Eminent Technology
{{Short description|American audio electronics company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Eminent Technology
| logo = Eminent Technology logo.png
| logo_size =
| type = Private
| foundation = {{start date and age|1983}}
| founder = Bruce Thigpen
| location_city = Florida
| location_country = United States
| key_people = Bruce Thigpen
| industry = Audio electronics
| products = Home audio, audio equipment
| revenue =
| num_employees =
| homepage = {{URL |http://www.eminent-tech.com/}}
}}
Eminent Technology is an American audio electronics company based in Florida, established in 1983 by Bruce Thigpen. The company manufactures tonearms and speakers mostly at its own facility in Tallahassee, Florida.
History
Their first product was an air bearing straight-line tracking tonearm for phonograph playback, and was the first implementation of a captured air bearing for tonearm use.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} It was followed by a more advanced version of the tonearm.
In 1985 the company began developing planar magnetic loudspeakers and in 1987 introduced the world's first full-range push-pull{{clarify|date=September 2014}} planar magnetic loudspeaker, the LFT-3.
Another of the company's products is the Thigpen Rotary Woofer. Typical subwoofer products are inefficient at producing desired sound pressure levels at frequencies below 20 Hz,{{cite web|url=http://www.crutchfield.com/learn/learningcenter/home/speakers_subwoofers.html |title=Home theater subwoofers guide — How to choose the right size and power level |last=Barstow |first=Loren |publisher=Crutchfield New Media, LLC |accessdate=February 5, 2016}} but the TRW is designed to cover the range down to 1 Hz of the sound spectrum.{{cite web |url=http://blog.stereophile.com/cedia2006/091606thigpen/ |title=Now That's a Subwoofer! |publisher=Stereophile |date=16 September 2016 |last=Atkinson |first=John |accessdate=February 5, 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210193500/http://blog.stereophile.com/cedia2006/091606thigpen/ |archivedate=December 10, 2010 |df=mdy }} (The technical principle would allow even zero Hz.{{cite web|url=http://www.iar-80.com/page142.html|title=Eminent Technology TRW-17 Subwoofer Part I: The Only Subwoofer|website=International Audio/Video Review |accessdate=February 5, 2016}})
In the 1990s Eminent Technology developed a smaller planar transducer for automotive applications.
This was adapted for computer speakers as the LFT-11, a multimedia speaker system,[http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue10/eminenttechnology.htm LFT-11 planar magnetic multimedia loudspeakers] by Gary Beard in the December 2003 issue of Positive Feedback magazine The company licensed the technology to Sonigistix and it appeared in Monsoon and other brands.[http://www.eminent-tech.com/history/eminenthistory.htm History of Eminent Technologies], retrieved March 11, 2009
By 2020, five US patents have been granted to Eminent Technology products.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.rotarywoofer.com Rotary Woofer] site
- [http://www.iar-80.com/page142.html International Audio Review] site
- [https://www.soundandvision.com/content/eminent-technology-trw-17-rotary-subwoofer Sound and Vision review]
- [http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/258/index2.html Stereophile] discussion of Bruce Thigpen's contribution to turntable tonearm development, the linear-tracking tonearm
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061211115224/http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/michaelfremer/102705something/ Michael Fremer] writeup on Eminent Technology and the Rotary Woofer breakthrough
- [http://www.eminent-tech.com/main.html Eminent Technology website]
Category:Phonograph manufacturers