The S-12 represents my efforts to create a loudspeaker that sounds like Quad ESL 57s with much greater dynamic range, sensitivity and another octave on the bass-end. To my ears I've made it happen, and without recessing the midrange.
The Speakers
The mission of Hammer Dynamics is to create musical-sounding, well-balanced, high-sensitivity loudspeakers, for owners of low-powered tube amps, at reasonable prices. Five years ago I was struck by the fact that there were no inexpensive high-efficiency loudspeakers on the market. Once I settled on a full-range approach I began testing most of the full-range drivers on the market. Not one of them gave me the sound I wanted no matter the price. The few, which had reasonable mids and highs, had no bass. The few, which had good bass had congested mids and no highs. My solution to these problems was to design my own driver.
My final design represents the best compromise I have been able to come to. The driver is capable of fast, accurate bass, silken mids and exceptional response to 10,000 Hz. I believe it is better to add a fast super-tweeter to a system than a slow sub-woofer. During my research I found that the usual 8" full-range drivers were never going to offer the kind of dynamic range I wanted so I finally settled on an ultra-light 12". The entire moving mass of this driver is less than 29 grams. With a surface area of around three times that of an eight-inch driver the dynamic range is increased by a similar factor.
The S-12 represents my efforts to create a loudspeaker that sounds like Quad ESL 57s with much greater dynamic range, sensitivity and another octave on the bass-end. To my ears I've made it happen, and without recessing the midrange.
