Eclipse's audio kit promises 'unstylish' music
It's all about the music
The key to designing a stylish desktop speaker system is to not even consider style in the design. Apparently. So says manufacturer Eclipse, which claims there's no "styling" in its latest rig, only functionality.
Eclipse's TD307PAII speaker set: not styled, honest...
Yeeeaaassss... Why not put the two speakers and 12W amplifier in brown boxes then, and not what look like two aliens and the spaceship they arrived in, eh?
The speakers are based on a single driver design, as opposed to the dual-driver - tweeter and woofer - design used in many speakers. Eclipse claimed its approach "maximises time, phase and impulse characteristics" to avoid distortion. It also has a frequency response rate of 10Hz to 100kHz.
The kit is an update to an earlier model, which has been improved upon by upgrading the amplifier's performance and equipping it with phono inputs. In addition, the speakers now feature 360° of movement for mounting on desks, walls or even ceilings, and there is no crossover to smear out any of the sound.
The set is available in silver, black or white and will hit the UK next month. The two speakers cost £130 (€164/$260) each, while the amplifier is priced at £200 (€236/$400).
COMMENTS
Can anyone say "BS"?
"It also has a frequency response rate of 10Hz to 100kHz."
This is absolutely ridiculous. To achieve frequencies that low, a much larger driver is generally needed, why even Studio Monitors for professional sound engineering generally only go down to around 40Hz - To go lower, a separate sub is usually needed. Also to be able to produce frequencies of up to 100kHz through the same driver is just utterly ridiculous as the cone will be attempting to vibrate *FAR* too much, and the sound will just come out sounding muddy and cramped, and probably cause ear strain.
Besides, even if their figures are correct, what exactly is the point (Besides boasting to friends)? The Human ear can only hear from 20Hz (Frequencies below this being felt rather than heard) to 20kHz (Occasionally a little more for young children), so to have speakers that purportedly produce these frequencies is utterly pointless.
Single Driver and no Crossover!?!?!?
"The speakers are based on a single driver design, as opposed to the dual-driver - tweeter and woofer - design used in many speakers. Eclipse claimed its approach "maximises time, phase and impulse characteristics" to avoid distortion"
or because its cheaper?
"and there is no crossover to smear out any of the sound."
yes, I find 10khz rumbles fed into 1" tweeters often reduces smear!
This sounds like first class, almost commendable, marketing tripe to excuse the fact that these are pants. My B&W at a grand each must be rubbish with their stupid 2 driver system. And I really must remember to turn off my smeary crossover so all the bass can go freely into the high frequency drivers!
TOSH!
Ha ha ha ha ha!!
"It also has a frequency response rate of 10Hz to 100kHz."
This means diddly squat of bugger all, unless they tell you the limits over which these measurements were made. The fact that it might be 100dB down at 10Hz (or 100kHz), with a huge hole in the middle at the crossover between the main units and the subwoofer, might tarnish this silly figure, after all.
Pure not-style
Have you ever wondered what color Coke/Pepsi would be if they didn't add the caramel color? These are speakers in their natural state, clearly. This is what speakers look like before they start to "design" or "style" them in to those black boxes.
