Posted by Roy on October 09, 2002 at 09:32:59:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Roy, is that Spandex? posted by Lew on October 08, 2002 at 07:57:38:
I have been considering alternative fabric coverings for a while now and my thoughts are probably more relevant to small and medium sized rooms where we are unable to give the speaker that extra room that it needs to perform better. Obviously the main goal is to keep the front covering as sonically transparent as possible but should this also apply to the material used for the rear of the speaker. We are all obsessed with the rear refection’s and how to best absorb and diffuse these to create the best sonic effect. So how about using a thicker, more adsorbent substance on the rear of the speaker. Obviously we do not want this to in any way to change the way the sound is produced from the front of the speaker as I would imagine that any sort of pressure differential would be detrimental. This first train of thought then lead me to consider some sort of directional filter much the same as ventilation grills. These could be constructed from say plastic foamed board to form vertical slats (3”-4” wide) that pivot on the rear of the speaker. Changing the direction of these slats may then allow us to tune the soundstage. Crazy idea? I realise that Beverage produces speakers with front “lenses”.
I can imagin that Roger West would have tried all sorts of contraptions in the past to ammeliorate this problem and some solutions can be to impracticable or expensive to market. Sallie is the product he markets for the purpose, it is simple and easy to manufacture, the only problem with it is that it is so ugly.