[micmacmo]

Hey, I remember when plasma speakers were going to be a big thing too...

Okay I'll bite. What are plasma speakers?

 

[jghead]

Okay I'll bite. What are plasma speakers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEeWtBAE5LY

 

[micmacmo]

Thanks for the link. An arc like that must take a bit of power!

 

[Hutnicks]

Thanks for the link. An arc like that must take a bit of power!

Not really. Ages ago, when dinosaurs roamed freely, we played around with that using an acetylene flame and a pretty weak superhet reciever.

 

[Audiolic]

  I'm more inclined to go with a piezo than a planar magnetic because of the EMF.  Has anyone gotten a gauss meter and checked the EMF from these new headphones?  Just saying, sometimes it's better to wait and see before jumping into a new technology like this.  

 
 EMF ? Planar is not new is it? hehe maggies?

 

[Armaegis]

You could DIY some plasma speakers... but there's a couple stories floating around of guys who've nearly died of ozone poisoning due to it.

 

[alota]

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEeWtBAE5LY

i´m afraid of the electrostatic in my head; the plasma speaker is worse

 

[Mobiustereo]

I'm not an engineer, but I do recall the plasma tweeter going way back to the mid to late 1970's. There is a new German company called Lansche Audio who makes a speaker with a plasma tweeter (w/o the drawbacks - poisoning, ozone, etc.) that is supposed to be PHENOMENAL. In theory the plasma tweeter should be the perfect transducer as it is essentially 'mass-less'.
Now if they could just figure out a way to miniaturize it into a set of headphones...   

 

 

[Armaegis]

Paging Doctor Frankenstein...

 

[john57]

  I'm not an engineer, but I do recall the plasma tweeter going way back to the mid to late 1970's. There is a new German company called Lansche Audio who makes a speaker with a plasma tweeter (w/o the drawbacks - poisoning, ozone, etc.) that is supposed to be PHENOMENAL. In theory the plasma tweeter should be the perfect transducer as it is essentially 'mass-less'.
Now if they could just figure out a way to miniaturize it into a set of headphones...   

 

and with a ceramic catalyst convertor for the ozone!

 

[alota]

  and with a ceramic catalyst convertor for the ozone!

good for an "on the road system" 

 

[conquerator2]

  Well, I also think the McIntosh being around $2000 is also a factor. It IS competitive with the new Hifiman at least. One might end up owning the HE-500, deciding the HE-560 isn't different enough and taking a flier on the PM-1.
 
I'm going to wait for the reviews and hopefully demo both. I'm tapped out for the next couple months from trying to get my HD800 properly amped, so plenty of time to read impressions.

Assuming the PM-1 performs better, right?
Because that's still a big IF, isn't it?

 

[arnaud]

  I'm not an engineer, but I do recall the plasma tweeter going way back to the mid to late 1970's. There is a new German company called Lansche Audio who makes a speaker with a plasma tweeter (w/o the drawbacks - poisoning, ozone, etc.) that is supposed to be PHENOMENAL. In theory the plasma tweeter should be the perfect transducer as it is essentially 'mass-less'.
Now if they could just figure out a way to miniaturize it into a set of headphones...   

 

 
I always stop by their showroom at the yearly high-end audio show in Tokyo and am always thrilled with these Lansche Audio speakers. The level of detail is on par with my stats and they manage to integrate the tweeter very well with the other drivers so overall pretty good sounding stuff. It had a tendency to sound a bit too crispy in the past which seems to have been due to the associated electronics. These days, with EMM Labs sources and new amplifiers (forgot the brand the distributor is using), it was just one of the highlights of the shows.
 
Having said that, not sure I'd feel comfortable with plasma driver 1 inch away from my skull
 
Arnaud.

 

[husthn]

[COLOR=0000CD]I'm not an engineer, but I do recall the plasma tweeter going way back to the mid to late 1970's. There is a new German company called Lansche Audio who makes a speaker with a plasma tweeter (w/o the drawbacks - poisoning, ozone, etc.) that is supposed to be PHENOMENAL. In theory the plasma tweeter should be the perfect transducer as it is essentially 'mass-less'.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=0000CD]Now if they could just figure out a way to miniaturize it into a set of headphones...[/COLOR]     

Could anyone tell How plasma tweeter works ?And why they 're perfect transducer?

 

[Armaegis]

Could anyone tell How plasma tweeter works ?And why they 're perfect transducer?

 
From wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_speaker
 

  Conventional loudspeaker transducer designs use input electrical frequencies to vibrate a significant mass: This driver is coupled to a stiff plastic composite speaker cone - a diaphragm which pushes air at respective frequencies. But the inertia inherent in its mass resists acceleration- and all changes in cone position. Additionally, speaker cones will eventually suffer tensile fatigue from the repeated shaking of sonic vibration.
Thus conventional speaker output, or the fidelity of the device, is distorted by physical limitations inherent in its design. These distortions have long been the limiting factor in commercial reproduction of strong high frequencies. To a lesser extent square wave characteristics are also problematic; the reproduction of square waves most stress a speaker cone.
In a plasma speaker, as member of the family of massless speakers, these limitations do not exist. The low-inertia driver has exceptional transient response over other designs. The result is an even, linear output accurate even at extreme frequencies beyond any audible range. Such speakers are notable for accuracy and clarity, but not tremendous power because plasmas composed of tiny particles are unable to move large volumes of air. So these designs are more effective as tweeters.