Slashdot Mirror
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.
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
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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_9LjBidEe0
I'm thinking of getting a set fr home :=)
Ian Ameline
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.