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Sillycone

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Hello!

Some information about double membrane esl:s like the CLX.

The double membrane configuration is not a new thing.

The american magazine "Audio" had a article many years ago, praising
this double membrane config, and made me so exited that I had to build one for testing!

I would be very nice if some could find this article again as I have forgotten
most of the details in it.

There are also several patents taken on double membrane headphones and
speakers.

regards, Jonas
 
Hello!

Some information about double membrane esl:s like the CLX.

The double membrane configuration is not a new thing.

The american magazine "Audio" had a article many years ago, praising
this double membrane config, and made me so exited that I had to build one for testing!

I would be very nice if some could find this article again as I have forgotten
most of the details in it.

There are also several patents taken on double membrane headphones and
speakers.

regards, Jonas


If you have built one let's see some pics and a review.
 
Clx

I've been experimenting with esl:s since 1975, have even built triple
membrane speakers. One problem (or advantage)with multimembrane esl:s
is that the resonance frequency almost doubles for each membrane, and this
probably is the reason to the rather high f3 of the CLX. Another problem is
coloring of the mid range, but this can be dealt via choosing a low high pass freq.

Some of You wanted picture of my electrostats, but there's really nothing to see! It's just a mdf frame with perforated alu stators, how fun is that?

But if You insist, I can drag out the old speaker (1989) from the closet and post a picture or two.


Regards, Jonas
 
Some pics WOULD be cool... guess it can't have worked that well cos it's not in use!

How did it sound?
 
As I remember, the sound was approaching that of dynamic drivers in dipole
setup, loosing some of the esl soul. I feel that I must test it again!

Jonas
 
Just BEYOND COOL... and actually they could be made to look very good indeed with some decent veneering I suspect.

How are they sounding right now, and what is the frequency range for the driver?

Why not build a mid/top panel too and get them properly finished. We'd all think you were awesome!!!:bowdown:

Eat your heart out Martin:guitarman:$20,000 CLX:guitarman:Logan:D This guy rocks on a budget! And he was very nearly 20 years ahead of you!

Fantastic. Maximum respect!
 
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What types of driver material have you tried? And can you remember their differing sonic attributes? OK I know it was 20 years ago...

I toyed with the idea of building some, but the design in the Electrostatic Cookbook I have is difficult to construct, having diaphragm tensioners etc. This looks to be reasonably simple.
 
One thing I learned was not to use ordinary esl mylar and instead use a material with more rubber (PVC) characteristics like in old Quad 57 basspanels.

As I listen to this speaker now, it strikes me why in Helsinki I quit experimenting with it! It sounds wonderful!

The crossover is semiautomatic, the transformers stops at 6000 Hz
 
How did you make the stators? Or did you manage to find some pre-drilled metal?

I wish I could hear it - I really do!. There's no chance of an MP3 (I swore, I know), just to give us SOME vague idea...????

Go on, please... we'll all love it!

And we'll :bowdown: you!
 
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Here it is, some pictures of my old double membrane esl. The transformers
are ordinary 220/9 volt mains transformers in series (secondary) and primary parallelled. The speaker is made up from three frames, each holding one
stator. A very big advantage of this kind of low freq speaker is that you can experiment with many types of material for the membrane, and its astonishing how different they all sound! The little black treble device
is a B&G NEO3 magnetic planar, put there now for testing.

If you make me stators, I will gladly make you a set of aluminum frames....

I'm serious as well.
 
What a way to enter the club!

Congratulations on what you have built. That looks awesome.

As with Tube211, a little .FLAC (or even an MP3) to give us some idea of how these sound!

I too, would love to know where you got the drilled metal from?
 
The stators are made of steel, not ALU as I remembered.

I think I bought them at a local perforated sheet retailer

They are one millimeter thick, 5 mm dia holes and 50 % open.

Do You mean that I should record the sound with a microphone?

Then I have to get a very high quality mic, but I still don't think we can tell
if it's the speaker or the mic we hear....

Its probably better to describe the sound in words.

Its very hard to describe the sound of a speaker, but I'll give it a try:

Low frequencies: I can notice some very, very low freq sounds with this speaker that even my big REL Sub cant reproduce. Its so low and faint that You sometime think its just imagination.....

Transients: Very good, especially in the lowest registers (Telarc drums), a little slower in the midrange but still good. Very dependable on amplification and recording quality! Connecting the cd player directly to a good high power amp makes an audible difference.

Bass guitar: Good, easy to follow the bass lines, no one-note Samba.

The famous LIAR test (Listen In Another Room): Good, you almost can't decide if its the speaker or a real person talking in the other room.

One less good property is that older recordings and radio or MP3 can sound very soft and without transients.

Fun to listen to: Very fun!

Time to go to sleep! Goodnight!
 
Do You mean that I should record the sound with a microphone?

Then I have to get a very high quality mic, but I still don't think we can tell
if it's the speaker or the mic we hear....

awwww, go on! I know what you mean, but we'll still get an idea of the sound. I can tell if a good sound system is in use or not over a telephone line, so I think we'll get more of an idea.

Thanks for the description of the sound though - very good. It does make me want to hear something even more!!
 
Oddly enough I took delivery of a Roland Edirol R-09HR today. This piece of kit can record at 24bit/96Khz onto SD cards. It's a crying shame I can't just pass it over to you!

Anyway, as with amey01, anything will do.
 
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