Inflatable Loudspeakers

fm6 sent in an article running at New Scientist talking about new technology that allows Inflatable Loud Speakers. The technology is apparently patented and there's not a lot of technical details, but I have to say the concept amuses me. And I somehow doubt that this technology will ever be used in high fidelity home systems.

Comments

To the contrary

[Bud Dwyer]

And I somehow doubt that this technology will ever be used in high fidelity home systems.

I fancy myself something of an audiophile, and I can say with all certainty that the inflatable loudspeaker is the most exciting new development in the home audio world of the last 5 years.

Last month's issue of Home Audiophile Review carried an interesting article on the possiblities of the new, inflatable enclosures. Essentially, we will be able to get distortion down to unheard of low levels. The possiblities presented by speaker enclosures in novel shapes is also interesting. Imagine a spherical, or for that matter, tetrahedral, enclosure. You can't do that with wood. Another plus: the enclosures could be filled with nitrogen so as to minimize corrosion of the internal speaker components, thus lengthening product-life and improving sound quality.