Classic components could be replaced by rubber in next-gen loudspeakers

Post by worik » Sun, Jun 04, 2023, 12:39 AM UTC

teknopaul wrote: post #49

sublinear wrote: post #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.

Heavy speakers is a plus when moving low frequencies. Otherwise you have to strap or bolt them down and together. _Might_ be the future of mids, but I doubt it. Advancement in ribbon speakers is more likely IMHO. Also people develop a taste for how some speakers sound. I don't see guitar music being played on anything too different for a while, unless it has the same sound character. Even if technically it's a better…

Post by devsda » Sun, Jun 04, 2023, 12:46 AM UTC

smusamashah wrote: post #39

coldtea wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by analog31 » Sun, Jun 04, 2023, 2:01 AM UTC

mixmastamyk wrote: post #50

Nition wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of traditional speakers already use a rubber ring around the edge of the cone.

Which is what turned to dust in my twenty year old infinitys. They were the cheaper ones but still surprised me.

Post by smackeyacky » Sun, Jun 04, 2023, 2:42 AM UTC

analog31 wrote: post #55

mixmastamyk wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is what turned to dust in my twenty year old infinitys. They were the cheaper ones but still surprised me.

Same with my Bose. The foam surrounds were short lived. Rubber lasted longer but was not as widely used.

Post by hristov » Sun, Jun 04, 2023, 3:02 AM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #58

hristov wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't. This scheme uses a membrane like the electrostatic speakers, but otherwise it is quite different. In the electrostatic speakers, you load the membrane with extra electrons and then use electro-magnets to apply a varying electric field across the membrane in accordance with your sound signal. Since the membrane has much more electrons than protons, the electric field causes the membrane to move. This metho…

Electrostatics shouldn't need magnets. The very name implies that; magnets have no appreciable effect on static charges. Did you maybe mean transformers? IIRC electrostatics use rather high voltages.