The Helix is a single-unit stereo speaker, designed to reproduce primarily ethereal/electronic background music. Overall dimensions: 30" wide x 90" tall. (I had already created a similar design as a 14-ft high outdoor wind-motion sculpture, also pictured.)
The Hiwave 13mm 16-ohm voice coil transducer pictured is one of 24 individual units attached to the center of each 12" diameter disc. A piezoelectric horn tweeter installed at the top is "waveguide" outfitted for 360" dispersion. The output of a single 60wpc stereo amplifier utilizing a 10-band EQ is connected to an impedance matcher which easily drives the entire assembly. A Dayton 8" powered sub augments the lowest bass.
The sound is pleasantly house-filling (located in an open loft setting) at low/mid volume levels, and frequency response is rather well balanced for what actually started out as a conceptual art piece.
Greers222, ok, now I have imagines of your speaker system rotating going through my head! That's a cool looking sculpture; I enjoyed sculpting in college. I never did any larger, more ambitious projects, so I admire the scale of the one in the pic.
Wow, top/bottom stereo, now that IS different. I would guess that the mind slowly accommodates the 90 degree angle and discerns the two channels as one gets used to hearing it.
The Tube speakers also are intriguing. What drivers are you using, and how did you mount them?
This looks like a larger scale multi-way surface transducer project. I would assume it's ideal for background non-vocal and ambient listening due to the nature of the components involved and the helix design.
It looks like metal "plates" were used for the surface, and if they are stereo, but distributed in a helix, then my guess is there is no stereo imaging, hence the need to consider it an ambient music source.
Would the bass reach beyond 80Hz? I would guess it doesn't, which is why the subwoofer is incorporated.
I'm sure you tried vocals, but I would imagine they might be quite diffuse and confused, somewhat like listening to talking in a highly reflective hallway, with all the drivers and how they are distributed.
The design strikes me as a quasi-omnidirectional speaker, but how does it create a discernible stereo effect if the drivers are distributed in the helix array?
Thanks for adding the additional pic of the driver. Curious to hear more, and congratulations on the reveal of your project! I love the creativity! :)
