoustic transformer comprising: (i) a plurality of waveguides to transmit the mid-frequency acoustic signals from the diaphragm to the second end of the acoustic transformer; and (ii) an initial horn section comprising a sidewall that expands in a direction from the first end to the second end of the acoustic transformer, the sidewall being acoustically substantially opaque to the high-frequency acoustic signals to thereby function as a waveguide for the high-frequency acoustic signals, and the sidewall being acoustically substantially transparent to the mid-frequency acoustic signals to thereby transmit, via its surface, the mid-frequency acoustic signals exiting from the waveguides to the second end of the acoustic transformer.