[Matt]

A while back, I was in a class being given by the guy who is one of the composition professors and is the head of the electronic music studios at my school. He is apparently well-connected in the audio- and music-related innovations field, knowing Bob Moog, David VanKoevering, etc. personally.

Anyhow, he briefly told us about something that sounded like utter ******** to me, but I don't know. It was that a prominent friend of his is supposedly getting spectacular, ground-breaking results with some odd technology: plasma speakers.

Now, he talked about it for about two minutes and gave nothing on the technology of how it works, but it was intriguing nonetheless (I am relating this as I heard it, paraphrased and condensed): he claimed that sound reproduction as we know it is incomplete, that there is another element (plasma) which emanates from instruments as well as pressure compression and rarefactions. He claimed that with the addition of played-back plasma recordings in accord with the sound pressure recordings in a surround-sound system gives truly holographic, 3-dimensional imaging. He said they were playing a properly-recorded marching band tune and one could "walk up to the bass drum," etc.

I found this intriguing and am wondering if any of you have heard anything to this effect. I wonder how this could apply to headphones. I did a google search for "plasma speakers" and got basically nothing.

Here is the professor's page...

http://music.arts.usf.edu/faculty/reller.htm


Best,
Matt

 

[kelly]

And the OTHER guy's a shill, huh?

http://www.me.utexas.edu/~acoustic/s...9/abs0917.html

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Does this have anything to do with plasma tweeters? I've always wanted to hear one, but I can't imagine putting that anywhere near your ear.

Statistically speaking, this is the purest way to turn an electric signal into audible sound... short of jacking the signal directly into your brain.

 

[Matt]

...Ben Foster in Get Over It, "I'm understanding about every other word of this ****."

Oh well, from what I did get, it sounds like it might not be feasable for headphones? Anyone?


- Matt

 

[KR...]

Here's a link

[size=small]The Plasma Speaker Homepage [/size]
http://www.plasmatweeter.de/


Plasma Speakers have been around for about 20 years

 

[Matt]

...cool. That is so ****in' amazing.

I really don't know if that's what that is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. Again, I heard very few details.

Hmmm...maybe it could be somehow miniaturized and stuck in some cans? I guess "tweeter" means it hasn't any bass response, leaving us stuck with dynamics for bass?


- Matt

 

[Strogian]

Hmmm.. Plasma speakers may be cool, but I still am pretty sure that there's no plasma shooting out of violins and tubas when people are playing them. (unless they're playing them REALLY FAST..

)

 

[Matt]

...hmmm. I guess I've no idea what it even is. Would you care to offer a succinct definition, Strogian?

Best,
Matt

 

[Serow]

Plus, I really don't think you'd want the ozone that plasma speakers emit pumped directly into your ear canal; sounds more like torture than hifi

 

[Matt]

...an ozone generator in our house which kills odors and pollutants naturally...hmmm...

Does anyone who understands the technology think it's possibly, maybe, perhaps a potential road? Or is it an absolute dead end, no matter what, for headphone use?

The whole "pure sound" thing is kinda cool...

- Matt

 

[BDA_ABAT]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Ozone generators that you plug into AC are natural???

Bruce

 

[kwkarth]

I played with plasma speakers back in the '60's. They've been around forever.

Cool (pun) technology, but many impracticalities.

*sigh* nothing new.

Oh, BTW, OUCH! you DON'T want these for headphones!

 

[kwkarth]

BTW, there are different ways of creating a plasma which can then be manipulated electrostatically. One can do it thermally or electrically.

Both methods have their drawbacks. Overall, one of the biggest challenges is getting sufficient dynamic range out of these things.

They're real quiet by any standards you're acustomed to.

I've played with two methods. Flame speakers, seeded and unseeded. Hot stuff!

(Seeding the flame raises the conductivity of the plasma and thereby the efficiency.)

The other method was conceptually very similar in principal to the Sharper Image Ionic air purifiers use. Using modulated electrostatic charge potential applied to stationary electrodes one can by vector force cause air movement with no moving parts. If you modulate this potential, you can make sound. I've played with two methods of modulation. Transformer coupling to modulate the charge and also using detected RF to modulate the charge were both successful after a fashion. As in the rest of real life, everything has its compromises.

 

[Matt]

...in the sense that it's not manufactured chemicals doing the "deodorizing" or air "purification" (a la Renuzit).

- Matt

 

[LTUCCI1924]

Would it be possible to use on the etys? But watch out for brain tummers.