HTD's Proprietary FCD Cone

FCD Cone

Our proprietary FCD^TM cones are at the heart of the warm, smooth sound found in nearly all of our cabinet-style speakers.

The "cone" is the portion of the speaker that moves and vibrates to produce sound waves. Its composition is extremely important in determining the tone and accuracy of the speaker. The ideal cone for mid-range frequencies should be both lightweight and rigid. A light cone, coupled with a powerful magnet and multi-layer voice coil, can vibrate quickly to reproduce the signal it receives. The speed of the cone and the accuracy of its position will have a significant impact on the speaker's clarity and accuracy. A rigid cone will not warp out of shape during movement and is thus also very important to the speaker's performance. Finally, the material used to make the cone will "color" the sound- e.g. metal cones tend to "ring" and sound slightly "harsh"; plastic cones tend to sound a little "stale" with no body or warmth. Pulp or paper cones often produce the best tone but most don't hold up well over time.

Our proprietary FCD^TM cone is a lightweight, yet extremely rigid cone, that sounds smooth and warm and does not exhibit any of the harshness or ringing often associated with metal cones. FCD^TM stands for Fabric, Ceramic, Doping. A lightweight fabric is used to create the cone's shape. A ceramic coating is then hand applied, heated, and hardened to give the cone its stiffness. Finally, a slightly sticky polymer coating (doping) is also hand applied that helps increase bass response and add warmth to the overall tone. The ceramic and polymer coatings also serve to protect the fabric so that the speaker will last virtually forever.

Bottom line: FCD^TM cones are at the heart of the best souding mid-range drivers we've ever produced.