Has anyone of here heard or bought these ceramic speakers?

MikeHunt79 · 26 Jan 2010 at 17:16

Review and info here:
http://boingboing.net/2009/12/15/joey-roth-ceramic-sp.html
Official spiel:
http://joeyroth.com/ceramic-speakers/

I was wondering is anyone has heard them? If so, what are your opinions?

They look like they would make quite nice computer speakers, and I think the enclosure design should give a nice sound.

I'm thinking about going for a similar design with some homemade speakers, but curves can be hard to pull off...

thepharcyde · 26 Jan 2010 at 20:01

MikeHunt79 said:
I'm thinking about going for a similar design with some homemade speakers, but curves can be hard to pull off...

I looked at the links before reading your thread to the end and I concluded, they are no different to what most people could put together yourself.

Not a fan myself

MikeHunt79 · 26 Jan 2010 at 21:13

thepharcyde said:
I looked at the links before reading your thread to the end and I concluded, they are no different to what most people could put together yourself.

Not a fan myself

I agree, you could build something similar yourself for a fraction of the price. It would take a bit more effort going for some curvy enclosures however, and if someone jumped in saying they're the best thing sliced bread, I would go out of my way to make the extra effort. I think I may try experimenting a little anyway, which is half to fun of DIY.

If I won the lottery I would be tempted to get some B&W 800 series speakers with all their funky curviness, but they are little OTT for computer speakers...

Tr Insanity · 26 Jan 2010 at 21:17

What would make them so great compared to conventional speakers?

Acoustic properties of ceramic or the shape of the enclosure etc ?

wolvers · 26 Jan 2010 at 21:46

I'm not even going to begin to tell you what I think of the people that will buy these just to put them next to their iMAC. :rolleyes:

People are going to buy them because of the looks, and then worry about whether the audio quality lives up to the price tag.

Says it all really.

MikeHunt79 · 26 Jan 2010 at 22:02

Well, they do look a little different, but the shape of the enclosure will affect the sound. I imagine many people will buy them just because they like the look of them however... Me personally I judge on how it sounds...

Tr Insanity said:
What would make them so great compared to conventional speakers?

Acoustic properties of ceramic or the shape of the enclosure etc ?

It's more the shape of the enclosure, read page 26 of this:

http://bwmedia.keycast.com/download/Libraries/3/800-Series_l2_w0_h0.pdf

If that link does not work, try this:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=774
and click 800 series.

B&W's spiel for the 800 series says why they used a teardrop type shape for the mid and tweeter.

In a nutshell, boxes aren't ideal.

Dr.EM · 26 Jan 2010 at 22:03

Tr Insanity said:
Acoustic properties of ceramic or the shape of the enclosure etc ?

Both. The ceramic is very dense, it has a high resonance frequency, where there is less energy to excite it, making the enclosure quite inert. The shape reduces parallel sides and hence standing waves inside

Tr Insanity · 27 Jan 2010 at 16:38

Fair enough then, seems like these are designed primarily to look good, with good sound quality as well.

Surely it can't be that hard to make a similar shaped enclosure from fiberglass or something similar? Would be interested in seeing a DIY version, Mike, you better get to work

MikeHunt79 · 28 Jan 2010 at 18:48

Dr.EM said:
Both. The ceramic is very dense, it has a high resonance frequency, where there is less energy to excite it, making the enclosure quite inert. The shape reduces parallel sides and hence standing waves inside

Nice, I did not know how well ceramic is suited to an enclosure. I have not tried pottery however, so I'm think I'm going to stick with a wood for now.

The baffle shape also makes quite a bit of difference, if you can have something curving away from the cone, then this can improve diffraction, which is said to reduce listening fatigue. This pic has some nice info:

A waveguide is another option however...

Tr Insanity said:
Fair enough then, seems like these are designed primarily to look good, with good sound quality as well.

Surely it can't be that hard to make a similar shaped enclosure from fiberglass or something similar? Would be interested in seeing a DIY version, Mike, you better get to work

I've got a few plans, right now I'm shopping for parts, and looking around B&Q and Ikea for things that look like a nice shape to butcher!

I'll update the DIY thread once I have something that makes a nice noise.

Tr Insanity · 28 Jan 2010 at 18:52

Interesting post, although I know nothing about acoustics so it makes no sense to me!

I'll have to read up on it some time.

Will have a look round for some suitable objects too, I suspect something such as a ceramic table lamp may be the best bet.

MikeHunt79 · 28 Jan 2010 at 18:59

Tr Insanity said:
Interesting post, although I know nothing about acoustics so it makes no sense to me! I'll have to read up on it some time.

Basically, that little wiggly line beneath each shape is the frequency response. The flater and less wiggly this line is, the better the speaker should sound, in theory at least.

Tr Insanity said:
Will have a look round for some suitable objects too, I suspect something such as a ceramic table lamp may be the best bet.

Lamps, vases, bowls, and even mugs are on my shortlist. I'm probably going to go for a wood enclosure, as it can easily drilled and cut... Well, easier than ceramic things anyway.

Tr Insanity · 28 Jan 2010 at 19:20

Bleh , it's very hard finding something with the same shape as the original

One of the closest things I've found is this.

Oh and this which is wooden.

Dr.EM · 28 Jan 2010 at 19:56

Ah yeah, forgot it affects diffraction too. Nice chart

The wooden lamp might be hard to hollow out without a lathe. The ceramic would at least be hollow inside. To cut it, there is a wierd trick for cutting glass cleanly which might be applicable to ceramics. It involved string/dental floss, some kind of chemical and then it was ignited with the string around the bit being cut. Does a nice job if you can find how to do it

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHxpW60x_KI&feature=related

ceramic probably too thick for this. Mabye a dremel though with the right type of blade (diamond coated?).

MikeHunt79 · 28 Jan 2010 at 19:58

Tr Insanity said:
Bleh , it's very hard finding something with the same shape as the original

Oh and this which is wooden.

It doesn't really have to be the same shape unless you want to do an exact clone, and that's pretty boring IMO. Half the fun of DIY is making something unique. I like that wood lamp however, it's 10 inches wide so I may be able to fit a 7 or 8 inch speaker into the base...

Even a ball shape will give nice results, and a few people have used salad bowls to mount speakers in.

Tr Insanity · 28 Jan 2010 at 20:14

MikeHunt79 said:
It doesn't really have to be the same shape unless you want to do an exact clone, and that's pretty boring IMO. Half the fun of DIY is making something unique. I like that wood lamp however, it's 10 inches wide so I may be able to fit a 7 or 8 inch speaker into the base...

Even a ball shape will give nice results, and a few people have used salad bowls to mount speakers in.

Ahh fair enough , I thought that the enclosure had to be around that shape for good acoustics

Interested in making something myself now , although I should probably invest in some good gear to start with before DIYing!

Dr.EM said:
Ah yeah, forgot it affects diffraction too. Nice chart

The wooden lamp might be hard to hollow out without a lathe. The ceramic would at least be hollow inside. To cut it, there is a wierd trick for cutting glass cleanly which might be applicable to ceramics. It involved string/dental floss, some kind of chemical and then it was ignited with the string around the bit being cut. Does a nice job if you can find how to do it

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHxpW60x_KI&feature=related

ceramic probably too thick for this. Mabye a dremel though with the right type of blade (diamond coated?).

Isn't the problem with cutting glass that it's so hard and brittle that trying to cut it with any saw just ends up with it sliding about everywhere, whereas ceramic can probably be cut without it (or your hand

) shattering into a million pieces ?

86JR · 28 Jan 2010 at 20:36

These are where its at. Only 2.3k...

MikeHunt79 · 28 Jan 2010 at 21:12

twoblacklines said:
These are where its at. Only 2.3k...

That's a bit of a bargain when you consider the nautilus is 50K:

Tr Insanity said:
Ahh fair enough , I thought that the enclosure had to be around that shape for good acoustics

I think either a sphere or a teardrop shape will work best. However, I have heard neither, so this is why I made this thread.

Tr Insanity said:
Interested in making something myself now , although I should probably invest in some good gear to start with before DIYing!

Not really, if you've got some form of amp then this is all you need.

Tr Insanity said:
Isn't the problem with cutting glass that it's so hard and brittle that trying to cut it with any saw just ends up with it sliding about everywhere, whereas ceramic can probably be cut without it (or your hand ) shattering into a million pieces ?

I've never tried with a saw, but I can imagine it would not go well. I think I may try and look at other peoples failed attempts on youtube before failing myself.

Dr.EM said:
Ah yeah, forgot it affects diffraction too. Nice chart

The wooden lamp might be hard to hollow out without a lathe. The ceramic would at least be hollow inside. To cut it, there is a wierd trick for cutting glass cleanly which might be applicable to ceramics. It involved string/dental floss, some kind of chemical and then it was ignited with the string around the bit being cut. Does a nice job if you can find how to do it

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHxpW60x_KI&feature=related

ceramic probably too thick for this. Mabye a dremel though with the right type of blade (diamond coated?).

Cool video, I'm going to look into this now. Even a wine bottle may make a nice enclosure for a smaller 4" or so fullrange speaker. :cool:

I think I'll have to look at the lampshade in the flesh, I was hoping it maybe hollow, but if it's solid I'll give it a miss. With careful selection I hope to be able to make this as easy as possible.

I do have a dremel, but I've never seen diamond coated discs for them. The normal cutting discs are really flimsy also.

At least this weekend I now have a reason to get lost in Ikea and hunt for some parts!

Tr Insanity · 28 Jan 2010 at 21:31

Some snail called, he wants his shell back

Looks awesome, there's a pair of speakers which I was really envious of but I've forgotten what they were

they had a skinny pole up to the speakers and looked great.

Haven't even got my own amp

or bookshelves or anything, just some HD555s. I have some money to burn and wouldn't mind some Tannoy F1s & a Cambridge Audio amp or something similar. Would be cheap 2nd hand too

Could stick a small driver into one of these using the same technique :

Money money money.

Dr.EM · 28 Jan 2010 at 21:43

MikeHunt79 said:
At least this weekend I now have a reason to get lost in Ikea and hunt for some parts!

The whole year I lived in Bristol I never actually went there! I can imagine if an assistant asks what you're looking for... "something with a rounded profile to give a neutral baffle diffraction pattern"

Tr Insanity · 28 Jan 2010 at 21:50

Dr.EM said:
The whole year I lived in Bristol I never actually went there! I can imagine if an assistant asks what you're looking for... "something with a rounded profile to give a neutral baffle diffraction pattern"

I reckon they know more about "neutral baffle diffraction patterns" than the Purple shirt store knows about computers