Neal K Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 Hi all, Is everyone making the most of the summer? That is, when it isn't raining! I was thinking recently about getting a new pair of speakers. That thought led to the next thought; there are many acoustic suspension speakers out there and some of them sound pretty good. I can share one example. In 1977 after much listening and comparing I bought a pair of genesis ll's. I am not sure if that is correct sp but you know the one, one inch inverted dome and eight inch mid/woofer with a ten inch passive radiator. I realize that this speaker is closer to a ported design, but the box is sealed. That is a great speaker for the money. it's probably a good speaker at any price. I kept those for over 20 years and two refoaming jobs. The firsst one was due to me agreeing to cat sit my kitty for my brother. Big mistake. Like most of you probably do I listen without the grills on. Yep you guessed it. The bloody cat used the eight inch and passive as claw sharpening tree. I freaked out when I was it. Long time ago, so long that it was refoamed with foam. and about 20 years later they started to crumble and tear like all foam surrounds do. But the point is, that speaker put put sound from approx 38 hz to 18 k. And with respectable dispersion and transient response. I got a lot of mileage out of them. Maybe it isn't just the designs but the time period most of the classic speakers were built in. You do not see cabinets built out of 3/4 inch or 7/16 MDF today. Not even close. A lot of what I see is quarter inch at best and foam sound control seems to be optional. But I know there are speakers out there the are made from well designed drivers, components and wood or extruded plastic. One that comes to mind is the guy up in NH, Huh Powell. I only know about him because he repairs and sells replacement drivers for Genesis, EPI, and a few others brands. He makes a eight inch two way sealed box with an aluminum inverted dome that is a pretty decent speaker and it's priced very reasonably. One last thought before I sign off. Edgar Villchur should have gotten a Nobel for inventing the acoustic suspension speaker and not patenting it. And all these great speakers were born. Well that's my 2 cent's Be well, enjoy the summer while it's here and listen to some good music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTally Posted July 2, 2019 Report Share Posted July 2, 2019 Villchur was granted several patents. One in GB and another in the US were specifically for acoustic suspension speakers. The US patent expired in 1973. Villchur's patents: https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Villchur&oq=Villchur I have no idea if he licensed his patents or if he just let others infringe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted July 2, 2019 Report Share Posted July 2, 2019 Villchur's acoustic suspension patent was successfully challenged in court, which he in later years attributed to his error of not hiring a patent attorney to prepare a more ironclad application. If there's anything Villchur should have gotten a humanitarian award for choosing not to patent it was his post-AR development of multi-channel wide dynamic range compression, a technology that is found in almost every hearing aid made today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal K Posted July 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2019 OK. duh. Right after I posted my comments, I scrolled down on the home page and holy cow batman. Duh. I really should get my facts straight. I mean where I said there should be more than just AR, KLH, and Advent. Genesis is right there! Duh. And thanks genek and RTally for the info about Villchur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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