[Gary Eickmeier]

ScottW wrote:
On May 17, 3:48 am, "Gary Eickmeier" wrote:

The conversation is going to break down into hyperbole (or perhaps
already has).
Speaker design is a series of compromises and each design path has a
different set. Many of these are to address characteristics of
different rooms and/or listener preference.

I would agree that the choice of compromise is worthy of debate. I'm
not sure I would agree that the "perfect speaker" is omnidirectional
given the objective is to recreate a sound of an event in one location
in a completely different (acoustically) location.

Thanks Scotty. This is, at least, the beginnings of a conversation about a
difficult and controversial topic. Audio Empire is a great source - at least
it seems that way, from his writing, but I know not who he is, what
credentials he has, if that matters so much to him - but he seems to be
figuratively sticking his fingers in his ears, shutting his eyes, and
erecting Engineers Club, Members Only signs all around his cubicle. That is
not constructive, and avoids a lot of discussion that I was hoping he could
handle. I have run into this time and time again.

Maybe I am Chicken Little, making waves about a completely unimportant or
nonexistent problem. Maybe not. I do not have an engineering degree - but
that hasn't stopped a lot of "experts" in the field of audio who are making
products that have no real merit. Audio is a funny subject. It's like, it's
invisible and completely subjective, so you can say almost anything you want
about various aspects of it and you might sell something. I realize that I
need to "do the work" and prove some of my ideas with experiments with
armies of college students filling out forms, blind listening tests, and
testimonials from other "experts."

I tried mightily last year, when Siegfried Linkwitz asked a few innocent
questions, questions that should have been answered maybe 60 years ago and
have not. It was called The Linkwitz Challenge, and was asked in an AES
paper at a convention a couple of years ago.

www.linkwitzlab.com/AES-NY'09/The%20Challenge.pdf

Our audio club responded, so I had my chance and took it. I almost achieved
some street cred with the preliminary result of

http://home.provide.net/~djcarlst/SLReport10.05.pdf

but then they went on and somehow got the Behringer speakers to come out on
top of even the Orions. I tried to point out some flaws in the test
procedures, but they would have none of it, declared me a lunatic and a
wacko for my ideas, so I resigned from the club and have been trying other
paths ever since. Those cheezy Radio Shack speakers were actually the third
prototypes that I have made, but I am not very good at speaker building (the
engineering part of it), so I am not ready to parade them in front of my own
test subjects or take them to the next AES convention yet.

Even if I did, even if I made the perfect mousetrap, what would happen? They
may make a splash for a year or two, then the industry at large would be
****ed because I have shown them how to make better sound for a lot lower
price and profit margin, and I would be badmouthed by all the high end
dealers and villified in the press.

So if I have been once again shot down, I apologize and will shut up again
unless and until poked by some other questions that someone wonders about in
some area of speaker imaging or realism of reproduction. Audio Empire has
been very communicative and forthcoming, and I believe he allowed me to send
some papers and read them and maybe some of my experimental recordings, for
which I thank him. I have enjoyed this discussion and a brief soapbox and
will answer anyone who writes to me, but I guess I better get off the pot
for a while again and go back into my cave.

Gary Eickmeier