Can someone tell me what is going on

[northwest]

with these speakers HERE:-

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/audioconsulting/8.jpg

Found in this article here: http://www.tubebbs.com/viewthread.php?action=printable&tid=105255

Never seen anything quite like this!

[YNWaN]

Look like giant Linaeum (the spelling is something like that) drivers

[Daniel Quinn]

Not quite like those from Tandy, radio shack? , KK used to go on about 15+ years ago .:lol:

[Barry]

Suspect the speakers work on a similar principle to the US Heil 'Air Motion' speakers: the two curved surfaces are moved at their centre end by a conventional coil/magnet 'motor', the air thus squeezed is pushed out between the cylindrical/curved surfaces, which also act as a horn to couple to free space.

Fascinating website, though I think the guy takes his obsession to an unhealthy level.

What's the thing with the use of wood so as to prevent the generation of static? His amplifier is lined with copper foil!

Why go to all the trouble of battery supplies - the mains supply in Switzerland must be crap!

Makes his own cables? Fine, but he still uses RCA phono connectors. Ironically Switzerland is where the vastly superior CAMAC connectors are made.

Tone arms made from wood that is a thousand years old - how is that any better than using wood or any other non resonant material?



There is something about the whole business that smacks of 'Beltism', but I bet his system sounds good. Though I suspect no better than hundreds of others out there.


Nice house he lives in (which is the only thing of his I am envious of).

[walpurgis]

I also suspect that these are large scale versions of the Linaeum type driver. They don't look like any Heil 'Air Motion Transformer' design I've seen. The various Heil drivers I've seen have multi pleated diaphragms and the Linaeum only one pleat to each pole (face), as the subject speakers seem to.

[sq225917]

I thought the Heils were just a ribbon.

[walpurgis]

Not a ribbon as such. Almost a compression driver in principle. There was talk of a full range Heil 'Air Motion Transformer' being developed, but I never heard more. That would have been interesting.

[Barry]

I never said they were a Heil 'Air Motion Transformer', I said I thought the speakers in question might work on a similar principle: I am well aware the Heil designs used a pleated diaphragm.

The speakers in question obviously have a form of horn loading. I'm not familiar with Linaeum drivers, so some more research is required.

[Barry]

OK, so they might be full range Lineaum speakers. If they are, then they are full range horn-loaded ribbons. No mean feat to use a single ribbon, full range.

Ribbons are usually restricted to the upper frequencies, where they may be horn loaded. The only successful full-range ribbon speaker I am aware of were the Apogee range, and they used separate ribbons for LF and HF with a crossover.

The idea of a horn-loaded full-range ribbon speaker is fascinating. Ribbon speakers are the perfect example of Fleming's 'left hand rule' for motors; speakers are after all motors, and ought to avoid the problem of electrostatic speakers: namely the imposition of a (perforated) electrode between the sound producing moving diaphragm and the listener. Ribbons do however have problems of their own: very low impedance (an Ohm or two at best), low efficiency, and lack of rigidity over large areas.

Horn loading a ribbon would seem to be ideal, but like all line sources would 'beam' in the vertical plane; a full range horn would be tall, exacerbating the poor vertical dispersion.

Looking at the photographs, it is obvious the speakers are a dipole design and have supplimentary fore and aft horn loading. The supplimentary horn loading looks palitative and would do little to prevent low frequency cancellation.

[YNWaN]

But Barry, the Linaeum wasn't really a true ribbon, it had more of flattened voice-coil (like a Magneplanar). To be honest, I doubt that the speakers in the picture are really full range either (despite being pretty big) - the horn loading is very shallow.

[walpurgis]

Its difficult to find a term that fits the Linaeum driver. It is not a ribbon nor an isodynamic nor an air motion transformer. 'Excited Diaphragm' may fit, I may be wrong, but as far as I can gather it uses a long, flat printed coil attached to two joined, circular/cylindrical diaphragms in an approximate figure of eight, surrounding two long vertical magnets, with a gap between them in which the coil sits. As the signal is fed through the coil it moves back and forth moving the diaphragms. Rather an odd idea really, as the diaphragms are not driven, damped or supported over much of their surface. This looks like another technological 'Dead End' to me. Different, but doomed!

[prestonchipfryer]

You wouldn't want to mess about with that stuff whilst pissed, would you? :lol:

[sq225917]

Let's be honest about it. He's just another guy with a hifi, except that he has enough money to indulge what he feels sound good, it doesn't mean his approach is any more correct than any other. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of this simple fact when faced with equipment that is so obviously 'different'.

[northwest]

You wouldn't want to mess about with that stuff whilst pissed, would you? :lol:

LMFAO! Needed something to cheer me up. Started out on my ESL57 refurb adventure this morning which has quicly turned into a nightmare (pics to follow in another thread). All I can say is that these are definately "all original":brickwall:

[wiicrackpot]

Let's be honest about it. He's just another guy with a hifi, except that he has enough money to indulge what he feels sound good, it doesn't mean his approach is any more correct than any other. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of this simple fact when faced with equipment that is so obviously 'different'.
+1

Anyone switched their attention to the turntable on the left, probably spent thousands to make it that fugly, :scratch: goes to show some rich folk have no taste.

wii.

[rubber duck]

OK, so they might be full range Lineaum speakers. If they are, then they are full range horn-loaded ribbons. No mean feat to use a single ribbon, full range.

They are stacked Linaeum drivers.

[walpurgis]

Have you seen these before and do you have any data?

[SPS]

i have both ribbon and amt drivers

the quad ribbons are very good

last week i bought a pair of pro beyma amt speakers, these too are something else in my view. I bought them for a second system, but i would guess they exceed the peformance of the vitavox compression driver's
the only issue sound wise is the off axis, but in my listening room, thats not an issue for me and as good or better than esl57's in that respect.

[camtwister]

Steve - do you have a gallery thread?
Photos of your equipment and set-up would interest many of us.

[SPS]

Steve - do you have a gallery thread?
Photos of your equipment and set-up would interest many of us.

there are a few pics somewhere on here, but i've that much stuff i wouldn't really know where to start, alot of my gear is packed in the garage and the office, and difficult to get access to, if you saw the the boxes of valves i have most would be shocked.. then there the amps, speakers/ drivers, decks, tonearms, and the cartriges the bikes and an old car...

so i'm a it of a hoarder..
the few times i've sold good gear, i later whish i hadn't.. so i keep hold of it...at least whilst i'm still working i can.
thanks for the interest..

[walpurgis]

I remember being given a demonstration of the ESS AMT1 Tower. That consisted of an Heil AMT driver mounted on top of a large transmission line enclosure driven by a ten inch bass/mid driver. This was an interesting and very potent speaker, if not quite neutral through the mid.

[northwest]

thats not an issue for me and as good or better than esl57's in that respect.

Really?


Steve - do you have a gallery thread?
Photos of your equipment and set-up would interest many of us.

I would be fascinated personally.

[SPS]

its a little out of date now, those corner speakers have 5 drivers inc the vitavox horns, they will be rebuilt next year taller and leaner when they move rooms

http://www.theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10507

esl57's are like headphones, really fantasic in the sweet spot, the beymas have a sweet spot but its a little bigger..

i've got to modifiy the cabs the beymas will be used with, once done i will update the gallery thread.
i've put my name down for a room at the wigwam show, if successfull, the beymas/ loaded baffles, along with and px25 amps will be there,
will be a very different sound to most of the rooms.
sorry for the thread drift...