Gilmore Audio planars revealed


The Gilmore Audio speaker have finally been photographed for the world to see: Gilmore Audio

Disclaimer - I'm a dealer for the Gilmores, though at this point I'm still awaiting my first pair, as they haven't begun shipping yet.

The Gilmores push the edge of the envelope for planar technology in several areas. Innovations include an extremely thin (3 mil) Kapton diaphragm; bass extension to below 20 Hz; easy 8-ohm load combined with 92 dB efficiency (you can drive 'em with Atma-Sphere M-60's!); and maximum output level in the mid to upper 120's.

Designer Mark Gilmore is the webmaster of the Atma-Sphere Owner's Group website, as well as of the Sound Lab Owner's Group site. He's been around for a while, but this is his first commercial loudspeaker design (to the best of my knowledge).

I haven't heard 'em yet so can't comment on the sound (I know, that's all that really matters after all). I'm expecting a pair before the end of the year, and will post comments then.

Duke
audiokinesis
RWD: Yes, it is. Contact me via email if you would like to discuss this or anything else further. In case you didn't know it, I am out of here but i still drop by once in a while. I am basically posting on AA and sometimes AudioCircle.

If you or anyone else are interested in my lastest "fiascos", you can check out this thread about loudspeaker design along with a few other threads that i have contributed to on AA. This one has responses from Bobby Palkovic of "Merlin" speaker fame and Dan Wiggins of Adire Audio ( Shiva and Tempest subs ). Sean
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PS... If anyone thinks that buying a product like that will get you girls like that, think again. The only way that it "might" get you girls is that they might assume that you have money since you probably had to pay quite a bit for something like that.
Sean- So your telling me audio won't get me chicks?!?!?- to hell with this I'm done!! :o)
I saw the ad before I saw this thread. I regarded the claims I saw there just as skeptically as many of you above, and found the tired old 'hot chick model' ploy to be particularly tacky - even borderline insulting - attached to a product in this price range. That sort of marketing does nothing for a new manufacturer's credibility IMO (not to mention for Mr. Gilmore's appearance by comparision!).

And I don't feel that way just because the ad might be considered sexist, but because it almost seems like an attempt at a bit of sleight-of-hand for an ad to trumpet supposedly revolutionary technology while at the same time wrapping it up with T & A ; could it be a diversionary tactic? Most ad campaigns go one way or the other - advanced technology or blatant sex appeal - so this one, perhaps unintentionally, helps prompt me to question the legitimacy of the very technology it purports to offer. Not classy enough for a $20K product if you ask me - I mean, if you're gonna do it, at least get a model with natural breasts, give her something stylish to wear, and keep the leering, goofball-lookin' audiophile guy out of the photo ; who among us wants such a pathetic reminder that in real life being a shlubby middle-aged gear-head will never cause hot young chicks to flock to your side? - though I must say the speaker itself doesn't particularly look like it should cost that much either.

Anyway, besides the confusion engendered by tossing around both the terms 'ribbon' and 'planar' (as in planar-magnetic) to describe their HF driver, what I want to know more about are the LF drivers. They are described as being a "dynamic/planar hybrid". Well, do they have a conventional voice-coil or not? 'Cause if they do, they're dynamic woofers - that flat-fronted diaphragm means nothing. Until I see something presented to change my mind, I'll agree with those above who find nothing apparently revolutionary about this speaker's design, and who smell a fishy odor surrounding some of the vague yet seemingly incredible specs. None of this is to say that it might not be a fine speaker at real-world operating parameters, only that its marketing campaign, technical claims, and pricing to me tend to raise more doubts than they allay.
Sellerwithintegrity...Air core inductors inherently have the MOST DC resistance, as they require more (a longer length of) wire to make the desired value than an inductor with a magnetic core. And all caps in a crossover MUST be "non-polarized" or "bi-polar" or else they would not transmit AC current at all. Just a FYI, big guy.