The whole surface of the Panphonics audio element radiates in the same phase, forming an area source. The wave front emitted by the element surface is phase coherent, producing a plane wave with very high directivity.

The phase coherent response results in a very accurate sound imaging. This is further improved by the high directivity, resulting in very little energy projected to side walls or ceilings in the room,  minimizing reflections from surrounding surfaces.

Elements are also available with a special treatment that reduces the side lobes at low frequencies (lower than total surface area and dimensions baffle can perform). This results in a transducer with frequency-independent directivity.

Panphonics recommends using a directional sound area surface which is large enough to cover the needed audio area for the best overall performance and for an easy easy, trouble-free design. As for applications requiring less directivity and surface area, the directional properties of the element can be controlled with electronics or passive diffusers (such as a perforated canvas with a specially-calculated array of openings).  Element can be also bent to act as a cylinder source (line source) of sound, though the features of plane waves are slightly lost in this case. Also a narrow, long stripes are an interesting application , with a wider opening angle in a narrow direction.