The RAAL’s Alex is trying to undertake a task of horn-loading of his ribbons. I am not a big enthusiast of the idea. I am not quite sure how Alex will combine in one driver the requirements of super-tweeter and a horn-loaded MF driver, not to mention that I have many other concerns about the idea. Still, Alex is a right man to resole complex problems and let see what Alex will be able to come up be with.

For omni-directional devotes this thing will have do the omni-directional tricks and for the people who would like to drive a ribbons all the way down it looks like also will has an optional horn EQ that should allow the “special” people to integrate this with their…  subwoofer :-) Anyhow, Alex is the fruit that should be watched and if he desired to make public announcement of the project then the project will do through. It will be not the first horn-loaded ribbon that I have seen but I have reasons to feel that it will be better than other horn-loaded ribbons.

From RAAL web site: December '07:

An old anouncement of developing an omni-directional supertweeter is not really true any more. That project turned into development of big omni-directive array mid-high driver. Parallel to that one, Pro driver is on the way. Should be able to deliver "rock concert" SPL with ultra high resolution. Should work as direct radiator as well as horn loaded. Both drivers will be very serious pieces, incorporating yet unseen solutions in true ribbon design, making them statement of RAAL's capabilities.

http://www.raalribbon.com/news.htm

guy sergeant wrote:

Its interesting to see that RAAL are now representing Feastrex for many countries in Eastern Europe. I wonder if they intend to create something using both types of driver!

A always considered that there are two altimate clowns in audio-press: Srajan Ebaen from 6.moons and Steven Rochlin from enjoy the Music. If I perceive Steven Rochlin as some kind of freakish “Da Ali G” of audio  then Srajan stir within me with the association like…. well you decide:

http://www.romythecat.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=4951

Anyhow, I was pointed out that two events took place recently. First, the RAAL discarded own idea of horn-loaded MF ribbon and introduced a 3-way Omni-Directional direct-radiating speaker. And the Second:  Srajan Ebaen was mooning RAAL recently in 6Moon’s  “Industry Features”

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/roadtourserbia/raal.html   (and 5 pages up)

Like anything else that Srajan cheerleaders at his site it has that sub-texture of superficiality and shallowness. Whatever product of company Srajan exposes himself to Srajan acts like some kind of heavy intoxicate dude who have no critical or even rational perception. Show to Srajan a middle finger and he will photograph it from 65436 angels and jump around it like a sociopath-grasshopper, apathetically singing odes to the finger’s forcefulness and strength.

So, after reading today about the RAAL’s new Omni-Directional speaker at the Srajan’s articles I was asking myself: “What was it about?”

Was the article as an information about RAAL’s manufacturing processes? The question then would be: who the hell care? Since then the objectives of audio publications become the inner-technologies of products production?  Why the stupid audio writers lead astray the one-dimensional audio readers by forcing them to read/learn the foresails about nuts and bolts of audio products? Why when we are served chicken in restaurant no one explain to us how the chicken was grew up, who was the chicken’s grandparents and how the cook marinades the damn dead chicken? Does the tasted of the chicken justifies all our interests about the chicken’s life? Why loudspeakers are different? What this Srajan does damping 5 pages about the RAAL’s manufacturing processes and with no ability to express any sane idea about Sound of the RAAL loudspeaker/s? Does Srajan targets the audio listeners - the actual beneficiaries of the Audio Results of Srajan aims to the boring products investors?

Then, perhaps it was the article as information about the RAAL’s Alex? If it was then I did not get it. I did not recognize behind the Srajan’s article Alex’s thinking or his objectives. There were snippets of what Alex did or what Alex said but it was not indicative of what Alex is TRYING TO DO or how he is trying to accomplish whatever he is trying to accomplish. Alex was not exposed as the person who has any ideas or thought but rather he was painted as a person who just moves his hands in front of Srajan’s camera and photogenicly arranges the his  drivers in accordance with the Srajan’s envision of basics so photographic composition.  What Srajan did in my view with his “interviewing” of Alex was no different then somebody meets Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the only thing that s/he “learn” from Marquez was how Gabo positions his fingers while he uses his typewriter…. BTW, if I see one more audio manufacturer from Srajan-like “journalists” who has his/her drivers, capacitors, transformers, screwdrivers or bolts on a table arranged in the chessboard order then I would probably throw up…

So, what was the article about if it did not expose Alex’s intentions, said nothing about what Alex is trying to do and did not evaluate if RAAL actually was able to accomplish “something” with the new speaker? I have no answer.  If the RALL’s intention was to build a speaker with intend just to let Srajan to do his metal Photoshop around them than the midsession is accomplished. If RAAL has nobler Sonic objectives then RAAL need to found someone else who would be able to understand truly Sonic demands, who would be able to discriminate sonic objectives, someone, who have mind and ears instead of the whoreish glitz in phonographic flash and the photo-editing “wisdom”.

For a time being the RAAL’s new Omni-Directional speakers will be in Denver in a few weeks. I wish to RALL to have more discriminating and appreciative listeners and critics in Denver then they had from the “International Man of Mysterious Easy Audio Riding”.

Actually, the "cameo" is a well-known iteration of the "informative" approach that has been used for some time as a way of selling stuff.  And as nearly as I can tell, it works.  In most cases audio, the "technically-oriented" consumer is offered some "information" that is associated with the product and for some reason this results in people thinking that by reading and accepting the info and using the product while possessed of this "knowledge", their problems are solved.  Srajan's "article" might not be much more than a re-hash of info he got from Alex.  If nothing else, it's "content".  I don' read SE much, but it appears that if he can't find some especially nice things to say about a product, then he just throws up some "information", like a handful of very dry dust.

As for Alex, it seems like no matter how smart a designer is, yet he might fall prey to his own eliptical thinking, on any level, or at some point he might not really give a crap about anything except the "business" part of it, so in the end the only thing the product has to "do" is turn a profit.


Best regards,
Paul S

Wojtek,

I do not think that the arrogant and condescending term of Banana Republic is applicable to audio thinking, particularly in today’s development of Western High-End audio.  The Western High-End audio is saturated with incredible amount of idiots and uselessly higher they climb in the ladder of public industry recognition the more audio-idiotic they are. I am not kidding – make a trip visiting the listening rooms of the “biggest names” in the Hi-Fi capitals (as far as possible from the Banana Republics) and you will know the true value of your patronizing.

I do support in notion of equitable distribution of idiocy across the Earth BUT I do sincerely feel that among people who are enthusiastic about high-end audio the amount of idiots per capita in the Western audio is unquestionably higher. BTW, I do familiar with honest, “off the record” comments of some VERY substantial names in audio design than do agree that the most interesting audio thinking nowadays is not happen in America.  I have a lot of material on this subjects but I do not want to go into is as now. I will leave you with the fact that before 1890 the 86% of patent issued by US Patent Office were issued to individuals who were a first generation of emigrants in this country…

Well, behind all those conversations about the Alex peruse to his happiness and about the Srajan-like freak to bite whatever does not lie firmly I think the most critical and important aspect of the RAAL project get lost – the sound of those things.  The omni-directional concept is not too frequent in home loudspeaker and frankly it was not so often attacked seriously.  I do not think nether Alex himself not anybody else knows what his speakers worth in teams of sonic capacity. I for instance very much do not like that way how Srajan/Alex used them.

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/roadtourserbia/raal_final.jpg

This type of the speakers must be use in a center of the room in sort of “Eidolon configuration”   - it would be VERY different from what it is now.  It would be very interning to attenuate the omni-directionality and to set one side more hot then other – I do not know it this provision is build-in into the RAAL new speakers. In a wider scale the tone quality of the speakers MF driver would be a very much key in sound of the thing.  As I understand nether neither Alex nor Srajan impose any critical demands to tonal palette.  Alex is the camps because it is not measurable and Srajan because he accustomed to listen just crap. So, no one knows how in fact the RAAL new speaker sounds. The always cowardly behaving if not prepaid and habitually from-the-bushes-screaming Srajan did not make any stake or claims about RAAL new speaker’s sound. He waits where the wind blow. In a way for a whore in his position it is a proper reaction – why would he invest into his BS talk about Sound if he sees no cash flow…

Well, let see where the intricate roads of audio peruse to happiness would lead Alex next. I hope that somewhere during the road he will get more familiar with his new speaker and will be able to get the grip how to make it to sound up to it’s capacity. I how it will not be with the moronic Classe amps in Denver…

RAAL showed off at RMAF 2008 this new omnidirectional speaker and it is what I would be interesting to hear. What interests me in this is the concept omnidirectivity. I have no idea if the omnidirectivity as a concept is good or bad. Previously I head two omnidirectional speakers – German Physics and MBL – both of them incredible crap.  However, it is unknown if they were crap because they were just bad speaker or because they were omnidirectional.

There is a lot of unknown in omnidirectivity. I do not claim that the new RAAL implementation is the omnidirectivity done right – I just do not know. I am not convinced also that RAAL at this point was able to get out of their omnidirectional setup the quality that is possible to get out of omnidirectional installation. I think RAAL need to unstill the speaker in a right room and spend a few months to learn how to get more interesting sound out of them. Then it would be interesting to visit them in their California demo room to learn what the omnidirectivity is all about. (I hope the Federated Mike would post some pictures of RAAL at RMAF ...)

I would not hide that I am skeptical about omnidirectivity idea but I might be wrong, I have my reasons to doubt however in the need of omnidirectional playback.  However, the omnidirectivity might be an expressive tool if it is properly used. So this is why I would be interested to hear and perhaps to learn a properly implemented omnidirectional setup.

Andy Simpson, the microphone guy, if you read it then what would be your take for microphone techniques if you know that playback would be omnidirectional? Would it require treating recording processes in a different way?

Well, the omnidirectional jury is still out…

Romy the Cat wrote:

...I would not hide that I am skeptical about omnidirectivity idea but I might be wrong, I have my reasons to doubt however in the need of omnidirectional playback.  However, the omnidirectivity might be an expressive tool if it is properly used. So this is why I would be interested to hear and perhaps to learn a properly implemented omnidirectional setup. Andy Simpson, the microphone guy, if you read it then what would be your take for microphone techniques if you know that playback would be omnidirectional? Would it require treating recording processes in a different way?

Thanks, for posting the link. I never heard about this company.

Here are a few interesting quotes from the Morison Audio site:

“A conventional pair of front firing loudspeakers cannot recreate a natural stereo illusion. It always sounds like a sophisticated public address system. I suppose the continued success of front firing units is due to the proliferation of PA systems wherever you go. A "live" jazz event isn't really live when everything is squeezed through a PA system. Hell, even the opera is now mic'd since most of the citizens expect things to be "loud".

OK, let presume that the initial sentence is right and front firing loudspeakers are limited. Then whatever come after it (about the PA systems) is completely irrelevant to the alleged front firing limitation.   The fact that “everything sounds too squeezed” is not then inherited shortcoming of front-firing loudspeakers but rather a sign of very bad loudspeakers.

“Rule # 4 The dirty little secret of the recreating stereo illusion with a loudspeaker is: 360 degree dispersion at all frequencies into a solid angle. When a two way sytem is used the woofer and the tweeter must be snuggled as close together as possible. Both units must exhibit 360 degree disperion at all frequencies into a solid angle. To achieve this task the drive units are forced to behave in this fashion. One need only look at the detail of an omnidirectional microphone to see how it "receives" it's signal. A grid is fixed over the capsule forcing it to receive from all directions. At the other end of the chain we simply turn the thinking inside out and "broadcast" the signal by forcing it to disperse into a solid angle. Many speakers will have drive units on different faces of the box firing six ways to sunday. This won't work. It may sound a bit more "spacious" but since the drive units are too far apart and there is not a solid dispersion pattern at all frequencies due to lobe effects, we end up with yet another PA system. A full range single drive unit suffers the same problem. When mounted in a conventional front firing fashion the effects of a discontinuous signal launch of all frequencies will get us back to PA land. A single drive unit firing upwards and then forced to launch its signal into a 360 degree angle at all frequencies will work. The bad news of course, is that a single driver will always trade off frequency extremes - this is true no matter how it's mounted. Any talk of the basic "monkey coffin" type of loudspeaker having great imaging is nonsense on stilts.”

Possible, I do not know. What I think is important is talk about the cons and pros of the concept and do not confuse it with the success of failures of a specific implementation. Anyhow, if you feel that Morison Audio is a right implemented “360 degree dispersion at all frequencies into a solid angle” (soothing that actually never happen live) then is any place what the Morison Audio’s results might be experienced?

Romy the Cat wrote:

... Anyhow, if you feel that Morison Audio is a right implemented “360 degree dispersion at all frequencies into a solid angle” (soothing that actually never happen live) then is any place what the Morison Audio’s results might be experienced?

Ok, as I said I am skeptical about the idea of omnidirectivety. I do see a number of objective rising problems and the most important I do not see why omnidirectivety is necessary at the first palace. People who do omnidirectivety claim that omnidirectivety images “better” but imaging I never considered as a problem with loudspeakers. There is however one aspect that not allow me to be confident with my omnidirectivety suspicion – I never was exposed to omnidirectivety done right.

What I mean that any omnidirectional playbacks (or even dipole playbacks) that I have heard sounded bad not because the omnidirectivety but because they were very bad made speakers. But it is not all. The most important from my view is the fact that somebody design and implement the whole playback concept explicitly with omnidirectional objective.

The omnidirectivety might be a liability for a product or something that shrinks the application of the speaker. But omnidirectivety might be an advantage if the is being used as an apperceive tool. Here is what I am not experienced at all and therefore I would hold my judgment.

I know defiantly that the omnidirectional speakers must not be used as they were pictured by 6moons’ guy in the Alex home. That way I am interested to see the Federated Mike’s pictures from RMAF – to see how they were installed. I think now, as RAAL made the speakers then need to learn how to USE them, develop methodology for setting them up and flood the market with objective or fictional propaganda of exclusive advantages of omnidirectivety.

The funny part is that it might bring some fruitful result. Pretend that RAAL found some kind configuration (let say in the middle of room, at 140 degree) that produces a result that no other front firing speakers can heddle. It would right the ay set all bids off, legitimizing omnidirectivety. So, let wait what RAAL, Morrison and others will do with omnidirectional opportunity. I do not see it as now but I never saw it…

With the omnidirectivety paranoia many people might loose from attention that fact that in order to be good omnidirectional speaker the RAAL new speaker has to be just a good conventional speaker first. The new RAAL speaker (does it have a name?) as I can see is 3 way design with very restricted back chambers at MF and LF. The selection of the drivers MF and LF to work in this condition and the way how Alex used them is very interesting subject. I do not think that Alex shell be talking about it to listen if the result is appealing shell be very educational.

There is one interesting point in the new RAAL even regarding the omnidirectivety. All omnidirectional speakers I have seen had omnidirectional higher frequency range. RAAL is omnidirectional full-range. It shell produces very different result and I do not know which one. It might be also very interning idea to turn on and off (or even to using in back-phase) the back/side firing HF and MF drivers, letting the dispersion diagram of the speaker to “read” the room. I can see a remote control that would allow resetting the individual drivers in the new RAAL speaker, while the speaker is playing…

Do you what more fantasies? How about this “remote control” automatically and dynamically complies with the delta of stereo separation that sent to right and left loudspeaker. This idea combined with my idea of RT60 emulator might be a fun direction to play with.  Also it might be interesting to to make a large parabolic reflector, locate them behind or on the side of the new RAAL speakers and to see if it is possible to “spook focus” of the speaker in some atypical way.

We spoke today with Alex about his omni-directional idea. I have to admit that I did not “get” what he was trying to accomplish and I had very skeptical attitude toward to it. I was feeling that Alex moved toward to this omni idea juts because he can. To my surprise it was not exactly true and Alex had a very consciousness objectives what he was trying to accomplish with this new speaker, BTW the omni-directionality is not all that they have. I kind of overlooked behind the omni-directionality some other aspects and from Alex’s explanations of his objectives I conceded that I might understand the whole omni-directional idea a little bit too narrow. I think Alex need to do some education of public about what and how his new omni-directional version meant to be used.

I have to note that even understanding now the Alex’s objectives in the omni-domain I am not convinced that I agree with them. I would say that those views might take place and have reasonable bases but how “winning” they are it very difficult to say at this point. It is very possible that with his new speaker RAAL stir up much bigger question then it is on surface? Well, I would not spoil the trailer and let Alex to talk about his views, when he will.