Monitor Audio CT380-IDC In-ceiling Speaker

Custom Install Trimless Series 8" 3-way in-ceiling speaker

Our finest technologies for ceiling installation. Configured with an 8-inch C-CAM® RST® bass driver and a pivoting IDC module, housing a 4-inch C-CAM RST inverted midrange driver and a 1-inch C-CAM gold dome tweeter. True 3-way design provides deeper bass, higher system output and greater power handling than the 200 Series 3-way models, together with rich midrange detail, and superior vocal intelligibility and sound localisation. Optimum imaging and set-up are established via the pivoting IDC, high frequency (+3dB / 0dB / -3dB) level adjustment, and boundary compensation (on / off) controls.

Features

• Unique IDC dual concentric mid-range/ HF module offering up to 18 degrees of pivot in all directions. Easily directed during post install set-up.
• C-CAM drivers throughout, providing coherent tonal balance and sonic signature across the entire audio frequency spectrum.
• Special Inverted C-CAM RST profile mid-range cone provides improved dispersion pattern.
• True 3-way designs. 
• High overall efficiency.
• High frequency level adjustment (+/- 3dB). 
• Boundary compensation control.
• Timbre-match with GS, RS-CP, in-ceiling/wall and Gold Signature, Silver RS hi-fi speakers.
• Our innovative Tri-Grip® fixing system is easier to install than conventional clamping schemes but provides three times the surface area and a better surface seal, maximising bass response and mid-range clarity.
• Magnetic and easily removable steel grille.
• All models are paint-able to blend with the living environment. Additional scrim material is provided for trouble free painting. 
• All models use fire retardant materials specified to UL-94 VO rating.
• All models are splash and humidity proof for installation in shower rooms or pool areas.
• All models feature dust protection covers that are designed to prevent the ingress of dirt or dust into the driver and crossover.

Specifications

• Frequency Response: 45 Hz - 30 kHz
• Impedance (Nominal): 6 ohms
• Sensitivity (1W@1M): 90 dB
• Maximum SPL: 111.6 dBA
• Power Handling (RMS): 150 W
• Recommended Amp Requirements: 40 - 150 W
• Drivers Unit Complement: 8” C-CAM® cone bass driver, pivoting IDC module housing: 4” C-CAM® RST® inverted mid range driver, 1” C-CAM® gold dome tweeter
• Adjustment Controls: HF Level Switch ( +3dB / 0dB / -3dB ), Boundary Compensation Switch
• Overall Diameter: (including grille) 441 mm x 288 mm (17 3/8 inch x 11 5/16 inch)
• Overall Depth: (including grille) 97.5 mm (3 13/16 inch)
• Cut Out Diameter: 387 mm x 234 mm (15 1/4 inch x 9 3/16 inch)
• Mounting Depth: 93 mm (3 11/16 inch)
• Fixing Type: 3 position Tri-Grip® dog leg fixings
• Construction Material: Mineral Filled ABS Plastic (UL V0 Fire Retardent, RoHS2 Compliant)
• Pre-Construction Bracket: WB8 (Green)
• Weight: 3.6kg (7lb 14oz)

Technology

Gold Dome C-CAM®: The gold dome tweeter is formed from a ceramic-coated aluminium/magnesium alloy, gold anodised to a specific thickness for ideal stiffness and damping characteristics. Its new profile and surround geometry have been developed using advanced modeling tools, to provide the optimum qualities for accurate sound reproduction. The new design moves the first order of breakup to beyond 35kHz, producing a linear response way beyond audibility, which matches the wide frequency bandwidth available from HD music and cinema sound formats.

The gold dome is thinner, lighter, more rigid and therefore more efficient than domes made from other materials which are prone to distortion in the audio band.

C-CAM® Drivers: Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium is a material originally developed by the aerospace industry for jet engine components. Its properties are ideal for loudspeaker cones being extremely rigid, yet light enough to yield high overall efficiency. In manufacture, aluminium/magnesium alloy undergoes a three-stage stress-relieving process to remove surface deformation and molecular weakness. Once formed, the alloy cone is subjected to a high temperature anodic coating process in which a layer of pure ceramic alumina is depleted onto its surfaces to a depth of 50 microns, producing a completely rigid sandwich of alloy and heat-dissipating ceramic material.

Conventional cones are liable to flex or twist in operation, producing a significant level of audible distortion. C-CAM cones have a much higher resistance to bending stress and therefore exhibit much greater fidelity over their entire operating range. C-CAM tweeters and woofers share an audible consistency producing a smooth transition of frequencies and a sense of realism and cohesion in the soundstage.

RDT: RDT is a unique technology developed specifically by Monitor Audio's engineers for the Platinum series of loudspeakers*. Designed to reduce mass and increase cone stiffness, RDT applies ultra-thin skins of C-CAM to a core of honeycomb Nomex®** material, creating a structure which is extremely light but incredibly rigid. At only 40 microns thick, the C-CAM skins are half the thickness of a human hair, yet when bonded to the Nomex core they form an RDT cone, which is 150 times more rigid than a single layer of 200 micron C-CAM alloy, but has a fraction of the overall mass. These properties allow the cone to operate as a lightning-fast piston for a clearer more natural sound. The RDT cone's concave geometry has been refined by FEA analysis to provide a smooth frequency response and to eradicate break-up.

* PLW-15's driver is C-CAM only

** Nomex® is a registered trademark of E.I DuPont de Nemours and Company

RST®: The Rigid Surface Technology (RST) cone profile is inspired by the Japanese art of Origami, which demonstrates how a very light material (like paper) can be strengthened and made more rigid by making small and precise folds on its surface. Monitor Audio has applied this principle in designing the CAM/RST cones for the GX and RX ranges. Developed and perfected using sophisticated computer modelling (Finite Element Analysis), the GX mid and bass driver cones have been strengthened by a series of radial ribs; the RX driver cones by a pattern of dimples. Our simulations have proved that RST significantly increases cone rigidity, allowing the radiating surfaces to resist mechanical bending forces, which can twist the shape of conventional driver cones to produce distorted sound. The strengthening effect of RST means that we can use thinner, lighter and more responsive C-CAM cones, which provide speed and accuracy while offering greatly reduced distortion. The RST patterns also help to displace standing waves that can propagate on the cone's surface.