Gilmore Audio planars revealed

You seem like a smart guy. Let me say a few things.

You need to lighten up a little bit. "We'll see what the future brings" comment was meant partially tongue in cheek but also out of respect for future technologies that will take a very different approach to sound reproduction. Of course membranes themselves will never be lighter than air -- you can just look at the periodic chart to figure that one out. But in fact, the claim that we are making, which Soundlab essentially makes also as well as other respected manufacturers that use ultra light membrane technologies, is that our membrance is very light and that that fact is important -- because lightness improves responsiveness and reduces distortion. SO this is a critical issue and the fact is that most drivers are relatively very heavy and don't move more air mass than their own mass. Ours do and that is significant This is hardly snake oil and hype. This is a critical distinction that can be measured. It is interesting to watch a small piece of our .3mil kapton membrane stay afloat for quite a while in a room, buffeted only by the normal air currents found in the home. In any case, we invite you to visit us at CES and THE-expo so you can see for yourself what we are talking about.

Thanks.

Please bring your SPL meter to the CES and THE-expo to see for yourself. Sometimes paradigm changes are hard to accept. That is what we are looking at.

FIrst, let me thank you for your kind words. But I need to respectfully disagree about the science you are espousing. Sound involves the actual movement of air molecules. It is not like light waves propogating in ether. It is the movement of air molecules due to pressure differentials that are created by sound waves -- the movement of molecules from areas of higher concentration to lower concentration.

Whoa, guys, we've got some real wacky science being bandied about here. FYI, movement of molecules from high concentration to low is diffusion, not sound. A jet stays up because of thrust and lift; a boat floats because the volume of water it displaces has more mass than the boat, itself. Have no idea how the speaker sounds, but would love to hear it and price it. Although I must point out that the WAF for the L&Rs is only a little bit lower than for the Center!!!!

Dear Sellerwithintegrity,

Sound involves the actual movement of air molecules.

The air molecules only vibrate. Each individual particle of the medium (air) is temporarily displaced and then returns to its original equilibrium position.

Waves can be divided into two categories: mechanical and electromagnetic. The very nature of this classification is that electromagnetic waves can propagate in a vacuum. You are correct that sound waves are not like light waves, although we lost the "ether" some time back ;-), but they are waves, and share some fundamental characteristics.

Another categorization of waves is into longitudinal waves (such as sound waves), transverse waves (where the disturbed particles vibrate perpendicular to the direction in which the waves move), and surface waves (where the particles undergo circular motion).

Let me give you another example of a wave to demonstrate that the individual particles don't in fact move. You are at a big football game, and the "wave" is started by the boisterous beer drinkers in section B. They jump up, hands in the air, and sit down. Observed by their neighbours, who at the right moment jump up ... and so it goes. Watching from the Goodyear blimp, we observe the wave travel around the stadium a few times until it dies out through boredom. But the lads in section B are still there. They didn't run around the stadium with their hands in the air, did they? No, they have to stay in the cheap seats.

Regards,