http://www.technologytell.com/hometech/84621/martinlogan-vaporsound-technology-transforms-your-windshield-into-a-transparent-electrostatic-speaker/


I have a pair of MartinLogans in my living room. They will change your religion. If they legitimately get this into production, it would be mega-badass...until you break a window, at least.

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 10:13 AM. Reason : although i think that this grade of audio equipment in a car might be pointless.]

4/1/2012 10:10:59 AM

Quote :

"although i think that this grade of audio equipment in a car might be pointless."

eh, depends on if it's done right. yes, engine and outside noise will always be a hindrance to pure sound quality if you let it. turbo whistle can be heard in my truck even over moderate listening levels but is that truly a bad thing? when i demo the quality of the stereo in my truck it's always with the engine off and windows up. true audiophiles let the ambient noise interfere with high fidelity. the common listener always has their mind blown away even when riding down the road in my truck. i imagine with this type of technology the company would actually record the cabin noise of the car while moving and play it back out of phase when listening to music to cancel out the unwanted frequencies.

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 12:01 PM. Reason : -]

4/1/2012 12:00:09 PM

I would say the car is a better place for high-end audio, since it's a completely controlled environment and you're a captive audience anyway.

This is pretty cool.

4/1/2012 2:52:22 PM

one of my favorite things is to rock out with my windows down and my sunroof open which you can't do? they mention it's less obtrusive? how?? most people have speakers in their doors and it's not like you could use that space for other things. lastly don't electrostatics have trouble with low end? that would force you to install some type of sub which brings you pretty much full circle back to a traditional system.

4/1/2012 7:02:30 PM

^^too many reflections and frequency-absorbing material in vehicles. plus, it's damn hard to get decent 2-seat imaging e.g. in my truck the imaging is perfectly centered above the dash but from the passenger seat it's better than most stereos and most wouldn't notice it but to me it's all over the place. good thing i don't let anyone drive my truck.

4/1/2012 8:00:37 PM

Yeah, a vehicle is just not the place for super high-end audio, for all those reasons as well as the ambient noise. Yeah, like you said before, adludiophiles will turn up their noses, and everyone else will be blown away...but everyone else doesn't need MartinLogan to be blown away. I'm not quite sure what the point of this is or where it fits. Furthermore, ML is a tiny company (like 2-3 dozen employees, I think...all their shit's hand made, so I assume this is for Bentleys and the like. That's about the only market where it makes sense to me, anyway.

Still, it's cool as shit.


Oh, and yes, electrostatics are not good at bass. You generally need some cone woofers for lows and certainly subwoofer range. They are BAD ASS at mids/highs, and also do it all without a crossover.

They are also very directional--mine have a sweet spot that really nails just 1 chair, but when you're in that chair, ohmygod.

Oh, and finally, they are dipoles. They like to have a hard surface directly behind them. Obviously that ain't happening if the speaker is a window. Still, I'll bet money that if ML designed it and attaches their name to it, it'll knock your socks off.

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 9:14 PM. Reason : ]

4/1/2012 9:08:46 PM

I wonder how a crack would affect it, assuming the film will be on the inside of the glass. It will still be conductive... just cracked

4/1/2012 9:34:26 PM

I suspect it would be OK. Apparently with their regular home audio speakers, if a hole gets punched into the membrane, it isn't a big deal...mostly just a cosmetic issue. I don't intend to test it, but supposedly they have punched hundreds of holes in their stat panels, and the sound is only minimally affected.

4/1/2012 9:38:16 PM

this would not be the first time a high end audio company making car audio. Off the top of my head, I think Nakamichi and Mark Levison made stereo for Lexus.

4/1/2012 9:50:44 PM

I don't like thier niche of static speakers anyway.

IMHO they dont sound as good as traditional speakers in the same price range (or even half the price)

4/1/2012 10:51:45 PM

they are kinda love 'em or hate 'em.

I was thinking about buying some B&W (CM8 or CM9), Klipsch Reference, or Definitive Technology ("Def-Tech"...can't remember the model). Then I heard some MartinLogan Electromotions (the entry-level ML electrostatics). It was absolutely a fight for 2nd place after that. None of the rest even came close, in my opinion.

Then I found a closeout deal on a pair of Vistas (another step or two up the ML food chain) for a little under half price (down to $1000/speaker), and it was a no brainer.

4/1/2012 11:35:21 PM

yeah my whole setup (7.1) is paradigm studio series stuff and to be honest... i hate that i fell in love with them but the only thing that sounded as good to me (hearing all the sets side by side was about 35k worth of B&W.

Don't get me wrong... i like them... i just don't love them.
They're def cool... and aren't nearly as intrusive as mine are.



and mine are before the black ones were piano black... they're just stained wood.

4/2/2012 8:38:25 AM

yeah i have paradigm surrounds in my ceiling.

[Edited on April 2, 2012 at 6:12 PM. Reason : layout of room pretty much precludes any other surrounds, unless i got really intrusive. ]

4/2/2012 6:12:11 PM

I just had a thought about the glass cracking and the stereo playing just the right frequency to burst the thing to tiny bits :p

4/2/2012 9:40:40 PM

What happens if you roll down your windows?

4/3/2012 1:44:40 PM