[PaulHilgeman]

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce my new company, an incredibly innovative new loudspeaker, and myself.

My name is Paul Hilgeman.  I have been involved as a DIYer for about 8 years.  During that time I have developed my skills as a designer.  I am formally trained as an electrical engineer.  During these past 8 years, I have ventured into the many different 'areas' of loudspeaker design.  After probing the depths of these different areas, I have developed what I consider to be the most unique, and innovative speakers available. None of the innovations are just 'to be unique', but are all centered around specific goals in terms of speaker performance.  The way that they sum together is simply magical.

The name of the company is Nomad Audio.  We are based in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago, IL.  

To sum the speaker up, it uses a sealed box low frequency driver, a fairly large dipole midrange and a coaxially mounted tweeter.  The cabinet is constructed entirely of solid bamboo.  All of these things can be read about on the website: www.nomad-audio.com .

I had plans on starting this company for the last two and a half years, and it has taken that long to design a speaker that had the magic, emotion and perfection to generate the passion and confidence to sell.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, and start any discussion of what you see on the website.  

With regard to the website, I will be adding updates this weekend or early next week.  With regards to the name of the speaker, well I really haven’t come up with anything yet.  

Thank you for your time,
Paul Hilgeman

[WEEZ]

Nice!

It's refreshing to see innovative and unique new products entering the audio world.

Sensitivity? (around 90db/w/m?)

Best of luck to you...

WEEZ

[mcgsxr]

Interesting design Paul, I see some good ideas there.

Can I clarify something - the whole speaker is passive, ie the woofer is not actively driven by a plate amp etc?

Love the bamboo!

[PaulHilgeman]

Sensitivity? (around 90db/w/m?)

Not quite, the system sensativity is around 86.5dB, which isnt bad considering the extension of the bass and overall small cabinet volume.  The woofer is a net 83.5dB in 4pi radiation, but since it is so close to the floor, it takes advantage of only radiating into 2pi space over its operating range.  

Can I clarify something - the whole speaker is passive, ie the woofer is not actively driven by a plate amp etc?

Correct, it is entirely passive.  There is neither active equalization prior to the amplification stages, nor is there a plate amplifier to power the woofer.  The overall system has a fairly benign impedance curve, dropping to about 3.8 ohms in the region where both the woofer is crossing to the midrange, other than that, there is the usual peak at the midrange/tweeter crossover frequency which gets to about 14 ohms.  

I have played a pair on several systems.  One on a slightly underpowered UCD 180 amplifier (very similar to Channel Islands D100 amplifier), though mine is slightly underpowered.  In a very large, very damped listening room, it plays to adequate levels without clipping.  On a UCD400 amplifier (very similar to Channel Islands D200 amplifier) they play as loud as I would ever want them to play.  In a smaller room, I have tested them with both amplifiers, and there is no way that I would ever clip the lower powered amplifier in a smaller room with closer seating distances.  I also tried a smaller Rotel RB-1070 and in the small room it was just fine, playing very loudly and authoritatively without clipping, so if your concern is with an amplifier being able to drive them, there is nothing to worry about.  At first glance, it may seem since it is a passive speaker with an open baffle midrange that it will be inefficient and a tough load for the amp, but I assure you that this is not true.

The larger room is about 30 feet by 35 feet with a 'room' taken out of one corner about 8 by 12.  The ceiling is 7.5 feet high, it has heavily padded carpet, a drop ceiling, and very thin, 3/16" thick paneled walls with 4" of fiberglass behind them.  Needless to say, everything sounds quiet in this room, I have had people listen to their speakers in this room, and say "Turn it up, they can play louder than that" only to find that the woofers start to distort like mad.  It can be truly deceiving as to how much the room size and construction contributes to overall SPL.

The smaller room was about 14 feet wide, 19 feet deep and 8 feet tall.  It had pretty typical construction with 5/8 drywall, hardwood floors and an area rug, fairly typical damping with a mix of soft and hard furniture.  The lower mids and bass in this room have true authority and just reach out and grab you.

Thanks for the kind words guys, hopefully I will get my own circle around here soon  .

-Paul Hilgeman

[sts9fan]

I like that you use the enviorment friendly bamboo!!

[Captain Humble]

We did our entry way and dinning room floors in bamboo about a year ago.  It is actually considered a grass.  Looks great and and according to what I've read (from the manufacturer) it is harder than any hardwood.

Should make a great looking and very strong speaker.
Lots of luck with your new business!
Jeff

[PaulHilgeman]

Thanks.

I use a water based lacquer as well to finish them, which is much better for the environment, and of course I use lead-free solder on the crossover, not like there is much solder in it compared to something like the computer industry, but it helps and it sets a precedent.

Aside from the above, the bamboo is incredible looking.  It has depth to it, and a color that is fairly unique.  The side grain is very interesting and has an almost inlaid look to it.  My wife actually wants a kitchen table made out of it.  Another interesting thing is that it is very recognizable.  Every person that sees them says something to the effect of 'wow, bamboo!"

It is also colored all of the way through the wood, so there is no stain just on the surface to worry about.  If they ever get a deep scratch, it just needs to be re-lacquered (which can be a task in itself) to match the same color.

Lastly, it actually sounds better than the same cabinet made of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard - what most speakers are made from).  During testing and design, there was a point when I had a pair of MDF cabinets as well as a pair of Bamboo cabinets.  It was clear from the knuckle test, as well as listening that the bamboo was 'tighter' and less resonant.  A single sheet of 4' by 8' .75" thick bamboo weighs in around 95 lbs.  MDF varies from the low 70's to the low 80's.  The fibrous nature of the bamboo and the 'cross-ply' construction give it very good stiffness and rigidity.  Also, the incredible number of glue joins make this a material to be reckoned with.  The inner 'ply' is made of .125" tall, .5" wide pieces that for the most part run horizontally in the speaker.  The face is made up of .125" thick, and about 1.25" wide 'planks' that run up and down both sides of the panels.

Thanks for the interest,
Paul

[PaulHilgeman]

My favorite three:

Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting implies the possibility of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.

Chuck Norris can slam revolving doors.

-Paul Hilgeman

[JoshK]

A bit OT: Where can you buy bamboo plywood?  I'd love to try it out!

Welcome.  Your speakers looks really cool!  I am jealous of your magnesium coax.

[brj]

It looks like Plyboo might be a good resource...

Very cool looking speakers.  I have to admit that I like the Bamboo approach myself.

[Brad]

Great looking design!

I love the bamboo.

Welcome to AC - always great to see new ideas.
You have obviously put a lot of yourself into the design - and it shows.

[crossroadazn]

Do you use special technic to keep these from cracking ? In my country they are the last choice to use as substitute to wood because the long vertical fiber tend to crack when they dried and not as strong as most wood. I donot mean to bad mouth about them but that's what I know about bamboo. I give you thumps up for making them into exortic speakers. BTW we export huge amout of bamboo strips to France now and it's only getting better.

[PaulHilgeman]

Actually, dont start with Plyboo, it is a far inferior product.  This is by Teragren, www.teragren.com

It is a much better product and will last a lifetime, but is somewhat more expensive.

I purchase it from a distributor in my area, check their website to see where you can purchase it.

-Paul Hilgeman

[audiojerry]

Hi Paul,
Welcome, and best wishes. You've chosen a good forum for introducing a new product.

I'd enjoy an audition in the near future. I'm up dare in Muwaukee, so it wouldn't be too difficult for me to drop down.

Ultimately, I'd like to see how they perform in my personal system and compare them to my ProAc's. I'd also like to see how they get along my Audio Research VT200 tube amp.

[PaulHilgeman]

Sounds great, lets definitely plan on that.  I get up to Milwaukee pretty often as well, I can always bring the pair (small enough to fit in the trunk) and an amplifier just in case.  Otherwise please let me know next time you are in the Chicago land area.

Paul Hilgeman

[audiojerry]

Sounds great, lets definitely plan on that.  I get up to Milwaukee pretty often as well, I can always bring the pair (small enough to fit in the trunk) and an amplifier just in case.  Otherwise please let me know next time you are in the Chicago land area.

Paul Hilgeman

Either way, I look forward to meeting you and your speaker. I'm very intrigued by the design.

[John151]

Paul - Welcome, and congrats on starting your own company.  

How far are are you from Palatine?

Jerry - I think we need to organize a local AC gathering for an audition? What do you think?

[Watson]

Those look like potentially *fantastic* speakers.  An open-baffle coaxial/waveguide design is as good as it gets for power response.  It should sound great in actual rooms with minimal room treatments.

What's the recommended distance from the walls?

[PaulHilgeman]

How far are are you from Palatine?

Arlington Heights for auditioning, the business is being set-up in Elk Grove.

Those look like potentially *fantastic* speakers. An open-baffle coaxial/waveguide design is as good as it gets for power response. It should sound great in actual rooms with minimal room treatments.

You guessed it, that is where much of the design criteria came from, it lends itself to a very natural sonic signature that changes very little from room to room, much better than any 'typical' close box, non-waveguide, non-coencident speaker that I have ever heard   .

What's the recommended distance from the walls?

Actually you can get pretty close to the side walls, from baffle edge, even at about 1.5 feet is perfectly acceptable, but like any speaker, the farther the better.  From the back wall, I recomend 3 feet or greater.  

I am up for a meet in the area.  

-Paul

[John151]

Arlington Heights for auditioning, the business is being set-up in Elk Grove.

-Paul

Well, then, we are pretty much neighbors on both counts.  I would love to take a listen some time!