Help Index to Bestplace Help
Welcome to Bestplace!, v 1.0

Bestplace is distributed by RDL Acoustics. For further help, select one of the following topics:

About Bestplace:

About RDL Acoustics:

About RDL Speakers:

What are Room Designed Loudspeakers?

Why buy from RDL Acoustics?

How to Reach RDL Acoustics:


What is Bestplace?
About Bestplace:

Bestplace is a program that plots a room Augmentation curve for a speaker placed at any position within a listening room, and so allows experimentation to find acceptable positions that are also practical for use. It also plots a Speaker Curve at that position if the speaker is an RDL model with an 8-inch woofer.


About RDL Acoustics
What is RDL Acoustics?

RDL Acoustics (Room Designed Loudspeakers) is the result of a collaboration of two of the most famous men in audio: Edgar Villchur and Roy Allison.

Edgar Villchur was President and Director of Research of Acoustic Research, Inc. from its founding in 1954 to 1967. The AR-1 speaker system was the first commercial implementation of Mr. Villchur's revolutionary invention, the acoustic suspension system, which is used in most of the better-quality speakers sold today. This and subsequent AR speaker models were phenomenally successful: within a decade the company became the industry leader.

While at AR Villchur also invented the dome tweeter, first used in the AR-3 loudspeaker, and he designed the AR turntable. The turntable received an award for excellence in industrial design from Industrial Design magazine, and was exhibited at the annual Industrial Design Show. The AR-3 is on permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution.

Since 1967 Edgar Villchur has devoted full time to research on speech processing for the hearing impaired, a field in which he has also made significant contributions. He is now also a distinguished adviser to RDL. The technical design is left to Roy Allison, of whom Villchur has said, "When I heard the convex diaphragm tweeter, I knew the student had surpassed the teacher."

RDL sells its products directly to consumers on a no-strings return policy.  You can order by telephone, mail, or on our electronic bulletin board RDL On-Line, and keep the speakers or a complete system for as long as 30 days.  At any time before this trial period expires you may, if you wish, return them undamaged in the original packaging with all accessories.  We will then issue a full refund.  Your only potential cost is that of the return freight and insurance.  Before, during, and after your purchase you have free access to our knowledgeable and courteous telephone staff, or you can leave a message in the Sound Advice conference on RDL On-Line.  Roy Allison answers all Sound Advice conference messages.  We will be happy to answer your questions, help you with any problem, and even assist you in selecting the right components for your application.


Why Buy from RDL?
Why buy from RDL Acoustics?

RDL sells its products directly to consumers on a no strings return policy. You can order by telephone, mail, or on the RDL BBS, and keep the speakers or a complete system for as long as 30 days. At any time before this trial period expires you may, if you wish, return them undamaged in the original packaging with all accessories. We will then issue a full refund. Your only potential cost is that of the return freight and insurance. Before, during, and after your purchase you have free access to our knowledgeable and courteous telephone staff, or you can leave a message here on line in the Sound Advice Conference. Roy Allison answers all Sound Advice Conference messages. We will be happy to answer your questions, help you with any problem, and even assist you in selecting the right components for your application.

There are many real advantages to such a sales policy

There is no retail markup. You get far more value for your money.

You can be sure of the highest level of performance and quality in a product designed and sold by Roy Allison.

The correct speaker design for you depends on where you want the speakers in your room. The speakers you buy from RDL are optimized for your application -- our ordering system assists you in making the right choice, and our customer assistance telephone lines are available from 8:00 AM to midnight (Eastern Time) 1-800-227-0390 or 24 hours a day on our electronic bulletin board,

RDL On-Line, 1-800-227-0391.

You have the right to send RDL products back to us for a complete and prompt refund, for any reason at all, within a trial period of 30 days.

All RDL loudspeaker products are covered by a full warranty for five years. "Full" means that parts and labor are free, and that we pay freight both ways and even supply new cartons, if needed, on repairs made within warranty. (Electronics products are covered by the manufacturers warranty)

RDL products come complete with everything you need for their installation including speaker wire. Assistance, if needed, is just a phone call away.


What are Room Designed Loudspeakers?

Roy Allison's published research showed that the listening room has a profoundly audible effect on the performance of any loudspeaker. This room effect is dependent on the location of the speaker with respect to nearby room surfaces. Changes in power output of 10 dB (a factor of 10 times) can be expected in the middle bass range as the speaker is moved a few feet one way or another.  These large variations are unavoidable, but they are predictable. That is to say, if it is known in general how a loudspeaker will be placed in a room, a speaker can be designed to deliver its best performance in that location. What RDL has done is to design and make available several models of the same fine loudspeaker, each optimized for a different room placement.  All you need to do is decide where you want to put your speakers (our consultants will help if you wish), and then choose the model designed for that location. You can be confident that you'll get the best performance in your own system that can be had for the money.  You won't have to compromise performance for convenience, or vice versa. Only RDL offers this choice.


About RDL Acoustics Speakers
About RDL Speakers:

RDL speakers come in 4 basic styles:

Bookshelf:

Floorstanding:

Standmount:

Freestanding:

Audio-Visual(AV):


Bookshelf speakers
Bookshelf:

RDL B-1:  The B-1 is a Bookshelf speaker and operates best in a bookshelf surrounded by books. It can also be placed on a stand positioned at least one foot from the nearest room boundary.

Speaker complement: 8-inch woofer with 1½-inch voice coil and ½ inch linear motion capability. 1-inch convex-cone tweeter with ½-inch voice coil immersed in Ferrofluid damping and cooling material. These drive units are manufactured and tested individually by RDL Acoustics Inc.

Crossover frequency: 2,000 Hz.

Crossover network: Parallel filters. Air-core woofer choke, half-section high-pass filter for tweeter.

Enclosure: Room-designed acoustic suspension systems, B-1: 1,400 cu. in.

Low-frequency performance: B-1, -3dB at 45 Hz, -8dB at 34 Hz.

(Near-field measurements representing single-boundary environment. Response will extend downward in real rooms.)

Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5 ohms minimum.

Sensitivity: 87dB SPL, 2.83 v/1m.

Efficiency: 0.7%. 30 watts per channel generate 100dB SPL in the reverberant field of an average living room.

Recommended amplifier power: 15 to 150 watts per channel.

Power handling capability: 15 watts average, or continuous at any frequency. 35 watts at resonance frequency. Above twice resonance frequency, 350 watts for 0.1 second, 125 watts for 1 second, 60 watts for 10 seconds.

Dimensions: B-1, 20¼ in. high by 11 in. wide by 11¼ in. deep over all.


Floorstanding:

RDL F-1:  The F-1 is a Floorstanding model designed to be placed against one room boundary (usually the front wall).

Speaker complement: 8-inch woofer with 1½-inch voice coil and ½ inch linear motion capability. 1-inch convex-cone tweeter with ½-inch voice coil immersed in Ferrofluid damping and cooling material. These drive units are manufactured and tested individually by RDL Acoustics Inc.

Crossover frequency: 2,000 Hz.

Crossover network: Parallel filters. Air-core woofer choke, half-section high-pass filter for tweeter.

Enclosure: Room-designed acoustic suspension systems, F-1: 1,800 cu. in.

Low-frequency performance: F-1, -3dB at 40 Hz, -8dB at 31 Hz.

(Near-field measurements representing single-boundary environment. Response will extend downward in real rooms.)

Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5 ohms minimum.

Sensitivity: 87dB SPL, 2.83 v/1m.

Efficiency: 0.7%. 30 watts per channel generate 100dB SPL in the reverberant field of an average living room.

Recommended amplifier power: 15 to 150 watts per channel.

Power handling capability: 15 watts average, or continuous at any frequency. 35 watts at resonance frequency. Above twice resonance frequency, 350 watts for 0.1 second, 125 watts for 1 second, 60 watts for 10 seconds.

Dimensions: F-1, 25¼ in. high by 11 in. wide by 11¼ in. deep over all.


Standmount:

RDL S-1:  The S-1 is a Stand or Shelf mount loudspeaker designed to be placed against one room boundary.

Speaker complement 8-inch woofer with 1½-inch voice coil and ½ inch linear motion capability. 1-inch convex-cone tweeter with ½-inch voice coil immersed in Ferrofluid damping and cooling material. These drive units are manufactured and tested individually by RDL Acoustics Inc.

Crossover frequency: 2,000 Hz.

Crossover network: Parallel filters. Air-core woofer choke, half-section high-pass filter for tweeter.

Enclosure: Room-designed acoustic suspension systems, S-1: 820 cu. in.

Low-frequency performance: S-1, -3dB at 50 Hz, -8dB at 38 Hz.

(Near-field measurements representing single-boundary environment. Response will extend downward in real rooms.)

Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5 ohms minimum.

Sensitivity: 87dB SPL, 2.83 v/1m.

Efficiency: 0.7%. 30 watts per channel generate 100dB SPL in the reverberant field of an average living room.

Recommended amplifier power: 15 to 150 watts per channel.

Power handling capability: 15 watts average, or continuous at any frequency. 35 watts at resonance frequency. Above twice resonance frequency, 350 watts for 0.1 second, 125 watts for 1 second, 60 watts for 10 seconds.

Dimensions: S-1, 11½ in. high by 11½ in. wide by 12 in. deep over all.


Freestanding:

RDL FS-1: The FS-1 is a Freestanding loudspeaker designed to be placed on the floor away from all room boundaries.

Speaker complement 8-inch woofer with 1½-inch voice coil and ½ inch linear motion capability. 1-inch convex-cone tweeter with ½-inch voice coil immersed in Ferrofluid damping and cooling material. These drive units are manufactured and tested individually by RDL Acoustics Inc.

Crossover frequency: 2,000 Hz.

Crossover network: Parallel filters. Air-core woofer choke, half-section high-pass filter for tweeter.

Enclosure: Room-designed acoustic suspension systems: FS-1, 1,800 cu. in.

Low-frequency performance: FS-1,-3dB at 40 Hz, -8dB at 31 Hz.

(Near-field measurements representing single-boundary environment. Response will extend downward in real rooms.)

Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5 ohms minimum.

Sensitivity: 87dB SPL, 2.83 v/1m.

Efficiency: 0.7%. 30 watts per channel generate 100dB SPL in the reverberant field of an average living room.

Recommended amplifier power: 15 to 150 watts per channel.

Power handling capability: 15 watts average, or continuous at any frequency. 35 watts at resonance frequency. Above twice resonance frequency, 350 watts for 0.1 second, 125 watts for 1 second, 60 watts for 10 seconds.

Dimensions: FS-1, 25¼ in. high by 11 in. wide by 11¼ in. deep over all.


Order information
How to Reach RDL Acoustics:

RDL Acoustics can be reached via the following numbers:

1-800-227-0390 Telephone Sales/Customer Service 8:00 AM to midnight (Eastern Time).

1-800-227-9047 FAX .

1-800-227-0391 24 Hr BBS .

or at the company mailing address, 26 Pearl St. Bellingham, MA, 02019


The augmentation curve is a frequency vs. amplitude plot showing how nearby room boundaries affect the power output of a speaker. The curve's shape is dependent on the location of the woofer with respect to the three nearest boundaries. In typical cases there is a large increase in output at very low frequencies, with highly variable effects possible from about 50 Hz upward in frequency.


The speaker curve is a combination of the power response of the speaker system in free space (its anechoic power response) and the augmentation curve determined by its position in a listening room. It is what the speaker actually produces in that position.


Audio-Visual(AV):

The AV-1 (shown in the picture below as used with the SW-1 woofer in a 5 channel Surround Sound setup) is RDL Acoustics shielded Audio/Video satellite speaker.  The AV-1 may also be used as a Center Channel speaker in Dolby ProLogic Surround Sound systems.  The SW-1 is a stereo woofer with a complete crossover built in to make it ideal for use in 3 piece systems.

Specifications:

AV-1:

Speaker complement: 4-inch long-throw woofer/midrange unit with 1-inch voice coil; 1-inch convex-cone tweeter with ½-inch voice coil immersed in Ferrofluid damping and cooling material.

Crossover frequency: 2,000 Hz.

Crossover network: Parallel half-section filters including air-core woofer choke.

Enclosure: Room-designed acoustic suspension system. Volume 133 cu. in.

Dimensions: 11 5/8 in. high by 7 1/4 in. wide by 4 1/4 in. deep, over all.

Weight: 8 pounds.

SW-1:

Speaker Complement:  8-inch woofer,

1 1/2-inch dual-winding voice coil with 0.6-in. linear excursion capability.

Crossover frequency to AV-1:  150 Hz.

Crossover type:  LC, half-section low-pass and high-pass for each stereo channel.

Enclosure:  Sealed acoustic suspension.

Dimensions:  11 1/2 in. high by 11 1/4 in wide by 11 1/4 in deep over all.

Weight:  16 1/2 pounds.