Anyone in Vegas listen to the Gilmore speakers???

However, For the record, temporary exposure to 115 db does not damage hearing unless your ears have some previous damage.

OSHA Noise Exposure Limits show the maximum time periods allowable for various noise exposures: 15 minutes at 115 dB and so on. The acceptable sound level (limit) is a time weighted average value. Continuous/intermittent noise exposures above 115 decibels (dBA) are not allowed by OSHA. Most audiophiles would consider it prudent to stay well below the prescribed maximum limits to avoid hearing loss.

Masking of detail occurs with increasing levels. For example, when you have the music cranking at 100 dB, you might feel the beat more but your ears will try to protect themselves. You should be able to hear more information at 80 dB, for example. How this works in the real world depends upon the source, in this case the playback system's ability to reveal low level details and respond uniformly at various levels.

Some people don't think of the speaker as a planar speaker, but it most definately is.

Your definition is different from mine, but then I'm biased.

The way you can tell is that it really makes no difference how close to the speaker you are- the volume you get from it seems the same at any distance in the room. The only speakers I have seen do that are planars.

Assuming an anechoic environment, the sound from a point source decays at a rate of 6 dB for every doubling of distance, related to the area of a sphere, i.e. the square of the ratio of the distances, 10*LOG10((R1/R2)^2), where R1 is the original distance and R2 is the new distance. The decay from a line source is more related to the area of a cylinder, i.e. the ratio of the distances, 10*LOG10(R1/R2), or 3 dB for every doubling of distance. Factoring in some room reflections the differences will vary, but the loudness will be reduced with increasing distance from the source regardless.

I find the stovetop comments amusing as obviously no stovetop is made with Corian as it would be damaged by the operation of the burners :) So I think we can regard the stovetop comments as a wee bit of the troll influence...

Perhaps, but there is a consistency of public reactions. Whether Gilmore chooses to accept them is his prerogative.

I heard the Gilmores at both venues and found them interesting and yes, dynamic. There's been a lot of controversy stirred, surely not a bad thing. It'll be interesting to see how things go. It all depends upon what people are looking for. Exciting times.

Brian Walsh

Dude, I have no idea what that guy was thinking, playing the stereo so loud. However its nice to know that with a reasonably powered amp that one cannot clip it.

>Assuming an anechoic environment, the sound from a point >source decays at a rate of 6 dB for every doubling of >distance...

Of course, as we all know, no-one lives in an anechic chamber :) As a result, my previous statement stands, unless one has a very large room. At any rate, were it a point source, there would be a sizable increase in volume as one approached the drivers (square of the distance, blah blah) and this obviously does not happen.

With regards to the stovetop comments, there is indeed a consistancy of troll reactions. My girlfriend, on seeing the photo of the speaker, commented that it was nice to see a speaker that had some curves and was not the same-old same-old. Mark reports that the marketing studies show that women accept the speaker easier then men. Obviously there will be exceptions. Mark also points out that the shape of the speaker is such that it prevents comb-filter effects that it would have if it were rectangular.

Mark also explored grill cloth materials and tried every type that is in use on other planars. They all had a sonic artifact. As a result there is no grill. The ribbon is available in several colors so there are choices to allow for the lack of ye old black.

Until there is a grill cloth available (or I can devise a way to add one), I would not put these in my living room.

Before I invested in them I would need to be certain they can make me as happy as my Soundlabs. Under show conditions there was absolutely no way to determine that.

As for appearance and public acceptance. There was a time when AJ Conti of Basis refused to build the Basis Debut Gold in any color other than gold. I had the first one in all black. The Debut is now available in all black for anyone wanting one.

Loyd Walker refused to build the Walker Proscenium Gold Signature Turntable in black, only available in gold. I have the first all black Walker Proscenium ever built.

Atma-Sphere refused to build the MA 2 with any faceplate other than gold. I had the first MA 2 in black. (You probably still remember this Ralph).

I argued with Soundlab and was responsible for the steel frame design for the U-1, calling Connie at Soundlab can confirm this.

The Aesthetix Io and Callisto were designed for only one power supply. I was the first person to make the changes (myself) on the circuit board and run dual supplies. This is now a standard factory available option. Again, a call to Jim White can confirm this.

Maybe my cries about a black Gilmore and black grill cloth will have a similar effect. If not, I can wait until the option is available.

I am pleased that Ralph’s girlfriend likes the Gilmore's as they are, because they may never get changed and obviously Ralph intends for these to become his reference speaker.

Unfortunately I disagree in spite of considering Ralph and Mark Gilmore good friends. I cannot pretend to like the appearance of something I do not. My honesty over this particular subject has gotten me into trouble. This is the first time it has been a problem in all the years I’ve been in high end audio.

I guess we will see how things shake out.

Well, I suppose the Gilmore is already halfway there, as it has always been available in black.

Mark's not mentioned anything about you calling him like I mentioned to you last we spoke. It sounded to me like you had a good idea regarding the grill cloth.

However I spoke to Mark and he revealed some interesting information about grillcloths. He was not able to find a material as I mentioned earlier that was actually acoustically transparent over the ribbon. Additionally, even when the cloth was positioned a couple of inches from the woofer, he had problems with the cloth flapping back and forth. But you might have an approach he's not thought of. Give him a call. I'm sure he would be glad to hear from you.

Thanks Ralph, I will do that as I am interested in the progress of this project.