Siavashr,
The speakers are not really intended as strictly computer speakers and that has actually come later in the design. Originally they were intended to be used as a main system for those who just didn't want a large format enclosure but wanted a full range monitor system. Since the initial design I have decided to add in a usb connection for computer nas systems, a WiFi connection and there will of course still be an analog input from a normal preamp out or whatever analog source you may have. You could go CDP direct as long as you don't want to have any kind of tone controls. I've even considered adding a phono preamp but that would probably best be done outside the speaker and not with a cheap RIAA circuit.
The speakers are not really intended as strictly computer speakers and that has actually come later in the design. Originally they were intended to be used as a main system for those who just didn't want a large format enclosure but wanted a full range monitor system. Since the initial design I have decided to add in a usb connection for computer nas systems, a WiFi connection and there will of course still be an analog input from a normal preamp out or whatever analog source you may have. You could go CDP direct as long as you don't want to have any kind of tone controls. I've even considered adding a phono preamp but that would probably best be done outside the speaker and not with a cheap RIAA circuit.
First thing i thought of when i saw these was a late fifties Edsel grill and early sixties space heaters. Looks like someone took a oval organ speaker and put it in a vintage space heater. $1500.00 is a crazy price for two cheap looking plastic cases 4 little speakers and two amps even if they were made by B&W or JBL. To be quite honest they look like something from a flee market or Walmart. I am not trying to be an ******* just being honest these look like they should cost around $49.00 to $79.00 retail.
Just an update for anyone who was following the speakers I am working on. The electronics package is being developed and a highly skilled board designer is working on the board layout. I also did a new grill for the front to remove the hockey mask look that was so disliked. It will be attached with magnets so no front grill cup holes and easily removable. There will also be one offered with a cloth grill for those who want something that completely hides the speakers themselves. Let me know what you think of this revision.
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For what it is worth,
1) I liked Linesource's image (post 152). Simple = good, to my eyes, and that also looks like a good shape acoustically.
2) The speakers Mark linked (post 171) - if you removed all the cutesey features, as pictured here - would look great, IMO: simple enough to be hard to hate, yet very different from plastic computer speakers. To me, this would look a lot more like something worth $1500. I'm plastic-phobic
Also: I'd chamfer the front panel edges, even if it only made a trifling improvement. Why not? It would only add a trifling amount to the cutting time.
3) Aren't oval drivers technically better than round ones? I'm no physics genius, but I visualise it thus:
A - throw a rock into the middle of a round pool. All the ripples hit the edge simultaneously, reflect and then meet back in the centre simultaneously.
B - throw a rock into the middle of an oval pool. The ripples hit the edge at different times, the reflections are thus scattered, and do not re-combine in the centre.
I'd incorporate that into the marketing, perhaps into the model name (as suggested earlier).
1) I liked Linesource's image (post 152). Simple = good, to my eyes, and that also looks like a good shape acoustically.
2) The speakers Mark linked (post 171) - if you removed all the cutesey features, as pictured here - would look great, IMO: simple enough to be hard to hate, yet very different from plastic computer speakers. To me, this would look a lot more like something worth $1500. I'm plastic-phobic
Also: I'd chamfer the front panel edges, even if it only made a trifling improvement. Why not? It would only add a trifling amount to the cutting time.
3) Aren't oval drivers technically better than round ones? I'm no physics genius, but I visualise it thus:
A - throw a rock into the middle of a round pool. All the ripples hit the edge simultaneously, reflect and then meet back in the centre simultaneously.
B - throw a rock into the middle of an oval pool. The ripples hit the edge at different times, the reflections are thus scattered, and do not re-combine in the centre.
I'd incorporate that into the marketing, perhaps into the model name (as suggested earlier).
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Hollowboy,
I get that most people hear the word plastic and think cheap, that is not the case here. Most plastic enclosures are really thin, these are not and if you rapped your knuckles on these it would sound like a piece of wood. This is extremely expensive material I am talking about here and it has some of the best acoustical properties of any material I have worked with. I'm not going to change your mind about plastic but if you picked up the product I think you would get a good feel for the product.
I get that most people hear the word plastic and think cheap, that is not the case here. Most plastic enclosures are really thin, these are not and if you rapped your knuckles on these it would sound like a piece of wood. This is extremely expensive material I am talking about here and it has some of the best acoustical properties of any material I have worked with. I'm not going to change your mind about plastic but if you picked up the product I think you would get a good feel for the product.
Actually, you could change MY mind, but that's not the point.
IMO, it's about first impressions, and I think the picture I edited would appeal to the stated target (a person with a brushed aluminum Apple laptop, who wants a cool accessory that sounds good) more than anything plastic. You can't chase every potential customer up the street and tell them why they are wrong!
Of course, you could market it both ways - a rustic version and a slick one, that sound exactly the same but appeal to different people.
PEAR Audio? Pear sound
Sapient speakers?
On first look I rather liked the shape of the speaker and the vertical element of the grill but I'm wondering if exaggerating the heat sinks on the amp might add an element of sculptural WTF? and match that element to the front grill?
Not much more to offer I still make monkey coffins
Sapient speakers?
On first look I rather liked the shape of the speaker and the vertical element of the grill but I'm wondering if exaggerating the heat sinks on the amp might add an element of sculptural WTF? and match that element to the front grill?
Not much more to offer I still make monkey coffins
moondog,
Thanks for the comments. I could accentuate the heat sinks by making them more prominent, I assumed that most people wouldn't really want to see them but perhaps that isn't so. I'll be working on some webpages soon so I can ask a larger audience and one that isn't as invested in audiophile type thinking. I don't think that most people think like the group here who are so invested in sound at all cost, cost being no object for some.
Thanks for the comments. I could accentuate the heat sinks by making them more prominent, I assumed that most people wouldn't really want to see them but perhaps that isn't so. I'll be working on some webpages soon so I can ask a larger audience and one that isn't as invested in audiophile type thinking. I don't think that most people think like the group here who are so invested in sound at all cost, cost being no object for some.
I agree, and I think you could get away with calling it an "engineered material" instead of plastic. Many plastophobes can't tell the difference, and even if I (as an engineer) knew it was plastic, I could tell that a much thicker case would be a Good Thing. As you surely know, the result has to do with both the material and how you use it.
Again, I'd suggest a more rustic steel finish because it's how I roll, and as a point of difference - nobody else it doing it.
a) Hammered steel like you see on vintage fans or industrial furniture looks good, IMO, and seems to last really well.
Can be done with paint (I use the normal tinned stuff & mix in a little black to dull it slightly), or bought as sheet metal - so I can't see it being too costly.
b) industrial black enamel with bright (bronze?) highlights, as seen on things like steam engines or old sewing machines. For this look, you don't want a piano gloss, so it could be a relatively easy finish.
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Kindhornman,
"High-end" speakers like the Vivid Giya have cabinets that are also made out of "engineered material" - their website says " Vacuum infused fibre reinforced polyester compound".
The look and feel of the speakers are not conventional in any way.
Given the shape and lines you have chosen for your speakers, they do not fall in the rectangular box category... it is understandable that synthetic materials are a better fit for the cabinets.
"High-end" speakers like the Vivid Giya have cabinets that are also made out of "engineered material" - their website says " Vacuum infused fibre reinforced polyester compound".
The look and feel of the speakers are not conventional in any way.
Given the shape and lines you have chosen for your speakers, they do not fall in the rectangular box category... it is understandable that synthetic materials are a better fit for the cabinets.
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Do you have a rendered picture of how this grill looks on your enclosure? Good to see you moving forward!
You've got to admit: "Vacuum infused fibre reinforced polyester compound" sounds way better
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