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New Entrant In the Race For Wafer-Thin Speakers
Smivs notes another technology aiming to become the ubiquitous flat, flexible loudspeaker in public and private spaces. This one comes out of the University of Warwick, in the UK, and may reach the market before year's end. We've discussed other attempts on this problem over the years, including a touch-sensitive display that is also a speaker, and an approach based on nanotubes. "The arrangement also allows for highly directional and accurate sound, say the researchers. The speakers would be ideal in public places such as passenger terminals since the sound quality does not deteriorate as much as conventional speakers... The flat speakers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture, say the researchers, and can be printed with design or concealed inside ceilings."
But I shudder to think of the eventual applications. Better speakers in space constrained devices are all well and good; but if there is one thing that public and quasi public spaces don't need, it is cheaper, more concealable, and more common speakers.
Wafer thin wafers?
Tinny and pitchy
Skinny and ditchy
Ginny and litchi
Nanotube nanotube
Mic test, one two one two
Mic test, one two one two
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I've recently patented a process by which a cool but yet pragmatic device, software, or system will be created and either sold, rented, or leased to solve a problem or make people enjoy and/or better utilize a different device, software, or system.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
This will just enable hypochondriacs to think they have Schizophrenia. Not to mention retardedly loud Ads, "SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! ONE NIGHT ONLY! COME SEE NATALIE PORTMAN LIVE! HOT GRITS ETC!"
Maitre D: And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin speaker.
'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
stop talking to me ceiling!
They have no bass whatsoever and require high voltages. They are also not that inovative as as far as I could tell they are just another electrostatic speaker. Also they are very directional only having about 25 degrees of good sound and are not very loud. Admitedly I did hear them 2 years ago but I cannot see how they overcame these problems.
NXT was (is) a viable and versatile speaker technology with many of the revolutionary properties ascribed to this one. Not as flexible or cheap, but certainly a significant step up from the paper cones of yore.
Yet, in spite of being a sound technology (sorry), it took years before it finally reached consumer products. Even now the uptake is slow.
The strongest hurdle was poor bass-reproduction, because it didn't have the physical ability to shift sufficient volumes of air - exactly the same issue faced by this new tech - so NXT speaker systems often have to be augmented with sub-woofers - see the Hitachi AX M133 for an example. This doesn't affect the fact that it is ideal for public-address systems, however, since it is a diffuse source rather than a point, and that whole "sweet spot" nonsense becomes a non-issue.
In spite of this, it never made a noticeable entry into the PA market. I can only hope this new technology delivers the cheapness and flexibility promised, and we can finally stop bolting big ugly boxes to the walls in every public space.
Meta will eat itself
Our audio reproduction devices have lagged far behind our audio storage media when it comes to loss of third dimensionality.
http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
From the article:
The flexible speakers are almost paper-like but pack in a punch and can deliver audio that is powerful enough for public spaces, cars and homes.
The arrangement also allows for highly directional and accurate sound, say the researchers.
If it's not just fluff and they're _actually_ thinking of using these things in public places, this could really take off. The article mentions putting them in ceiling tiles, but you could put them in posters or newspapers or wallpaper if it's really as good as advertised.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_9LjBidEe0
I'm thinking of getting a set fr home :=)
Ian Ameline
I wonder if it's even theoretically possible scientifically to get decent bass from paper thin speakers.
Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
If they have improved sound quality, as they claim, perhaps we can have speaker in public places that won't need to be so loud and still be understood. One of the reasons speakers have to be so loud is that hey are so muddy and distorted that you can't understand them at lower levels. Also, if they are easier and cheaper to distribute, you can distribute the speakers and not have to turn up the speaker on one side of the space so that it can be understood on the other side of the space.
I don't know about you guys, but when I'm in an airport or a train station, it's pretty important to me to understand what is being said on the loudspeakers. If that sound is coming off a nearby wall instead of a large horn 20 yards away, I think I have a better chance of getting to my plane on time.
Yet another so-called technology article almost utterly devoid of any real content. Doesn't tell you anything about the alleged technology other than showing you a static picture of what may as well be tinfoil. If someone finds a real article about this development could they please post it? Thanks.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
While the public seem obsessed with the thickness of their television (apparently they watch their televisions from the side) they have a completely different view of speakers. When it comes to speakers they equate size with quality and the bigger the speakers are the better the public believe them to be. For this reason alone I can't see these speakers catching.
The other thing the public like is heavy bass and don't care if the mid range is completely drowned out as long as long as there is over exaggerated bass. In this respect flat panel speakers also don't perform well.
Electrostatic speakers have been delivering exceptionally detailed and neutral sound in a convenient form factor for decades but have been completely ignored by the public since they don't meet their criteria of being big and with a heavy bias towards the low frequencies. I don't see why these new speakers will do any better at penetrating the mainstream.
Cheap speakers that can be installed everywhere.
Too-doo too-doo
Too-doo too-doo
Good morning good morning good morning
It's another lovely day
I'll be under the green dome if you need me.
A bucket for Monsieur! And, perhaps, a hose...
So, not an April Fools joke?
I bet with a little engineering these things can be turned into microphones
*Goes and puts on tinfoil hat*
Sheet speakers have been around for years. There were examples in Japan in 1985. Electrostatic speakers were first developed in 1953, and there are plenty of flat panel speakers around. Some hobbyists even build their own.
Bass reproduction isn't a problem for large-area thin speakers until the volume becomes high. Then there's not enough travel to move enough air.
I have a pair of Magneplanars myself, about 18" x 40" x 0.75" . This is an 1980s technology. It works OK, but today you can get equally good or better sound from smaller units. Those never caught on.
Ok..... knowing how tech writers LOVE to say something is the 'World's (INSERT ADJECTIVE HERE)' while leaving out attributes that clearly show otherwise, I have to ask.....
Does the .25mm thickness INCLUDE the driver, or are they just measuring the face surface of the speaker (what would be known as the cardboard/paper/plastic cone in a standard speaker).
I just have to ask for clarification, as I'm sick of reading articles claiming something that really isn't. (Like the Wireless Laptop Charger, which, although technically wasn't connected to the laptop when placed on the induction pad, still needed a cord to be plugged into the wall socket. Not really wireless, now is it?)
Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
Now my sandwich can play music.
Ya know, even if these things don't have great bass, they could make a great female voice recreation. Over the hum drum of sounds in crouds, it has been perported that the female voice can be more easily heard than the male voice. And if you ride a motorcycle; your GPS female voice-talkin' pocket nagger can always be ther to tell you where to turn :)
Better get a bucket!
Where do I sign up for a pair of speaker pants?
mmmm...forbidden donut
I just followed that link and saw the box from Eminent Tech which produces bass from a variable pitch propellor ... wish I had thought of that.
Noise pollution is the bane of most urban dwelling situations I've been in. Almost regardless of cost, sound simply leaks from one apartment to the next. I'd love to see flat speakers configured, not to produce sound, but to cancel it out. Granted, this would involve a decent amount of processing power to get them to produce inverse sound waves for sound waves coming at them; but I bet that the cost of that approach will drop a hell of a lot quicker than the current sound proofing techniques which just involve strategic layering of (ridiculously expensive) materials.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem is usually through floors, and delicate, powered materials would be much more difficult to incorporate into flooring.
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Maybe these people trying to raise money to start a company to develop the concept, especially in the carbon nanotube industry, since there are other materials that exhibit the same properties. Some calculations would be necessary, but to obtain usable sound levels the temperature variations have to be quite high. Of course, there are limits on this, so it's not clear whether it is a practical concept. On the other hand, there are quite a few bizarre approaches to making sound. For example, Kynar plastic film has a piezoelectric effect that can be used to produce sound simply by applying a voltage across the film. That sounds great, but the effect is much too weak to be practical. It would be surprising if the thermoacoustic device will produce a flat frequency response at high levels in practical devices.
Would it be possible to set up a sound canceling wall or ceiling by plastering over the surface with this type of speaker? That would be a god send for people living in old apartments.
But I shudder to think of the eventual applications. Better speakers in space constrained devices are all well and good; but if there is one thing that public and quasi public spaces don't need, it is cheaper, more concealable, and more common speakers.
Sounds like my electrostatic Janzen speakers I bought in the late 60s (and still use). Hardly anything new, but haven't been available for many years. Can't be beat for reproducing exactly what you put into it.