Audiokinesis update? Summer 2015 Edition

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Read 12801 times.

Duke

  • Industry Contributor
  • Posts: 1160
    • http://www.audiokinesis.com
Re: Audiokinesis update? Summer 2015 Edition
« Reply #20 on: 23 Aug 2015, 05:52 pm »
Do you have an approx weight for the floorstander satellite?  It seems like such a speaker (with Swarm support) would completely eclipse the performance of the current big LCS system.  In theory at least.

I estimate the weight will be in the 80-85 pound ballpark. 

This will be more or less an attempt at a "statement" system, in that it will incorporate most of the really good ideas that I have access to, though it won't be in the sports-car price range. 

One of the markets I intend to target is high-end home theater, as the format I'll be using has been demonstrated to make a dedicated center channel speaker unnecessary.   Several of my Prisma customers have sold their center channel speakers after trying their Prismas in phantom-center mode. 

I remember Earl Geddes telling me that the center channel of his receiver died on his home theater system, and he didn't even notice, because his cross-firing mains carried the dialogue so well throughout the room.   And presumably he wasn't even using phantom center mode!

The main advantage of a center channel is anchoring the dialogue on-screen for viewers who are off the centerline.   But if we can get that same effect via crossfiring highly directional mains, we can pick up a few improvements:

1.  No change in timbre across the soundstage.  Unless the center channel is identical to the left and right speakers, it will sound a bit different, and maybe a lot different.

2.  No change in the height of the sound source across the screen.   If the center channel is below the sceen, that can be enough of a discrepancy to be distracting.

3.  Better depth of image.   This is more likely to be noticed and appreciated with music videos than with movies, but for some of us, it would be nice to have.

4.  Inherently more of a dual-use (music and movies) system.

One advantage of stand mounts is being able to adjust height.  Seems like 95% of floor standers assume the listener is either standing or sitting on bar stools.  Please consider using your listeners using a comfortable chair as one of starting point givens in your designs (that's what I did when I commissioned floor standers 12 years ago).  Even with stand mounts variable height stands are far too rare (I own a pair which came in handy for our club's monthly meeting yesterday).

Good point, I hadn't considered that - thanks!

Normally I shoot for getting the tweeter centered on approximate typical seated ear height, around 38 inches.   Some of my customers like the presentation a bit better with their ears at about the midpoint between tweeter and woofer, and have built short stands to elevate the speakers a few inches, or listen in a chair that puts their ears correspondingly lower.   I'm under the impression that, for home theater, we might want to elevate the speakers so they're a bit closer to the mid-height of the screen, which would call for stands tailored to the specific situation.  So I might have to offer stands after all.


DaveC113

  • Industry Contributor
  • Posts: 4341
  • ZenWaveAudio.com
Re: Audiokinesis update? Summer 2015 Edition
« Reply #21 on: 23 Aug 2015, 05:57 pm »
I've been considering stands as well, for height adjustment as well as decoupling. Have you tried IsoAcoustics products? They really make an extremely positive difference ime...

JLM

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 10653
  • The elephant normally IS the room
Re: Audiokinesis update? Summer 2015 Edition
« Reply #22 on: 23 Aug 2015, 07:39 pm »
Seated ear heights vary widely, variables include sex, height, and type of seating (lounger, recliner, occasional, work station, wheelchair).  According to anthropomorphic data it ranges from 30 to 45 inches.  Footers, IsoAcoustic supports, etc. require additional flexibility.  Nobody wants to pay good money to end up with a speaker that doesn't fit, especially if you listen near-field.  The best solution might be to offer custom height bases that look/fit like an extension of the speaker cabinet (a pair could be shipped separately from the speakers).

rajacat

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 3239
  • Washington State
Re: Audiokinesis update? Summer 2015 Edition
« Reply #23 on: 23 Aug 2015, 07:52 pm »
Why not build the stand or the enclosure so that its easy to adjust the tilt a bit? Some speaker builders recommend a little upwards tilt. Design integrated cones that are built substantially and are easily adjustable and your all issues will be resolved. :green:

Duke

  • Industry Contributor
  • Posts: 1160
    • http://www.audiokinesis.com
Re: Audiokinesis update? Summer 2015 Edition
« Reply #24 on: 23 Aug 2015, 09:15 pm »
I've been considering stands as well, for height adjustment as well as decoupling. Have you tried IsoAcoustics products? They really make an extremely positive difference ime...

The IsoAcoustics stands look to me like they're intended for small nearfield monitors that would otherwise be sitting on the console in a recording studio, or other applications where the needed stand height is pretty short.   My unorthox footprints might be a problem. 

Seated ear heights vary widely, variables include sex, height, and type of seating (lounger, recliner, occasional, work station, wheelchair).  According to anthropomorphic data it ranges from 30 to 45 inches.  Footers, IsoAcoustic supports, etc. require additional flexibility.  Nobody wants to pay good money to end up with a speaker that doesn't fit, especially if you listen near-field.  The best solution might be to offer custom height bases that look/fit like an extension of the speaker cabinet (a pair could be shipped separately from the speakers).

I hadn't considered such a wide range of seated ear heights... I'll probably do a standard height, offer custom stands if needed, and in some cases I can shorten the cabinet on a custom basis.  That being said, I don't design with nearfield listening as a high priority; a great deal of what I do is aimed at getting the off axis/reverberant field right, and by definition nearfield listening seeks to minimize the contribution of the off axis/reverberant field energy by making sure the first-arrival sound is much louder.  I have had customers who listen from close enough to lean forward and touch the speakers, but that's the exception in my experience. 

Here's a custom shorty speaker I did to avoid blocking the window that you can see to the upper right, the tweeter's centered on roughly 32 inches:



Why not build the stand or the enclosure so that its easy to adjust the tilt a bit? Some speaker builders recommend a little upwards tilt. Design integrated cones that are built substantially and are easily adjustable and your all issues will be resolved. :green:

Extreme tilt adjustability will probably have to come from another manufacturer; unfortunately my non-rectangular footprints usually don't work well with different-length cones, but I have seen that technique used on the Zephrins, and it would also work in the case of the speaker pictured above (using three cones).

My speakers that have the waveguide on top come with built-in acoustic tilt-back, as the compression driver's diaphragm is behind the woofer, unlike with a conventional tweeter on a flat baffle. 
« Last Edit: 23 Aug 2015, 11:06 pm by Duke »

rajacat

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 3239
  • Washington State
Re: Audiokinesis update? Summer 2015 Edition
« Reply #25 on: 24 Aug 2015, 12:13 am »
Offer the customer the choice of spikes, locust blocks, natural crystals :) and such....of different heights, up to maybe 3" or so.
------
Custom solid plinths of different heights as an option.
------
Adjustable spikes, metal plate screwed to enclosure bottom.