Homebrew PVC Pipe Plasma Speaker

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While I am not a fan of the choice of music (The Thompson Twins), these homebrew plasma speakers are pretty kick ass.

Now built the completed circuit on a single PCB. Made vertical electrode setup from tungsten carbide (bottom) + stainless steel (top). Reflector made from PVC pipe with rear mirror, which can be backlit with RGB LED's. 1/2" gap at base to aid upward convection / cooling and improve flame stability. EHT now slightly lower and the gap size has been reduced.
Click to expand...
 
Yes, the plasma is making the sound just like magnets make it in your normal speakers.
 
Wasn't there a link a while back showing some multi-million dollar sound system that used Plasma Speakers?
 
Funny to hear people say how good the sound quality is and how bad they want one, when they are listening to it through their pc speakers :D Especially after its been sampled down, re-recorded etc... Id like to hear one of these in real life! to get the real awesome quality.
 
Anyone know what the frequency response is with this thing? Seems like it wouldn't be able to reproduce much bass.

But who cares, it's freakin' awesome.
 
bucket said:
Anyone know what the frequency response is with this thing? Seems like it wouldn't be able to reproduce much bass.

But who cares, it's freakin' awesome.
Click to expand...

The low end frequency response is good down to around 100-150Hz, within a 30cm range. However, this falls off quickly the further away you are from the plasma source...
Click to expand...

From the youtube page.

would like to see some plans for this, could be an interesting project.
 
Jakalwarrior said:
Funny to hear people say how good the sound quality is and how bad they want one, when they are listening to it through their pc speakers :D Especially after its been sampled down, re-recorded etc... Id like to hear one of these in real life! to get the real awesome quality.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind though, if it sounds good after being recorded and played via your pc speakers then it would sound even better live. Even if it was the same in quality as a pc speaker it is just the neatness of having a plasma fame as your speaker that makes it better.
 
http://www.audiolimits.com/html/acapella_speakers.html

That homemade tweeter had one serious problem and that's ozone. Ozone is a poisonous gas which is created with the plasma so nobody can run these things too long inside a room.

Acapella uses plasmatweeters but they've incorporated a catalyst in the horn which eliminates the ozone problem.
 
It is cool, But I wouldn't have this around kids younger than oh say 12 years old:eek:, Knowing the way kids are and all. But still It does sound very good:), USB PC speakers or not. :D
 
can anyone find a guide to make this...... thats great!

 
Exavior said:
Keep in mind though, if it sounds good after being recorded and played via your pc speakers then it would sound even better live. Even if it was the same in quality as a pc speaker it is just the neatness of having a plasma fame as your speaker that makes it better.
Click to expand...

Don't knock "pc speakers". I'm running Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 classics that put some home stereos to shame.;)
 
Thompson Twins are awesome. The speaker is freaky cool and I wonder how it looks in the dark. :)
 
Jakalwarrior said:
Funny to hear people say how good the sound quality is and how bad they want one, when they are listening to it through their pc speakers :D Especially after its been sampled down, re-recorded etc... Id like to hear one of these in real life! to get the real awesome quality.
Click to expand...

Yeah that is funny. I always think the same thing when you see advertisement that shows you the difference between high definition movies versus normal DVD on a regular television.

I mean.. if they can show what HD looks like on normal televisions why the hell wouldn't normal televisions be considered high definition?! :p
 
Lmao...Hi FI...trhough a couple of flat Tv speakers...IMO How can you notice the difference if the sound is not even put trogh reference regular speakers for comparison?
 
dawp said:
From the youtube page.

would like to see some plans for this, could be an interesting project.
Click to expand...

I just had a thought. Imagine this on a larger scale.....like lightning. Lightning is capable of produce house rattling bass. (thunder)
 
Finn said:
Acapella has the plasma tweeter also in smaller models that can be had for $10k or so.
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Ah, didn't know that, being British I'm institutionalised to only look at British speakers :)

Does anyone else think of A Bugs Life when they saw the video.

OOoooo.... the light..... it's so pretty
 
k1DBLITZ said:
I just had a thought. Imagine this on a larger scale.....like lightning. Lightning is capable of produce house rattling bass. (thunder)
Click to expand...

Finn said:
Acapella has the plasma tweeter also in smaller models that can be had for $10k or so.
Click to expand...

Cheaper than the electric bill would be even still.

Ump-teen thousand volts would eat a SHITLOAD off the old meter I bet :D
Nevermind the possibly specialized drop requirements... lol
(doubting seriously that a 120/240 mains panel would feed "house rattling bass") :p
 
dawp said:
The low end frequency response is good down to around 100-150Hz, within a 30cm range. However, this falls off quickly the further away you are from the plasma source...
Click to expand...
From the youtube page.

would like to see some plans for this, could be an interesting project.
Click to expand...

This doesnt mean much though as they only specified the distance and not how high dB the falloff frequencies are.
I wonder if it has a flat frequency response without using compensation?
I doubt it somehow though in its current guise as the plastic reflector will not reflect all frequencies with the same volume/loudness.
 
Guys if you're interested in high quality DIY audio I strongly suggest to look into electrostatic speakers. Commercial models cost typically 10-20k but you can build a similarly performing pair for less than a thousand bucks.

I've built several sets (and sold a couple) myself. The panel sound is something you'lll never forget once you hear it. It's like entering another room within the room because the wall reflections of the original room are negated through extreme directivity.
 
^ tis true but they are harder to drive due to higher voltage requirements and capacitive loads so you will likely need a new amp or a well designed transformer to convert the amplified signal to high voltage.
Many people use Tube/Valve amps as they can partner well.
For Quad surround sound you will need 2 stereo amps (and 4 speakers - thought I'd best add that as there is a Quad brand of ESL speakers, they dont come as 4 speakers :))

Frequency response is very good and extremely clean in the upper ranges but unless you have very large Electrostatic speakers, lower frequencies wont be produced at high enough volume.
Even then you will likely prefer to partner them with lower frequency speakers and maybe a subwoofer.
Some ESLs come with a lower frequency cone built in.

One issue is that ESLs being a larger flat surface speaker, the sound level drops 3dB for each doubling of distance away from them.
A point source speaker like a cone bass speaker drops off at 6dB when you double the distance away from it.
Due to this you may want to place more bass speakers in the room to get a uniform sound field throughout the whole frequency range if you sit far from your speakers.
This might present a problem with quad (4) speaker setups in big rooms that are set up for optimal sound at the room centre. Sit too near the speakers and bass will be overwhelming, too far away and there wont be enough.
This isnt sub bass btw, its normal bass frequencies you expect to get from a loudspeaker.
A subwoofer sets up a sound field using large room space and isnt directional so you should get away with 1 sub if your room isnt massive.

They arent that cheap but the rewards are special.
Thanks for the reminder I'm going to look into this again.
 
mecdrox said:
Thompson Twins are awesome. The speaker is freaky cool and I wonder how it looks in the dark. :)
Click to expand...

If you search the others, there's a video of it working in the dark as well !

He's put up a new video playing a 'Dream Theater' track - now THAT is pretty awesome :eek:

Here's the link for it :

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YyVTvtgm11o

Thompson twins video was maybe picked 'cos you cud also here any noise the plasma made ? - not bad a band in their day, unique sound :p

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cEeWtBAE5LY


still really, really, really want of these things
 
Sprkslfly said:
Cheaper than the electric bill would be even still.

Ump-teen thousand volts would eat a SHITLOAD off the old meter I bet :D
Nevermind the possibly specialized drop requirements... lol
(doubting seriously that a 120/240 mains panel would feed "house rattling bass") :p
Click to expand...

Just because something is operating at 10,000 V, it doesn't mean it is consuming a lot of power. I could be running on, say 10 mA, which would equate to 100W. I'm not saying these don't consume lots of power, but just take this into consideration :).
 
Sprkslfly said:
Cheaper than the electric bill would be even still.

Ump-teen thousand volts would eat a SHITLOAD off the old meter I bet :D
Nevermind the possibly specialized drop requirements... lol
(doubting seriously that a 120/240 mains panel would feed "house rattling bass") :p
Click to expand...

The voltage it runs at is nothing to do with its power consumption, simply part of its design
Also a 100W sub shakes my house to bits.
I can safely plug over 20 of them into one mains socket (UK) !!
 
Nenu said:
^ tis true but they are harder to drive due to higher voltage requirements and capacitive loads so you will likely need a new amp or a well designed transformer to convert the amplified signal to high voltage.
Many people use Tube/Valve amps as they can partner well.
For Quad surround sound you will need 2 stereo amps (and 4 speakers - thought I'd best add that as there is a Quad brand of ESL speakers, they dont come as 4 speakers :))

Frequency response is very good and extremely clean in the upper ranges but unless you have very large Electrostatic speakers, lower frequencies wont be produced at high enough volume.
Even then you will likely prefer to partner them with lower frequency speakers and maybe a subwoofer.
Some ESLs come with a lower frequency cone built in.

One issue is that ESLs being a larger flat surface speaker, the sound level drops 3dB for each doubling of distance away from them.
A point source speaker like a cone bass speaker drops off at 6dB when you double the distance away from it.
Due to this you may want to place more bass speakers in the room to get a uniform sound field throughout the whole frequency range if you sit far from your speakers.
This might present a problem with quad (4) speaker setups in big rooms that are set up for optimal sound at the room centre. Sit too near the speakers and bass will be overwhelming, too far away and there wont be enough.
This isnt sub bass btw, its normal bass frequencies you expect to get from a loudspeaker.
A subwoofer sets up a sound field using large room space and isnt directional so you should get away with 1 sub if your room isnt massive.

They arent that cheap but the rewards are special.
Thanks for the reminder I'm going to look into this again.
Click to expand...

Sure you need matching transformers and sorts but so does that plasma speaker.. I built a 2 meters times 1 meter ESL panel set and the sound is the best I've ever heard from an audio system. The panels have a high directivity meaning that the early wall reflections of the listening room do not mess up the sound.

With regular speakers the sound radiates sideways, making the sound bounce off every hard surface in the room and causing unwanted distortion and echoing. You want only the echoes captured during the recording so high directivity is essential for a clean sound. Well, unless you want to pad your listening room with acoustic dampeners.

High directivity should be coupled with lower bass levels due to full radiating nature of the bass. The power response of the speaker/bass combo should be a flat line slightly sloping down towards the higher frequencies.
 
Oops I meant 2 meters times half meter naturally.. no edit option here.
 
Finn said:
Sure you need matching transformers and sorts but so does that plasma speaker.. I built a 2 meters times 1 meter ESL panel set and the sound is the best I've ever heard from an audio system. The panels have a high directivity meaning that the early wall reflections of the listening room do not mess up the sound.

With regular speakers the sound radiates sideways, making the sound bounce off every hard surface in the room and causing unwanted distortion and echoing. You want only the echoes captured during the recording so high directivity is essential for a clean sound. Well, unless you want to pad your listening room with acoustic dampeners.

High directivity should be coupled with lower bass levels due to full radiating nature of the bass. The power response of the speaker/bass combo should be a flat line slightly sloping down towards the higher frequencies.
Click to expand...

Thanks for bringing the topic up and your insight.
I'd love to know the materials you used and the processes involved to make a speaker, it would be a great project!
 
This is interesting - the truly expensive plasma tweeters, made by the likes of Acapella, Phongen and Ionvac's etc, all use single point plasma emitters.

There are some interanl photos in the www.plasmatweeter.de website

These discharge plasma directly into the air, causing masses of ozone in the process...

In the Plasma ARC design, I suspect very little, if no ozone is produced as the plasma effectivley completes the electrical circuit between 2 points or electrodes.




Finn said:
http://www.audiolimits.com/html/acapella_speakers.html

That homemade tweeter had one serious problem and that's ozone. Ozone is a poisonous gas which is created with the plasma so nobody can run these things too long inside a room.

Acapella uses plasmatweeters but they've incorporated a catalyst in the horn which eliminates the ozone problem.
Click to expand...
 
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