TECHNOLOGY IN THE MARKETPLACE

The 1960's heralded the emergence of a relatively wealthy youth culture which together with the advent of electronically processed 'rock' and 'pop' music required a total shift of emphasis in loudspeaker design where performance was judged by; high sound levels, 'attack', 'pace,' 'dynamics' and similar epithets. Beyond this, there seemed little commercial motivation for further progress. Whilst these qualities are important and may be well served by the ubiquitous '8 inch bass, one inch tweeter in a box' concept which has hardly changed, the realistic reproduction of live vocal, instrumental and orchestral music is much more demanding. It is, in this arena, that E. J. Jordan Designs have established their world leadership.

Ted broke away from mainstream audio in 1963 and formed Jordan-Watts Ltd. where he combined his work on controlled cone flexure with metal cone technology The Jordan-Watts single cone driver predated current metal cone drivers by 30 years. Ted Jordan has now been the only worker in the industry to maintain a continuity of metal cone development and production over this time.

Ted's present Company originated in 1975 with the launch of the JORDAN 50mm MODULE, the original ancestor of the current JX53. This was a 2" metal foil coned unit which covered the entire frequency range above 150Hz and required only a first order crossover to be used with readily available bass units.

In 1982 Ted's Company was restyled E. J. JORDAN DESIGNS to reflect it's increasing custom design and Consultancy services to the industry. It's activities have included not only drivers custom designed for hi-fi system manufacturers but also for sound reinforcement, broadcasting, defense, medical and telecommunication applications.

Ted's continued work on foil cone technology is now supported by his own exclusive computer aided design programmes and in 1995 he introduced his JORDAN JX Series of loudspeaker drive units. His work on the wide stage presentation of live orchestral sound has culminated in his further refinements of his Vertical Linear Array system which creates his objective with unprecedented realism.

This product was so successful that the Company prospered on this alone for a number of years. Many thousands of these units were sold largely by 'word of mouth' recommendation. over nine hundred were used in the hi-tech Lloyds building in London and they were used as a voice reference by British Telecom for telephone quality control. This driver also provided the basic element for Ted's groundbreaking studies into the effect of 'shaped wave fronts' on stereophonic imagery

E J JORDAN DESIGNS is a small technology led company totally owned by Ted and Denise Jordan. For over forty years the name JORDAN has become synonymous with the cutting edge of loudspeaker technology and has achieved international recognition and respect. During this time many other well-known names have vanished which leaves us, probably, as the longest-established, independent loudspeaker business in the world.

E J Jordan Designs has entered a new phase with the formation of Esoteric AUdio Devices. Please see the news page for further details.

The current Jordan drive units push the performance of metal cones to new levels and represent the best in wideband, high end loudspeakers. We offer two drivers at present.

The JXR6 HD is the world's widest-range 2" driver. It has a resonant frequency of 80Hz and an extended HF response to 30kHz. It is capable of distortion figures below 1 percent - there are amplifiers out there with higher distortion figures than this little driver. Used singly or in a linear array, it is capable of unprecedented levels of detail and clarity.

The JX92S fullrange driver continues to sell well throughout the world and has appeared in a range of commercial designs. In a suitable enclosure, it can operate from 35Hz to above 20kHz with no need for crossovers or supplementary tweeters.

Together these drive units form the cutting edge of today's drive unit technology. Used alone or in multiples, they form the ideal building block for a wide range of systems; from high end, single driver loudspeakers to high-power, linear arrays.

These advanced drivers are available both to commercial loudspeaker manufacturers and to the individual DIY enthusiast.

Our engineering philiosophy is based on simplicity and elegance to reproduce the full richness and life of natural sound. Please explore further to discover more about these high end drive units.

"The Great Way is very level but people greatly delight in tortuous paths."
- Te Tao Chin