Hi guys, as I am waking up this morning and drinking my Sunday morning coffee, I came upon this thread. I wanted to jump in and add a few points of clarification to clear up any confusion here.
The interview on YouTube by AudiogoN was conducted during a trade show last year without notice and without preparation. Roger was in his demonstration room when in walked a crew asking for some time. Of course, he wanted to participate, but you have to keep in mind, this was all extemporaneous thought (without prep, without notes, without a teleprompter); so points are most likely going to be made in generalities. I am sure that there are points (massless, for example) that were not given enough detail to fully explore the topic; but there is also a balance of not putting people to sleep with too much detail. You know the old saying
'ask an engineer what time it is and he'll tell you how to make a watch' . If you have any questions on anything Roger said, I would suggest that you just pick up the phone and call him. He’s a nice guy and loves this stuff.
Roger’s curved electrostatic panel design was published in Speaker Builder Magazine in 1980. Patent was applied for during this time, but never issued because they ran out of money to secure the patent. Since this was published, it cannot be patented (it’s in the public domain). Martin Logan went on to use the same design as published by Roger for their curved electrostatic panels in the early 80’s. The patent(s) D302,979 D503,702 D503,397 D517,051 that Martin Logan has are not on the curved electrostatic panel design, but rather on ornamental design for a loudspeaker. Most assume it is on the panels; so I can see where people can be confused.
NOTE: I didn’t have these articles up on the website, but plan to later today. The three articles will be located
here . The second article contains the curved cell design.
Since Roger has kept his overhead to a minimum and has operated his company on a cash basis, he is actually situated very well to survive and thrive in these uncertain economic times. Companies that have significant overhead and infrastructure costs, as well as operating much of the business on credit lines may have a much harder time riding out this economic downturn. Roger is positioned well and continues to develop and grow his product lines in both electronics and speakers.
Edited to add some information on Sanders Lifetime transferable warranty. Roger's prices for his products have been the same since he started Sanders. He changed his warranty policy this past year from industry standard to a lifetime transferable warranty without increase in prices for his products. Why? Roger stands behind his products 100% and wants his customers to know that he's got them covered. A side benefit is that this can help when audiophiles go to sell their gear - The ad can state that it comes with a lifetime mfr warranty. How many other audiophiles can offer that on the used market?
Articles are up!
One more thing, I've updated Roger on this and he just wanted me to say thanks to you for your input. He really does value it.
Cheers,
Angela