DIY plasma speaker?

[Dominick22]

Recently, I have been very intrigued by the idea of a plasma tweeter/speaker. If you have never seen one, look it up on youtube. They are fascinating.

Anyway, I was trying to find some sort of rough DIY guide to create a crude model of one. Crude, but still working!lol

Does anyone know of a source I might use to construct one of these speakers? A DIY guide to plasma speakers if you will???

Thanks,
Dominick

 

[zaphod]

the ozone produced by plasma speakers make them far too dangerous for DIY, IMHO of course

 

[Dominick22]

When you say "the ozone", what are you referring to exactly.

Also, the danger aspect is exactly why I would like to tinker with the idea.

ML took a difficult design which was fairly dangerous in its infancy and perfected it into a phenomenal loudspeaker. Maybe there is an engineering solution for plasma speakers/tweeters.

So, there has to be a book or link out there.

Thanks,
Dominick

 

[TomDac]

start here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_arc_loudspeaker

good description of what it takes, as well as some links that will lead you to other DIY'ers experimenting with plasma drivers.

 

[Dominick22]

Thank you much for the link. I have been to this page before but failed to see the links at the bottom of the page. Thank you for redirecting me to look again!


Dominick

 

[Retro]

Nelson Pass once had a project for a fullrange ion speaker

I believe its was to dangerious for domestic usage :duh:

 

[Dominick22]

wow--those actually are not half bad looking.

There were some very early plasma designs that were actually manufactured. Some are from companies like Ionovac and plasmatronic. I found a pair of Ionovacs online...


THE GUY WAS SELLING THEM FOR $6,000 and they are about 50 years old. WOW

Dominick

 

[Corvus corax]

There is one current commercial loudspeaker that I know of using a plasma tweeter, and that is the Acapella. They have a very mature plasma tweeter design, and it has no ozone problems, due to the small size of the arc, and the fact they incorporate a catalyst to dissipate the ozone, in the form of a gold plated waveguide.

The Pass speakers look interesting. They do not appear to be plasma speakers at all, but an ionic impulse driver.

 

[rasmaudio]

Hill Plasma

A friend of mine owns a Hill Plasma. There is no ozone when using helium for the plasma, but one has to careful not to look directly at the burning plasma (high UV that could harm ones eyes)!!!!!!!

 

[rasmaudio]

Another picture of the Hill Plasma

Hill Plasma with Apogee speakers. Requires refilling helium tanks every month at a substantial cost.

 

[MiTT]

Lansche is another manufacturer using plasma tweeters. I've listened to both the Lansches as well as the Acapella's at several RMAF's over the years and they never cease to amaze me!

 

[Gordon Gray]

Hi Dominick,

I love your line in Post No. 3.

The danger aspect is exactly why I would like to tinker with the idea.

Talk about the ultimate music lover. I am totally impressed by your motivation and must say that this reason for pursuing the cutting edge is unique in my audio experience.

Best of luck and please be careful.

GG