Mars - by CrazyBaby: UFO levitating squeekers of awsomeness  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 11:12:36 pm
content: So I have searched the forum and couldn't find mention of this indigogo which was launched Dec. 2. It has already doubled its 100,000 goal.They are levitating battery powered speakers which must haveeXelent Bassfor the hipster who has already bought a bleen. Now I can guess they might actually work after a fashion, versus a bleen, just the thing to rock out on AC/DCIndigogo:https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mars-by-crazybaby-a-levitating-bluetooth-speakerHome site:http://www.crazybaby.com/index.htmlAudioPhoolery?

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 10:35:16 am
content: Reminds me of theOM Onepile of crap. I just don't understand why people are so excited about magnetically levitating a crappy little bluetooth speaker; why not have a non-levitating bluetooth speaker of hugely better quality instead?

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 09:54:04 pm
content: The whole base is the speaker and the thing on top is just a showpiece, best case scenario they made it to deflect the "Hi-Fi sound" as they call it.Probably another piece if crap speaker, i'd say it'll just be some expensive eye candy, just like Beats by Dre.

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 10:56:55 pm
content: Quote from: Refrigerator on December 07, 2014, 09:54:04 pmNo I don't think so. Their video shows the top ufo thing is a bluetooth speaker on its own. They show a user putting it in his back pocket, going for a bike ride, then throwing his UFO in a puddle, then clipping to his bike handlebars so he can play MONO noise whilst bike riding. The base has a sub woofer apparently. But the fact that levitates seems pure gimmick, as the tweeter grill faces up they could just leave on top of the cylinder for the same effect

author: loneoceans
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2014, 06:26:03 pm
content: I think chickenHeadKnob is right. The main body likely houses the bass speaker and the batteries, along with the assembly to make the top disc rise. From the video and their specifications, the tweeter speaker is inside the the disc at the top, which also houses the bluetooth and driver. I'm quite sure that there is also a small battery in the top which recharges by induction when it is not in levitation (again inferred from their specifications). Due to the levitation height it would be impractical to power the top disc while it is hovering.As for the hovering mechanism, it's probably simply made by a rotating magnet assembly (or more) at the top of the cylinder, which induces eddy currents in the aluminium disc causing it to float. Again nothing special here, just a party trick. The main claim by the product is "Mars’s levitating 360º sound projection reduces sound wave absorption into surfaces by levitating above the subwoofer charging station." Here are some of my reservations.When I built a pair of speakers a while back, I found that it was very important to design the actual enclosure around the speaker cone properly, especially for the woofer. If you look at most woofers, they have a port built into the enclosure. This port is not simply a hole, but rather has a depth of certain dimensions. The system can be modeled like a mass spring system where the port holds a mass of air. This in turn amplifies the bass at select frequencies. You can convince yourself that this works by covering the bass port of your speaker, or simply removing the speaker from its enclosure and listen to how poor it sounds. So the Mars system at least gets this right - the bass speaker is on the ground with a reasonably sized enclosure, so I have no doubt it'll sound fine.The tweeters on the other hand are easier to position because they aren't so sensitive to enclosure design, so I can believe that the floating tweeter will sound fine as well. However, I'm not convinced about 'sound wave absorption' as their claim, nor with dramatically improved sound quality (especially now you essentially only get mono sound - but hey good reason for them to make more $ off you by selling you two). Not to mention the additional sound from the (probably) rotating magnet assembly to levitate the disc.Another aspect of setting up a good sound system is positing the speakers in relation to where the audience is sitting, as well as where the speakers are positioned in a room (against the walls, which direction, etc), all of which can significantly affect the perceived sound at different locations, along with reflected sound. You can simulate how this would sound like by simply putting your speaker facing up to the ceiling and seeing if you like the sound or not.In summary - I don't think they are out to get users, but no one should have any expectations of the sound quality they are claiming. This is no more than an expensive, good looking speaker system which probably doesn't sound as good as it looks, wrapped up with nice marketing which will probably work. I have no doubt if the product looks like what is shown will look good on a desk, and it will sound good enough with a good enclosure design, though it'd be much cheaper (not to mention much better sound) to buy a nice set of desktop speakers like the M-Audio AV40. But if you paid a few hundred dollars for a small speaker, I have no doubt you will 'hear' the difference, the same way if you paid a few hundred dollars for a 'special power cable'.