Inflatable Loudspeakers

fm6 sent in an article running at New Scientist talking about new technology that allows Inflatable Loud Speakers. The technology is apparently patented and there's not a lot of technical details, but I have to say the concept amuses me. And I somehow doubt that this technology will ever be used in high fidelity home systems.

spEakers

[Matrix12]

This technology would be great for rave parties. Inflatable speakers would transport easily, and be easy to leave behind. And you could shoot lasers and lights through them ;)

Good for clubs, and gigging in general, I guess.

.\\12

If it worked, I bet smaller bands could use this.

[Mustang Matt]

Think of all the bands that can't afford to fly their equipment around. Now they could.

I bet there is some really interesting things that could be done with this technology.

For instance, could you change the response of the speakers by adding more air pressure inside of the enclosure? Seems like you could easily tune for each song if you wanted to.

Bull Shit

[HEbGb]

I don't believe it for a minute.

Distortion down to 'unheard of low levels'? Hype city. There is absolutely no plausible mechanism to support this claim. As for transdcuer shapes, such as tetrahedral, it's almost completely irrelevant as far as sound quality goes.

Loudspeakers don't have a limited lifetime because of corrosion. It's usually fatigue of the constituent materials, of which an inflatable plastic would certainly be about the worst.

These might be a good gimmick, but nothing more. I think their egos need a bit of deflating.

They're apparently using NXT flat panel techniques. No wonder this is so full of mindless hype.

Re:To the contrary

[kwhilden]

As a very dedicated audiophile, I can't imagine that inflatable speakers could sound good at all. Can you say uncontrolled cabinet resonance? The biggest problem with wooden box speakers is the resonance from the wood creating unwanted coloration in the sound. I don't think it is possible to brace an inflatable speaker enough to reduce resonance to any significant degree.

As far as building tetrahedral speakers out of wood, check out these from Acoustic Reality [av-reality.com]. I happen to own a pair, and resonance control is outstanding. They also sound great and are very cheap by audiophile standards.

btw, I am audiophile lunatic... ugh.
KW

What if they were inflated with water?

[torklugnutz]

In a multi bladder system, this seems like it would give good absorption of energy, and add structure and weight to the system, which would be useful in an outdoor/windy/explosion prone environment. The article doesn't mention that as part of their plan, but I wonder if it would be of any sonic benefit.

Man I want this

[mini me]

This would complement car audio nicely! No need to fill up your entire trunk with a sub box, just inflate when you need it and it will pack away nicely when you don't.