Wouldn't rubber dry out over time? If you pay for a good set of speakers you probably want them to last for decades.
Couldn't you just replace it? We also pay for good cars, but we still change their tires every so often...
Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
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Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#32My screen readers reads that site in a verry strange way. It says that there is soft hyfens in a lot of the words so it reads the words like reproduce as"repro duce"
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#33This appears to be describing an electrostatic speaker. They're on the market, and have been for decades, using mylar or a similar material.
Yeah I am really nonplussed how this is the top post on HN right now (I know that is against the rules to mention but really)
Because it has nothing to do with EL speakers -- this is just the casual HN dismissal
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Yeah I am really nonplussed Well this tells me nothing. (The two meanings of this word are essentially opposite)
Summarizing dictionary.com: 1. Surprised and confused 2. Unperturbed "Yeah I am really unperturbed" doesn't make sense in context of it's parent. I'm not sure how you could be nonplussed about this.
>"Yeah I am really unperturbed" doesn't make sense in context of it's parent
It's not just unpertrubed, it's also "not impressed".
In the context of the comment it basically means "I see this speaker announcement as nothing special, what's the big deal?".
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#35> Current loudspeakers use a magnet coupled with the movement of a copper coil to vibrate a membrane.
In the future these heavy, bulky, and expensive components could be replaced by a dielectric elastomer membrane.
They mention efficiency, but not power. I don't like how this is framed as the general future of all speakers when it's really just the future of midrange drivers.
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not so sure. Electrostatic speakers have big heavy metal electrodes. They talk about a thin conducting layer on the rubber, quite a different thing.
They definitely look very different. I understand how ESLs work, but I don’t quite get how these move. Can anyone explain?
Like an electrostatic speaker the opposite charges' attraction generate movement. The difference is in an ESL one of the charges are stationary. In this new scheme, both charges are on the membrane but on opposite sides where attraction compresses/thins the rubber causing it to expand along its planar directions causing the dome to get larger. The inner air pressure is to assist the expansion movement.
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#37Ehhhh interesting, might go well for tweeters. Can't see it being great for bass. Can't be arranged in a paraflex horn config.
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#38These speakers seem to work like this: There is a rubber layer, coated with conducting material to serve as electrodes. The signal is applied in form of a high voltage which makes the electrodes attract each other and contract the rubber in between perpendicular to the surface (i.e. the rubber layer gets thinner). Since the rubber material is relatively incompressible though (volume of the material doesn't change), t…
This sounds like an "electroactive polymer." there are some squishy tapes made by 3m that incidentally have this property out of the box. Make a spot of conductive carbon paint on each side, apply a few kV, and watch the spots double in area as the electrostatic forces squish the material.
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#39Wouldn't rubber dry out over time? If you pay for a good set of speakers you probably want them to last for decades.
Couldn't you just replace it? We also pay for good cars, but we still change their tires every so often...
Why would I want to replace the headphones I am using for a decade with something I have to replace every few years. Its already sad enough that I have to replace my phone every year or two because of its battery and software upgrades that slow it down.
Re: Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers
#40Wouldn't rubber dry out over time? If you pay for a good set of speakers you probably want them to last for decades.
Couldn't you just replace it? We also pay for good cars, but we still change their tires every so often...
Well I guess it's not the wooden box of a speaker that costs $2000-$30000 (normal price range for consumer Hi-Fi speakers). Replacing the speaker drivers would be more like replacing everything within the body of a car.