CMI/IUPUI Speaker Restoration Project: Integrating the Speaker

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It finally feels like everything is coming together as we set up and finalize our set for our performance next month (Monday, May 7, 2018) at Square Cat Vinyl at 8 pm. After our final tests of the speaker at Klipsch, we were able to put the speaker back together and combine it with our set.

It’s actually fascinating to see it in action because the sound coming from the speakers is surprisingly clear. When performing in the middle range of frequencies, the speaker is able to produce a quality of sound that seems incredible when you think about how old it is. It really speaks for the hand-crafted quality of the speaker; since this was just one prototype, they made sure each measurement of the speaker case would enhance the overall sound of the speaker.This high quality, however, is not without its limitations. The speaker’s performance drops when playing lower and higher frequencies, to the point where we avoid them all together for fear of blowing out the speaker. While this wouldn’t be a problem for older recordings that were being produced when the speaker was put together, the bass-heavy music that we prepared for our final performance is unable to played solely through the speaker.

 
As a result, we have decided to continue using a regular sound system alongside our speaker in order to craft a complete musical experience. While the other speakers handle the lower frequencies and accompanying beats of each song, the speaker, standing in the center of the set, plays audio that settles around the midrange: flutes, bells, vocals, anything that won’t overload the speaker’s capabilities. It’s a pretty interesting approach because when you watch the set, you can clearly hear the speaker’s different sound quality. It sounds as if it’s “singing” along with the music, and though you can tell it’s older, the “vintage” quality it gives to the sound has a lot of potential for future installations.
We’re very excited to show you the final product as we get closer and closer to our final performance, and hope you’ll join us next month to see it in action!

-Kat

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