Cockpit speakers?

[FourPoints]

Unless "one" cant find a source for marine transducer drivers........

In case you don't want to use the search on the forum, this is the link to the units referenced and used by Phil and myself, along with a couple other people on the forum.

http://www.parts-express.com/tecton...8-32mm-self-supported-exciter-8-ohm--297-2114

If that unit doesn't appeal to you, there is a whole selection of other models.

http://www.parts-express.com/cat/tactile-transducers-exciters-bass-shakers/18

 

[Doug4bass]

Ok then...thx. I knew drummers had shakers underneath their throne when using in ear monitors, but I never heard of these. Just wondering about freq response.
I would guess there is still a reason manufacturers are still using cones.

 

[FourPoints]

Ok then...thx. I knew drummers had shakers underneath their throne when using in ear monitors, but I never heard of these. Just wondering about freq response.
I would guess there is still a reason manufacturers are still using cones.

frequency response depends entirely on the surface you are attaching them to. These are really no different than the voice coils that drive a cone speaker, they are just designed to connect to a flat surface and drive it instead.

You are NOT going to get low sub like bass out of one of these on your boat, you WILL get good mid-range and treble, if you take the time to test and locate a good mounting spot (it took me about 10-15 minutes to test various spots until I was sure of where I was putting them).

The goal is a large flat thin section of fiberglass in the cockpit, that ideally projects in the direction you want to hear. Really use the same logic as if you were going to locate a place for a 6-10" mid-range speaker, where would you put it? Once you know where you would put that speaker, try testing by holding this up against the surface, if the sound is reasonably good, prep the surface, take off the 3M stickers and stick it on, crank up the tunes and you're done!

 

[philwsailz]

As part of a market study a member of my team installed a pair on a motorcycle helmet. It looked goofy as hell but man it sounded good. As a loudspeaker engineer I can tell you we still build speakers with cones... There are too many holes to fill. Transducers will never be mainstream; they're to foreign for most people and therefore will never be accepted by the masses. There are tons of instances where geometry of surface prevents successful tactile transducer application. But as far as application and effectiveness, a sailboat cockpit is about the ideal application for transducers. Thin uniform flat surface that is large enough to make decent level output possible...