*Lots* of CES2007 pics and some interesting drivers

[AJINFLA]

Someone went absolutely nuts with a camera LOL.

http://www.audioxsell.com/community/events/3/Consumer-Electronics-Show-2007.htm

Perusing, came across this brand, which I recalled seeing before. Pretty boxes (but boxes no less). Checked out there site, found these interesting drive units

http://www.vividspeakers.com/product_V1.php

Check 'em out.
Too bad they couldn't combine them into a coax .

cheers,

AJ

[JonMarsh]

Too bad they couldn't combine them into a coax .

cheers,

AJ

That's exactly what I was thinking- looks like some pretty good engineering behind those Vivid driver components. Too bad we won't be seeing them at Parts Express or Madisound anytime... if they actually get 44kHz breakup for an aluminum dome tweeter, I think that's a record for that material.

[JoshK]

They look like pods from the Mork & Mindy show.

[joecarrow]

Oh, I could drool over some of these- but a lot are worth a good laugh :P

"Copernicus II is incredible. It has to be the singular most self indulgent audio experience that money can buy."

http://www.audioxsell.com/community/events/3/578/Consumer-Electronics-Show-2007/Alltronics.htm

[fjhuerta]

Hey, Almarro apparently is using the W4-1337s drivers we've been talking about lately...

http://www.audioxsell.com/community/events/3/591/Consumer-Electronics-Show-2007/Almarro-Products.htm

[JonMarsh]

That's my suspicion, too.

[Jim Holtz]

Hey, Almarro apparently is using the W4-1337s drivers we've been talking about lately...

http://www.audioxsell.com/community/...o-Products.htm

If you look closely, it appears to have a black frame rather than the silver one the W4-1337S has. The Visaton Ti100 has a black frame. I'm guessing it's a Ti100.

Jim

[JonMarsh]

Oh Foo, Jim!

May have to agree to disagree- after blowing up a few photos of that speaker online, and looking at my W4-1337 (which is a darker looking gray than the PE online photo), blowing up some online pictures at the Almarro site of their 4" midrange (as described by them), noting the relative diameter of the phase plug to cone and frame, color, etc, curvilinear profile of cone (used on Tangband, not on the Visaton) I'm pretty confident their midrange is sourced from TB.

Yeah, I really am that anal retentive at times....



And they should use a camera without so much barrel distortion when it's shot wide, or use DxO software to correct the perspective distortion... :W

[Jim Holtz]

Oh Foo, Jim!

May have to agree to disagree- after blowing up a few photos of that speaker online, and looking at my W4-1337 (which is a darker looking gray than the PE online photo), blowing up some online pictures at the Almarro site of their 4" midrange (as described by them), noting the relative diameter of the phase plug to cone and frame, color, etc, curvilinear profile of cone (used on Tangband, not on the Visaton) I'm pretty confident their midrange is sourced from TB.

Yeah, I really am that anal retentive at times....

And they should use a camera without so much barrel distortion when it's shot wide, or use DxO software to correct the perspective distortion... :W

Jon,

You are absolutely correct. ops: I was looking through the pictures posted from CES and it looked black to me but your closeup definitely indicates it's the TB with the silver/Grey frame rather than the Ti100.

So, any news on your measurements yet? We're anxiously awaiting your results!

Jim

[TacoD]

Last year I had the chance to discuss with the designer of the Vivid loudspeaker drivers, Laurence Dickie when he was in the Netherlands. He also was the designer of the original B&W Nautilus system. We mainly discussed his solution for the voicecoil former, the use of radial stacked neodymium in his motor. The majority can also be read on the website of vividaudio. He also mentioned his catenary dome profile as one of the main contributors for the high break-up mode of the tweeter. He came up with that profile after some numerical analysis in a finite element program.

By the way, the Vivid speakers driven by Ayre and Chapter electronics sounded to my ears very good. Best commercial speakers I've ever heard. And very reasonably priced too, when compared too exotics like Rockport/Avalon/SonusFaber/WilsonAudio/Dynaudio

[TurboFC3S]

I've always been a Wharfedale fan, I've owned probably 10 different sets over the years. Their new stuff looks nice ...

[JonMarsh]

Last year I had the chance to discuss with the designer of the Vivid loudspeaker drivers, Laurence Dickie when he was in the Netherlands. He also was the designer of the original B&W Nautilus system. We mainly discussed his solution for the voicecoil former, the use of radial stacked neodymium in his motor. The majority can also be read on the website of vividaudio. He also mentioned his catenary dome profile as one of the main contributors for the high break-up mode of the tweeter. He came up with that profile after some numerical analysis in a finite element program.

By the way, the Vivid speakers driven by Ayre and Chapter electronics sounded to my ears very good. Best commercial speakers I've ever heard. And very reasonably priced too, when compared too exotics like Rockport/Avalon/SonusFaber/WilsonAudio/Dynaudio

Yeah, reading their site it's clear there was some top flight driver engineering. Hopefully they can translate that into an overall appeal to their end market; reasonable price certainly can't hurt. That was my thought too, seeing the midrange and tweeter drivers, that there had to be some "nautilus" thinking going on- had no idea it was the original guy from B&W!!

~Jon

[capslock]

Catenary profiles were used by Audax, but only in their textile domes. I wonder how much of a pain it is to form AlMg or Ti foil into a pointy catenary profile.

[jdybnis]

Maybe there is some disadvantage to the catenary profile like bad phase cancellation in the top octave?

[EDS]

Now this is something different:



You don't see many speakers with an automotive style finish.

[Evil Twin]

True- unless they're from Wilson Audio, who seems to do that exclusively these days.

[TacoD]

Now this is something different:



You don't see many speakers with an automotive style finish.

As I am an Audiotechnology freak (have bought far too many drivers from Per Skaaning) I can assure you those are AT 18H drivers combined with the excellent 9900 tweeter from Scanspeak (also from Skaaning when he was still owning Scanspeak).

Don't know how it sounds . Wilson and Kharma also use automotive paint, I do no like the metalic finish. (I also do not park my car in my living room )

[AJINFLA]

That's exactly what I was thinking- looks like some pretty good engineering behind those Vivid driver components. Too bad we won't be seeing them at Parts Express or Madisound anytime... if they actually get 44kHz breakup for an aluminum dome tweeter, I think that's a record for that material.

I'm not sure what we're going to see at PE with Darren gone. I wonder if its not a ceramic coated aluminum with the break up that high, even with the catenary profile.
The motor makes me think NRT. Him and Donald North share a bit of thinking on transducer design I imagine.

cheers,

AJ

[fjhuerta]

Sorry to semi-derail this thread, but is Darren Kuzma gone from Parts Express?????? I didn't know that... I suspected such a thing when I saw the PE designs were being done by someone else, but wasn't sure...