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Wilmslow Rok One - Concrete Speakers

karlsushi

karlsushi

pfm Member
I see Wilmslow Audio are branching out on their speaker cabinet designs. These look really interesting:

Concrete Speaker

wilmslowaudio.co.uk wilmslowaudio.co.uk

A few concrete cabinet designs out there over the years, but they're still pretty rare. I know Part-Time Audiophile wax lyrical about the Acora Acoustics range, but they are pricey to say the least (granite cabs though).

Certainly a decent driver compliment on the Wilmslows and the usual attractive pricing from them at £1800 fully built.

Can't say as I've ever heard any concrete speakers before myself. Obviously a different concept to the BBC model of resonating wooden cabs, but the theory behind an acoustically inert cabinet certainly seems to makes sense.
 
hifi_dave said:
Similar cabinet construction to the Rega Aya.
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Yes, although the design purpose of the Rega appears to be rather different. Namely, that Rega are using their glass/cement composite material as a way of driving down costs, rather than anything necessarily audio-based.

The Aya's do look interesting too though.
 
karlsushi said:
I see Wilmslow Audio are branching out on their speaker cabinet designs. These look really interesting:

Concrete Speaker

wilmslowaudio.co.uk wilmslowaudio.co.uk

A few concrete cabinet designs out there over the years, but they're still pretty rare. I know Part-Time Audiophile wax lyrical about the Acora Acoustics range, but they are pricey to say the least (granite cabs though).

Certainly a decent driver compliment on the Wilmslows and the usual attractive pricing from them at £1800 fully built.

Can't say as I've ever heard any concrete speakers before myself. Obviously a different concept to the BBC model of resonating wooden cabs, but the theory behind an acoustically inert cabinet certainly seems to makes sense.
Click to expand...
Perhaps it is the best/easiest way to do it, but I can’t help but feel disappointed that they haven’t been more adventurous with the shape rather than going for “square” box
 
karlsushi said:
Can't say as I've ever heard any concrete speakers before myself. Obviously a different concept to the BBC model of resonating wooden cabs, but the theory behind an acoustically inert cabinet certainly seems to makes sense.
Click to expand...
More sense than resonating cabinets.
But, contrary to popular and media belief, the BBC was actually trying to reduce the resonances...
 
Rosie said:
Wow ! infinite baffle as well
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????? Sealed box or I.B. same animal. Not sure if concrete would add much to an open baffle speaker apart from weight.

Concrete, being inert, certainly is excellent material for reduction/omission of colourations but I think the practicalities are the stumbling bock, surely.

They should sound good with sand amps though ! :D
 
Mike Reed said:
????? Sealed box or I.B. same animal.
Click to expand...
Yes sealed box infinite baffle are the same thing . I only used the term infinite baffle because that's what Wilmslow call them . Thing is I can't think of a sealed box speaker that I don't like . I think these look great in the smooth pale grey finish . Very tempting .

Wilmslow deserve to do very well with these , assuming they sound as good as they look on paper .
 
I actually saw these in the flesh yesterday because I was visiting Wilmslow to drop off some LS3/5As (they're making up some new grilles for me).

They do look the part I have to say. Going to see if I can nab myself a listen when I collect my LS3/5As!
 
tuga said:
contrary to popular and media belief, the BBC was actually trying to reduce the resonances...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've never understood the prevailing thinking on LS3/5a box resonance. Compared to speakers that should have less resonance, I get a more solid thunk when I rap the cabinets with my knuckles. Surely, if they'd wanted the boxes to sing along, they'd have used thinner plywood stock & forgone the bitumen pads on the insides?
 
Hazelberry said:
Yeah, I've never understood the prevailing thinking on LS3/5a box resonance. Compared to speakers that should have less resonance, I get a more solid thunk when I rap the cabinets with my knuckles. Surely, if they'd wanted the boxes to sing along, they'd have used thinner plywood stock & forgone the bitumen pads on the insides?
Click to expand...

The cabinet construction research is documented in this report:

BBC RD 1977/3 Factors in the design of loudspeaker cabinets by H.D. Harwood & R. Mathews
 
I believe Townsend had a go at it with their Glastonburys 2's but they were filled with plaster. I owned a pair, sold them to Gamepath as they wanted them for an up and coming court case regarding a patent.

I remember the rep coming to pick them up, we took them to his estate car and just threw them in?, don't worry about damage! it's the internals we are interested in!
I remember he gave me well over the asking price and said if I needed anything from their company to let them know.

I still have the business card he left me and the six speaker spikes.
 
On a small scale, Jon Espley made a few all concrete stand mount enclosures for Jordan JX92s’ and then refined the design to just have the baffles in concrete in his Matthias speakers using Eikonas. I still use a pair of the stand mounts and one day will get around to casing up some of his double baffles which have sat in the attic since lockdown.
 
Apologies for the mild thread swerve, but is Jon Espley still making cabs or baffles for Eikonas? I've failed to find anything current from him while searching recently.
 
I vaguely remember reading a piece in one of the hifi mag's many decades ago about someone or a company creating a concrete pipe speaker with the (presumably dual concentric) speaker as the front baffle with its concrete lip surround.. Can't remember the dimensions or whether 10" or 12" driver.
 
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