5 ms·

1) 30,000 volts - what can possibly go wrong? 2) Other than being sort of a cool gimmick, what's the point? It's not that good at playing music. It's not that

by rorrr 15y ago

1) 30,000 volts - what can possibly go wrong? 2) Other than being sort of a cool gimmick, what's the point? It's not that good at playing music. It's not that great at visualizing music - I can do much better with Raspberry Pi running some WinAmp plugins.

iwwr 15y ago
30KV, but low amps, using the same power as a speaker of similar size. It's actually a pretty good speaker, as it contains no moving parts. The disadvantage is not being very good for indoor spaces, since electric arcs generate ozone.
- rorrr 15y ago
  Except that your regular speaker doesn't have live wires sticking out. > It's actually a pretty good speaker, as it contains no moving parts That's a strange qualification for a "good speaker". Reliable, maybe. Good - I don't know, but it sounded like crap in that video (maybe just a bad recording).
  - andor 15y ago
    That's a strange qualification for a "good speaker". Reliable, maybe. Good - I don't know, but it sounded like crap in that video (maybe just a bad recording). Less mass to move means less inertia. For precise playback of high frequencies, this is what you want. So having no moving parts in a tweeter is a great start. As a next step, one could figure out how to reduce the distortion that makes it "sound like crap".
bh42222 15y ago
The point is innovation. It may be nothing more the neat or cool today, but who know what it could be in the far future? And how can we find out but by starting with this cool toy? One fun step at a time!
bradleyland 15y ago
So I'm guessing you never built one of the Radio Shack "build your own radio" kits when you were a kid. They sounded like garbage, but gosh-darnit, you built the thing with your own two hands! Any semblance of a sound coming out of the thing was cause for celebration. I was convinced I deserved a Nobel Prize. Even though it was totally ridiculous, I was hooked. Hacking is an incredibly rewarding experience for kids and young adults. We should encourage it wherever possible
- rorrr 15y ago
  I totally understand the "hacking" aspect. That's why I asked, other than the "wow" factor, is there anything to it?

by rorrr 15y ago

iwwr 15y ago

30KV, but low amps, using the same power as a speaker of similar size. It's actually a pretty good speaker, as it contains no moving parts. The disadvantage is not being very good for indoor spaces, since electric arcs generate ozone.

rorrr 15y ago
Except that your regular speaker doesn't have live wires sticking out. > It's actually a pretty good speaker, as it contains no moving parts That's a strange qualification for a "good speaker". Reliable, maybe. Good - I don't know, but it sounded like crap in that video (maybe just a bad recording).
- andor 15y ago
  That's a strange qualification for a "good speaker". Reliable, maybe. Good - I don't know, but it sounded like crap in that video (maybe just a bad recording). Less mass to move means less inertia. For precise playback of high frequencies, this is what you want. So having no moving parts in a tweeter is a great start. As a next step, one could figure out how to reduce the distortion that makes it "sound like crap".

bh42222 15y ago

The point is innovation. It may be nothing more the neat or cool today, but who know what it could be in the far future? And how can we find out but by starting with this cool toy? One fun step at a time!

bradleyland 15y ago

So I'm guessing you never built one of the Radio Shack "build your own radio" kits when you were a kid. They sounded like garbage, but gosh-darnit, you built the thing with your own two hands! Any semblance of a sound coming out of the thing was cause for celebration. I was convinced I deserved a Nobel Prize. Even though it was totally ridiculous, I was hooked. Hacking is an incredibly rewarding experience for kids and young adults. We should encourage it wherever possible

rorrr 15y ago
I totally understand the "hacking" aspect. That's why I asked, other than the "wow" factor, is there anything to it?