New Manufacturer: Hemp Acoustics.

[ScottG]

I did a search for this here, but didn't come up with anything.. so perhaps you are seeing this for the first time.

http://www.hempacoustics.com/products.html

I found this link.. on of all things.. the madisound board.

[dshortt9]

Can I get a re-cone kit?

[quiet]

as i understand it - hemp is wicked strong
mixed with other things can make it even stronger

i think thats an awesome idea
would like to hear a set

...no...no smoking joke...too easy

[Ropie]

Looks interesting - any idea of the prices?

[ScottG]

I wouldn't "buy into" the cone material too much over say something as exotic as fostex's bananna pulp.

Remember that with "standard" diaphrams its a combination of properties:
1. Propagation Speed
2. Elasticity/Rigidity modulus
3. Internal loss (dampening)

(its numbers 1 and 3 that essentially define the audible "character" of the diaphram material.)

Just looking at their promo. lit. suggest that their hemp pulp has a higher propagation speed than fostex's bananna pulp (higher tensile strength), but chances are that internal loss will be less than the bananna pulp.

So really its a "give and take" thing.

Frankly they need a L O T more info. on their site (..like price, T/S param.s, freq. plots (on and off-axis), CSD plots, etc.)

Still its nice to see another manufacturer.

[Scottmoose]

Agreed that they need to work on the detail contents of their site. A West-Coast friend (who shall remain nameless at this stage, unless he wishes to identify himself?!?) told me about these things quite some time ago, having had advance knowledge and samples etc., but we've had to keep it under wraps for reasons i don't have time to go into here. We've been working on several enclosure designs -TL and ML TQWT for the 8" drivers and I'm going to start on the 4 1/2" when I get a spare moment (not as often as I'd like currently.) Hemp cones have been well-known to bass-guitar players for some time for its mechanical and subjective properties: it has superior damping to most conventional paper-pulp cones, and also far superior tonal colouring in this application, hense their enthusiasm. Besides, its broad-minded thinking, and this is always good, so long as its based on sound sceintific practice rather than voodoo.
Best
Scott

[jackinnj]

would sound great in a "jute-box" -- they can use Cheech n' Chong as their spokespersons.

let's list their brands --
the Maui Wowie Woofer

[DC Dave]

Looks like they need to invest in some measurement equipment. Non of what they show or tell can be taken seriously without some real world numbers and graphs for their drivers. Its like looking at a Bose website.

[eLarson]

Here's another hemp cone maker, this time for guitar amplifiers.

eL

[pjanda1]

I've been a pair of these drivers for a couple of weeks and thought it would be wise to add some comments. When talk of these started several months ago, I correctly guessed who the OEM was and contacted them. I agreed to give the prototypes a listen during the development of the drivers. As of yet, the manufacturer does not plan to market these themself, and it appears that Hemp Acoustics will be the primary/initial distributor. To that end, the OEM asked me to avoid using their name. These are the same drivers used in Omega Loudspeakers HempTones. The OEM also builds the Tone Tubbies. They are all manufactured in the USA.

Despite how the marketers make it appear, the drivers are still very much under development. The specs I have seen posted on other forums are not from the most recent version. All of my knowledge only relates to the ferrite version. The actual specs look a little strange, but work very well.

The pair I have sounds fantastic. I am listening to them in cobbled together 2 cu. ft. sealed boxes. I have ports in them tuned to about 30 hz, but I think I prefer them plugged. They are incredibly fast, dynamic and detailed. The midrange sounds great and the bass is very musical. They are bright. Some of the initial people consulted by the manufacturer asked for them to have a considerable amount of highs, and the manufacturer nailed the request. I prefer them with a small strip of weather strip damping the whizzer right behind the roll, and a hard foam practice golf ball suspended right in front. I have tried a few other things, but this is my preferred combo.

I don't have any Fostex's on hand to compare to. I would advise browsing the Omega Loudspeakers forum if you are interested in this. Omega does some proprietary mods to driver to tone the highs down. In that form Omega seems to prefer them to the Fostex drivers.

The manufacturer wants them perfect before they are released. During the wait, it seems marketers have gotten antsy to get some info out and it has been premature. I think anyone who has heard these would share his or her enthusiasm though. I heard this morning that another prototype version would be done next week. It should be toned down a bit in the highs. I'll report back when I hear it.

Paul

p.s. I have no connection to the manufacturer other than a pair of hemp drivers in my living room that I have not yet paid for.