How to build a spherical speaker?

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#383
I could do that if it's warranted.. however it could be run up on the ripple tank simulator instead?

BW-801-D4-black-beauty-scaled-1.jpg
 
#384
Frabor said:
The better shape is probably the teardrop. But the teardrop has a defitive advantage when deployed into a room, it looks better, more expensive and for a given internal volume is less imposing and more accomodating, physically and visually. They look "cooler" and more high tech. So, regardless if the improvement that the physical shape provides, there is a "wow" factor tha translates into an increased sticker price. And that is good for BW.
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I'm audiophile.... my priorities are (in order of most important to least important)

1) good sound
2) wires... lots of wires, the more the better
3) boxes... lots of boxes. the more the better
4) LEDs... red and green and white, the more the better
5) knobs, switches, hopefully with LEDs, the more the better
6) meters.. VU meters. Bakelite, the more the better
7) how much it costs, the less the better
8) how much ASR is insulted with the specs... the more 2nd order harmonic the better.
...

1000000) How it looks to the Architectural Digest crowd.
1000001) Status within the "I buy at MSRP" audiophile crowd.
...
2000000) The opinion of the Julian Hirsch crowd ( aka ASR ).
 
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#392
sledox said:
I actually wanted to have the enclose 3D printed. I also have CAD knowledge, but what exactly do I have to pay attention to with the enclosure?
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Lossiness of the cabinet material comes to mind. There may be a break-even point between metallic ringing vs. hysteretic losses that begin to add distortion.

lcsaszar said:
Reading the title of this thread I imagined a sphere with many loudspeakers all around its surface. An omnidirectional speaker.
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An inflatable "bouncy castle" subwoofer that modulates the fan speed and/or blade pitch. 😆
 
#394
Thanks Dave! I think that Olson paper was what started me on the path to making spheres. The difference in the whoop test caused by the cabinet shape was very impressive. Its also very interesting to learn that B&W started to design a sphere before shifting to the teardrop (apparently after spending 100K pounds researching it). I have been doing fiberglass fabrication and repairs for yachts and thought that molded fiberglass was the perfect material to make spherical enclosures out of. The forum has been incredibly helpful in my first 24 hours here, the focus has shifted away from spheres toward the teardrop shape.

The details about the interior structures in the teardrop cabinets have been really helpful. I am intrigued by the ones where the driver is not mounted to the cabinet, but isolated from it. Is there one of those foam rings at the edge like the ones which hold the driver cone to the driver frame or does air flow around the edge of the isolated driver? Isolating the driver from the cabinet is apparently to prevent it from vibrating the entire cabinet. Do forum members have opinions about whether this is helpful? I could build something with the driver isolated from the cabinet if it would improve the sound.

Love the priorities about the wires, boxes and lights. This is kind of how my house is run. I wouldn't pay extra for styling in most cases. Guys with big yachts and what not often have wives who don't care for that kind of fun though. If I can make something beautiful without sacrificing function, this may make some people more likely to buy it. The design of the Fujitsu Ten and its dedicated "volcano amp" are kind of the bar for that. So I aspire to perfect sound with styling at least as beautiful.

If you can find the stuff from B&W about their teardrop and that stuff inside of it, I would be very interested. Thanks for the summary. Am I correct in assuming that B&H has the drivers isolated from the cabinet and the rod is what supports the driver? And that backwards pointing bullet attached to the back of the driver is what attaches to the driver's flange and then connects that to the rod going through the middle of the teardrop to the very back? Guess its so radical, I'm asking again to make sure I really understand. Thats a manufacturing complication, but well worth it if the sound improves.
 
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#396
Sciencelookers said:
….and thought that molded fiberglass was the perfect material to make spherical enclosures out of.
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There is (was?) a US company making fiberglass spheres (with a mass at the centre) for loudspeakers.

Carbon Fibre is better, stiffer is a goal.

This kind of fabrication also makes for less thick walls, always a bonus if building somethign small.

With the growing ability to be able to 3D print things like CF, and shape capabilities that are largely unlimited.

Your work is old school and that you have the skills means you can build things the rest of us will be in envy of.

dave
 
#397
I find it helpful to think of the exterior box shape as a wave guide, just with a wide starting angle at the 'throat' of the horn. And instead of an arbitrary radius at which the horn suddenly 'stops' expanding and does a sharp 180 degree turn, it keeps going all the way round to the back in a smooth curve.
 
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#398
Sciencelookers said:
foam rings at the edge like the ones which hold the driver cone to the driver frame or does air flow around the edge of the isolated driver?
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There has to be a way to seal the enclosure from the outside leaking in, yet isolating the driver from the enclosure so some sort of seal that accomplishes both is needed at the driver mounting and where the foot exits the cabinet.

The idea has merit, but i personally think they may be obsessing over something that is easier dealt with.

dave
 
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