The cylindrical wave approach
NeXt is a cylindrical wave approach to sound propagation, developed originally at the Fraunhofer institute and adapted for the APANI Music Transformer generation. Instead of the spherical wavefront that a conventional driver produces, which decays quickly and spreads energy in every direction where it can excite room modes, a cylindrical wavefront maintains more of its energy along a defined path, delivering more of the signal directly to the ear.
In practical terms this means the acoustic dominance of the room is reduced. More music reaches the listener before the room can disturb it.
What NeXt achieves
Greater intelligibility, because less of the signal is corrupted by reflections before it arrives. Stronger spatial focus, because the direct signal carries the spatial cues the recording was captured with. A more intimate connection to the performance even in real domestic spaces, because the loudspeaker stops being at the mercy of the room it happens to be standing in.
Presence, not proximity
NeXt preserves scale, distance and realism at the same time as it minimises room interaction. The listener does not feel pulled toward the loudspeaker, which is what a naive nearfield approach produces, and does not feel abandoned to the room, which is what a naive farfield approach produces. What NeXt makes possible is presence rather than proximity: the sense that the musical event is complete and located in a defined space, regardless of how imperfect the room around it happens to be.
