Forget headphones - try ultra-thin loudspeakers
Apr 1, 2009 at 4:14 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17
John Willett

John Willett

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Just seen on the BBC in the UK.

See HERE.




















(or is it for real?)
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 4:24 PM Post #3 of 17
Hmm...I'm going to have to be a little skeptical about that...
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 4:47 PM Post #4 of 17
Quote:

Originally Posted by danmagicman7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hmm...I'm going to have to be a little skeptical about that...


April 1st.
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 5:00 PM Post #5 of 17
I just went into my kitchen, pulled out some aluminum foil, and connected two leads from my tube amp, and nothing happened. What am I doing wrong?
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 5:49 PM Post #8 of 17
Less April's Fools, and more headphone manufacturing and shipping!!!
biggrin.gif
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 7:46 PM Post #11 of 17
Judging by the prototype materials design and non-directionality it seems to be similar to say a planar or ribbon (though more flexible and easier to place).

I'm going to say very plausible. This doesn't scream April 1st . . .
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 7:50 PM Post #12 of 17
Plus by UK time it was last updated this afternoon - hence too late for an April fool. Unless it's the BBC getting fooled that is...
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 8:11 PM Post #13 of 17
I can't see the video from my phone. However, back in the 20s, there was minor development of a speaker using gold foil similar to this.

No joke. A lot of very innovative stuff went on before dynamics took the market.

Electrostatic speakers have been known about for decades, but Mylar and other diaphragm material weren't known. Ribbons, too. But permanent magnets weren't good back in the day and electromagnets were damn expensive. If it weren't for that, ribbons might have taken the place of dynamics. Same with the Singing Arc, or plasma speakers. Those have been around forever - plasma lighting was in use in Paris and New York in the 1870s even. We've known that modulating a plasma arc produces sound (that is lightning, after all) for a long time.

Anyhow, this might not be a joke. The gold foil speakers were abandoned due to extreme fragility. But this sort of thing has worked in the past.
 
Apr 1, 2009 at 8:27 PM Post #14 of 17
I don't think this is a hoax either.

Not sure about the non radiating bit though.

Wierdest speaker I ever came across was the directional speaker that meant if pointed at you, you could hear the sound but not the person sat next to you. It had an array of about 56 transducers within a circle that 'interacted' with each other to ensure that a listenable level was only available along a very narrow channel. Never found a use for it better than 'whispering' to an audience member that her bra was showing, without letting her friends know!!!

We also had NXT speakers (flat but with a transducer at a point) with similar claims. They were part of Cyrus a while ago and still around Huntingdon somewhere.

I can see a New DIY Jecklin Float based on this foil / baking paper / foam idea. Hmm.

Sceptre
 
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