Electrostatic Loudspeaker Design

by
Neil S. McKean
 

This is article has been written for inclusion in the DIY Loudspeakers homepage, with the intention of addressing the
main issues in the design and construction of an electrostatic loudspeaker .
There have been many excellent articles written over the years regarding ESL design and construction and a bibliography is included at the
end of this text. I will avoid a formal treatment of the wave equation for stretched membranes of various shapes and the operation of the
speaker in terms of the internal forces applied, as these have been well covered in the literature. The bibliography will enable the constructor
to gather as complete a resource guide as possible.

The four main categories to be covered in the text are :

Design constraints
Materials technology
Speaker topology
Construction details
The basis of the electrostatic speaker is that of a planar panel of either circular, square , rectangular or even triangular shape. The main
characteristics of such a planar panel are :-

The driven plate mass (diaphragm) has a very low value and is approx. the mass of a few mms of
air.
The motion of such a diaphragm is essentially linear.
The design must be push-pull for low distortion.
The reactance of the air mass presented to the motion of the diaphragm is different to that of a
cone loudspeaker.
The nature of the load impedance presented to the driving amplifier is essentially capacitive.

Some definitions of the basic characteristics involved in ESL operation are given below as these will be referred to in the text and it is useful
to be able calculate these quantities in the design of speaker panels which may depart in dimensions from the ones to be described later.

Capacitance :

C=kA/d

where

C is the capacity of the speaker in Farads

A is the panel area in sq.meters

d is the diaphragm / plate distance

k is a constant (8.85 X 10^ -12 )

Field strength:

E=V/d

where

E is the field strength in volts/mil.(0.001 in)

V is plate to diaphragm voltage

d is plate to diaphragm distance in mils.

For constant Q (charge) the force on the diaphragm is independent of the its position between the plates and is essentially linear. The only
non-linear parameter is due to the compliance of the diaphragm, and since its magnitude is small, is not a significant influence on the
diaphragm motion.

 For a diaphragm whose diameter is large compared to the longest wavelength to be reproduced, the mass
reactance of the air load on the diaphragm can be ignored and the impedance seen by the diaphragm is essentially
resistive. When the load is resistive , the diaphragm velocity and acoustic power are independent of frequency. Not
until the reactance, as result of the diaphragm stiffness, exceeds the resistive air load does the output drop at a rate
of 6dB/oct. At the top end of the spectrum, the reactive effects are due to the mass of the diaphragm and have no
part to play below about 20KHz, as long as the mass of the diaphragm is small.
The characteristics of ESL panels in respect of air load / diaphragm interactions have implications for the size, frequency range and topology
of a practical ESL speaker.

 
Suitable construction materials:
Driven panels:

Styrene ( plastic)

Aluminium
Copper clad epoxy laminate

Steel
The panel materials listed above are all suitable for use as driven plates in an esl speakers. The important features of
each are discussed below:
Aluminium:
Needs to be perforated to 50 - 60% of the panel area and must not be thick, so as to avoid restriction of air from the
diaphragm movement and any apparent "breathing" characteristics through the panel.Typically the maximum thickness
would be about 1.6mm and be uniformly flat to avoid irregularities in field strength across the plate to the diaphragm.
Burrs from perforations if any must be away from the diaphragm. (During preparation for the anodising process most
burrs would be removed by chemical etching).
Anodising must be carried out after perforation. It would be possible to drill all holes in aluminium panels after first
making a panel template (to save costs), however the time required will be considerable. The anodising could be
replaced with high voltage insulating varnish but these chemicals do not adhere very well to Al. and in any event the
anodising gives the desired colour and hence pleasing appearance.
Anodising insulates the plates well from the high driving voltage and renders them safe. A small area of anodising must
be scraped away on the bottom of the panel for electrical connection.
Decorative anodised mesh is often available at a moderate cost and can be a suitable material as long as the previously
stated requirements of thickness, openness and rigidity are met.

Styrene:

This group includes high-impact and ABS types.

This material is a good, cheap option, comes in a number of colours (including black) and requires little or no
preparation.
The styrene must be perforated and kept flat as with the aluminium.
The surface is first roughened with 220 grade oxide paper and then made conductive by applying Electrolube nickel
loaded spray. In this case 0.002" thick gives a low resistivity. The base fluids are xylene and acetone, which provide a
good key in the plastic for the metal. The cost of this preparation is about $55AUS ( $40 US) per 500ml can and will
cover many panels.
The connection is made from the inside surface of the to panel bottom outside corner by a piece of very thin copper
shim, window alarm tape or similar, to allow electrical connection. If the tape or shim is applied first the nickel is sprayed
over the join to consolidate the connection.
The cost of a 4x3' sheet of styrene is about $10 AUS ($7 US).
Any burrs should be positioned away from the diaphragm.
The outside of the panel requires no further treatment for electrical safety.

Styrene is the author's choice as it does not dull tooling and when used as the spacer, the material bonds easily to the driven
panel. Many adhesives are suitable for styrene and most bond well to this material. Various forms of epoxy resins have been used
in the past for construction, but the author finds them brittle and only marginally satisfactory.

Copper laminate:
 Dulls tooling easily and does not perforate readily.
This material is reasonably costly.
Can be painted, but best results are with epoxy paint which is expensive.
Not the preferred material but is effective and requires no external insulation.

Steel:

Material is heavy but stable.

Can be perforated but must be insulated on the outer surface.
Steel is of moderate cost.
Use only if other materials unavailable or a surplus is at hand.

There are other materials available but most of the materials that are suitable (most are metals and plastics) and available are either more
costly or less suitable and less common than those listed above.

Spacers:

Styrene
Polycarbonate
Plexiglas

The critical factor for selection of the spacer material is the dielectric constant, as this parameter determines in part
the capacitance of the speaker. Any energy that used in driving the frame capacitance is wasted and should be kept
to a minimum. This is achieved by a low value of dielectric and minimisation of the spacer area. The frame
capacitance is proportional to spacer area. The table below details some common plastics suitable as insulating
materials. Plexiglas and polycarbonate can be used but are more expensive although they have suitable D.C of
about 3-3.5.

Dielectric constants of some common plastics suitable for use as insulating spacers for ESL
panels.
 

Dielectric
Material
Constant
Teflon 2.1
High Impact
2.9
Styrene
Plexiglas 3.2
Nylon 3.5
PVC 4.6
Epoxy Glass 5.8

From a cost point of view styrene is about the best and has a low dielectric constant and still maintains a high dielectric strength, so resisting
breakdown and arcing. As stated earlier the styrene bonds well and can be chemically welded with the appropriate solvent, in this case
xylene or toluene. Alternatively, less toxic plastic adhesives and contact adhesives give satisfactory bonds as there is relatively little stress on
these bonds.

Bonding aluminium or other metals to styrene is best achieved with good quality contact adhesive. There may be a query with the longevity
of the bond in certain climatic conditions with contact adhesives but the latest high quality types promise upwards of 25 years without
problems and strength can be added by clamping the panels to a rigid frame (made from MDF) at least along the largest panel dimension
with an appropriate gasket between the surfaces for acoustic isolation.

 Diaphragm:

The only suitable material I have found is Mylar. The mass of 500 sq.cms of 12 micron Mylar < 1gm, so that the response of the panel is
unaffected below about 20Khz. The 12 micron film is a little more robust than 6 micron film but any thickness of this order is satisfactory.

 
Stability considerations:
The diaphragm must remain stable under both static and dynamic conditions.

STATIC:- Under static conditions for a push-pull speaker this simply means that the diaphragm must have
sufficient tension to balance the force exerted by electric field due to the high voltage on the diaphragm. In
practice if this condition is not met then the diaphragm will oscillate or be sucked into either of the opposing
plates.The spring constants of the diaphragm and the forces due to the electric field are affected by the
dimensions of the panel and the air gap dimension created by the insulating spacer. These lead to an
approximate relation between the length L of the panel and the air gap t, so that :- L/t < 100:1, for a given field
strength. The gradient of which is generally around 1.5-2.0 KV/mm.
DYNAMIC:- Hunt and others have shown that if the time constant of the diaphragm resistance R and the plate
to diaphragm capacitance C is large compared to the interval t , of 1/2 period of the lowest frequency of interest
( true if the value is 5-10 x RC ) the panel will be dynamically stable for any position between the driven plates.
 For practical speakers this leads to a large value of R = 50-200 Mohms or so and because the diaphragm forms a curved surface during its
motion due to the interaction of forces ( the diaphragm is fixed at the sides and is not a true piston), this resistance must be uniformly
distributed on the diaphragm surface to achieve constant charge and prevent charge migration due to the diaphragm motion.

Diaphragm tension:

The diaphragm must be tensioned to obtain static stability as well as the desired fundamental resonance. At this
stage the method which I am suggesting for the size panels suitable for a practical speaker is detailed in the diagram
below. Four lengths of wooden dowel approx. of 1 - 2" (2-5cm) are located on a table or piece board ( MDF is
suitable ) as shown. The pieces can be fixed together at the corners if desired. A piece of clean, flat MDF, slightly
larger than the speaker by 2-5 cms, is placed centrally in the frame so that top surface of the board is almost level
with the height of the dowels. The mylar is then placed across the frame and 4 masses of between 100-500gms,
depending on the desired resonance, taped to each edge of the molar ( support each pair of opposite weights) the
supports are then removed in pairs and the tension is applied to the diaphragm. The panel with its adhesive may
then be applied to the molar. This procedure will be further described in the construction section.
There are other techniques available see references at the end of the article. I will at a later time include a somewhat
more complex stretching frame made from MDF and having the tension applied by adjustable threaded rods, but this
a time consuming device to make and isn't actually necessary to achieve accurate results. Although if making a large
number of panels would construction would be a worthwhile exercise. I do not recommend heat to shrink the mylar,
at least in Hostaphan the film the author uses, as the elongation factor is quite low, and is not the same in both
dimensions and most importantly the applied tension is not easily controllable. Heat, however may be useful in
adjusting small differences in tension to enable the matching of the Fo of a particular panel. If the Fo of a particular
panel is too low hot air from hair drier or heat gun can be used to increase tension slightly and bring the Fo up to the
other value. The procedure must be carried out with care and the tension increased gradually until the desired Fo is
reached.
 

With the two preferred methods, fundamental resonances of panels within 5 -10Hz of each other is achievable
The diaphragm tension T is proportional to fundamental resonance Fo and depends on the mass of the diaphragm,
the shape, spacer thickness and the dimensions of the panel . This leads to a number of interacting parameters to
give the desired Fo for a given shape. Higher tensions result in higher fundamental frequencies. The panel would be
used in a range a little higher than the Fo of the panel e.g Fo=150Hz then use at ~200Hz and above.

For a rectangular diaphragm the Fo is proportional to

1/A × sqrt T/m

where A is the diaphragm area
T is the tension in the diaphragm

m is the diaphragm mass

The desired resonance is most easily determined by selecting a weight or setting near the required value and
adjusting the value accordingly. See construction section.
The value of the peak diaphragm amplitudes are in the literature but a few common values are given below:

500Hz - ~ 0.015"
250Hz - ~ 0.03"

100Hz- ~ 0.06"

50Hz ~ 0.125"

These are somewhat conservative values and depend on the field strength.

Diaphragm coating:
Various coatings may be applied to the mylar to give the required high resistance coating.
 Surfactants:- The main ingredient of soaps and is the method currently recommended by the author. Details
will be given regarding application in construction paragraphs. Common name is typically liquid hand soap
and provides a very uniform resistivity over wide range i.e 10-100 Megohms and greater.
Methyl Cellulose:- Contained in wallpaper paste ( suggested by Tony Fitchett - Basslist member ).
Powdered graphite:- Average adherence to mylar with poor uniformity of resistance. Easily contaminates work
area. Not recommended.
Staticide:- Proprietary anti-static floor finish (should bond well to mylar and be long lived - kindly suggested by
Barry Waldron contributor to Speaker Builder). General availability is unknown.
Anti-static fluid:- Does not always 'wet' mylar surface very well.

Speaker topology:
This topic is most likely to be the most contentious in regard to the following speaker characteristics:-

Sensitivity
Size
Low frequency characteristics
Maximum reproducible sound levels
Aethsetics
Room interactions and positioning
Dispersion relations
Frequency and impulse response
I do not wish to canvass all the possibilities but rather the topologies that produce the most cost effective speaker in
keeping with reasonable efficiencies, size and most importantly accuracy. The author's preferred panel dimension is
one that is narrow and long compared to lambda / 3 at the lowest required frequency (lambda= wavelength).The
width should be small compared to lambda / 3 at the highest frequency of interest. The strip can be assumed to be
of infinite length providing the length of the strip together with the floor image is » lambda /3, when assessing the
load on the strip with all pressures along the strip length equal. This gives rise to the following summary:
The air resistance R is proportional to freq. F and couples reasonably
well to low frequencies.
The panel will have a good dispersion relation until the frequency
attains lambda /3.( To extend the response to 3 -7 ocatves, the rear of
the panel must be treated resistively and sealed so that the front air load
resistance is maintained across the passband ).
Where the panels are crossed over to other panels they are placed close
so that they couple at a distance less than lambda / 4 at the cross-over
frequency.
 

The recommended module sizes in the practical panel element to be covered in the construction section are:

2.25" x 18" (5.7cm x 45.7cm) _ spacer 1.6mm :- mid-range and treble

5.5" x 18" ( 11.5cm x 45.7cm) _spacer 3 - 4mm :- bass ( depends on lowest
Fo)
 
 

Both dimensions are the effective diaphragm size and best meet the previous requirements of stability, sensitivity and
dispersion when used in a practical loudspeaker.

The author does not recommend doublet configurations for the following reasons:
If a number of line source panels, or other shapes are combined as a speaker, the rear reflections are
difficult to control and the dipole must often be moved a distance away from such surfaces. The
distances are not easy to calculate and may be large enough to prove inconvenient.
When placed in corner positions they are invariably in a position to excite room resonances and this
arrangement further makes integration with room acoustics more difficult if not impossible.

The main disadvantage of not using the rear output of the panels is offset by being able to:
Position the speaker in the room more easily.
Use a single width strip for the mid-range and treble to cover many octaves and avoid cross-overs.
Position the speaker closer to reflective surfaces with a better and more predictable room response.
Control the speaker energy / room relationship.
Suitable low frequency panels with spacer distances to allow large excursions can be loaded adequately by rear enclosures just as with
moving coil loudspeakers and the panels can be used above the resonant frequency or the fundamental resonance can be damped and
output used below resonance to the required cut-off. Details of some such enclosures will be given after the construction section of this
article. Such speakers may also be combined with moving coil units used in sub-bass configurations.

 Construction:(see diagrams)
1. Cut the required number of driven plates from the particular material you have selected. Insulate if required.
When using perforated or drilled styrene (black gives a pleasing appearance) coat the inside surface with nickel
loaded spray and check across the surface at a number of points to make sure you have a low resistance of a
few ohms or less. If the outer surface was burred or raised then sand to a flat surface before coating.
2. Next cut the required number of spacers as one piece from the dimensions shown in the diagrams.
3. Roughen the surface slightly with 220 grade paper and glue one plate and spacer together, with contact
adhesive or other suitable plastic adhesive. Glue only one set at a time and allow to dry until certain of quality
of the bond.
4. Clean the spacer surfaces of the plate/spacer pairs with methylated spirits ( nothing stronger) and apply a
single layer of thin double sided tape. Suitable brands are Selotape and 3M and the thickness should be around
0.1mm. This tape works well and allows the plate to be dismantled when establishing the correct resonant
frequency. The plates can be disassembled with methylated spirit and prising apart carefully and without
stressing or bending the plates. All traces of tape and adhesive should be removed before re-use. When
making a final panel version, burnish the double sided tape with the handle of a hobby knife ( remove the
blade!!).
 5. Take one plate/spacer combo and align with the MDF beneath the stretched mylar. The mylar can be stretched
using ~200gm masses ( see diagram) for the small rectangular panel above.This should give an Fo around
150Hz for 12 micron film, but be prepared to experiment as these values are a guide only. For a given panel
double the mass for twice the Fo and halve the mass for half the Fo. Remove the tape backing a press the
panel onto the mylar surface immediately above the MDF rectangle. Next place a piece of MDF which is larger
than the esl panel on top and apply 5-10Kg, to force good contact of the tape and mylar. Leave for 30 mins. Do
not construct panels at low temperatures i.e less than 15deg C.
6. Place a piece of window alarm tape onto the diaphragm as in the fig. below. Alternatively use alarm tape repair
paint, ( silver paint ) and paint a small strip from just inside the perimeter on the spacer area to the outside of
spacer as in the diagram. This will be the high voltage bias connection for the diaphragm.
7. The next step involves coating one side of the diaphragm with a high resistance film. Deposit a small amount of liquid hand soap or
wallpaper paste at several places on the mylar surface. Spread evenly with a small artist's brush in both directions until the entire
diaphragm has been covered - do not apply to the area of mylar on top of the spacer, as this region must be kept clean and any
soap or paste which finds its way onto this area must be entirely removed. In this case wipe clean with tissue and if necessary wet
tissue slightly with methylated spirit. Measure the coating on the diaphragm with a VTVM with probes about 1" apart. The
measurement can be made easier by placing two 5 cent coins with centers ~1" apart and applying the probes at these points. The
resistance should be about 100 mohms or more when dry and the resistance can be made higher by removing some on the resistive
material by making a pad from a tissue and lightly wiping in along the panel and then across until the required resistance value is
achieved. The resistance will be higher when dry than when wet. An effective VTVM attachment for a common multimeter can be
made by a applying a simple FET buffer circuit to plug into the input probe sockets. If the soap film is made very thin by wiping with a
soft pad of tissue, first in one direction and then the other several times the resistance measurement may be omitted and still attain
satisfactory results. Finally, brush more soap or paste to make a low resistance loop,~10mohms about 1/4" wide all the way around
the perimeter just inside the spacer area, making sure to cover the silver paint on the diaphragm inside the spacer area.
8. Remove the backing tape on the remaining panel, align with the mylar panel assembly and press together. Apply 10Kgs on the top of
MDF as before and leave for several hours.
9. Cover both sides of the main panel area temporarily with paper and clean away any insulation from a small area on the outside of
both driven panels for the amplifier connection bolts and lugs ( see diagrams ). Connection to the panel is best made by a lug
underneath the head for the amp connection bolt which then connects to the panel surface and a small drop of silver paint completes
the connection.
10. 3 holes must drilled, in accordance with the diagram to accommodate both amp terminals and the bias voltage. Three 3 x 20mm bolts
are then inserted into the holes and secured with nuts. The bias voltage terminal will be in the center of the alarm tape or silver paint
area.
11. When the 3 bolts are secured 3 more lugs are positioned over the bolts and further secured with nuts and wires can then be soldered
to the lugs for the 2 speaker connections and the bias voltage.
12. The panel is now ready for testing.

 
 

EHT circuit:-
Several options are available for the bias voltage circuits are mentioned below:

1. The high voltage circuit described in the switchmode supply in the HVamp elsewhere on this page.
2. The purchase of a surplus photocopier or neon light power supply and the value may be varied by inserting a voltage divider of ~20K
wire wound 5 watt potentiometer fed from 115V and the wiper and remaining terminal feeding the power supply taps.
3. A voltage multiplier from a TV or monitor EHT supply. The B&W monitors often go to 7KV or so, depending on the input and some
have taps or controls to vary them slightly.
4. Recently some DC controlled HV supplies have become available with various output voltages.
5. A conventional multiplier may be constructed from ~ 100V transformer depending on the required output voltage.

Various EHT voltages may be attained by either varying the transformer secondary voltage or the number of sections in the multiplier or any
combination. Note the output voltage shown here is negative with respect to ground. The current required from the transformer is only a few
mA or less.

Testing:-
The EHT level can best be gauged by increasing the HV supply output ( if made variable) until the diaphragm starts to pull away from its
static postion and oscillates back and forth. This sounds somewhat like the diaphram flapping and when this occurs the voltage should be
backed of about 5-10% or until stable. This reduction makes only a very slight difference to the efficiency. Also if the speaker arcs over at
any point due to the break down of insulation, the bias must be reduced and when thought to be set correctly should be tested again with
reasonably high level of program material. If arcing occurs the bias must be further reduced or the panel re-made if requiring significantly
different bias to other panels.

The Fo of the speaker should be tested by applying a sine wave to the amp input to only a moderate level and observing the speaker output
on an oscilloscope. The frequency is varied until a maximum amplitude is apparent and this point is the Fo of the speaker.This resonance
can also be readily identified audibly.

A satisfactory but more approximate way of detecting Fo if frequency generator and CRO are unavailable, is to place the panel with the 2
shortest edges on supports and then to tap the panel lightly with a pen, pencil or even finger. A characteristic resonance can be heard and
panels can be approximately matched this way. An electronic tuning fork or musical instrument can be used to establish the resonant panel
frequency. This is a static test and expect the Fo to drop by ~10-15% when the bias voltage is applied. All panels should drop by about the
same amount so uniformity will not be a problem.

Once experience is gained with the diaphragm stretching technique and the required Fo is established, proceed to stretch and assemble
the number of panels that are required for the entire speaker.
 

Speaker Topologies :-
1. The easiest design involves coupling a conventional moving coil unit as a bass driver.
Typically the well known NHT 1259 would be a driver of choice, but there are many other units
suitable. I would suggest that the moving coil type would need to be one of very low coloration
in order to compliment the ESL panel array. Various bass enclosure types are suitable for
coupling with ESL panels and many designs and ideas may be found in the Basslist and
associated web pages. Several suitable panel designs are included below :-
1. Open baffle monopole design : - This configuration suits mid / high panel
from about 75Hz upwards with an Fo of between 60- 350Hz. The figure below
shows the array, the dimensions of which may be varied to suit individual
needs. The panels must be sealed at the rear and treated resistively with
fibreglas wool or other suitable acoustic material. As previously indicated, the
dispersion horizontally is that of a line source with the correct air load on the
strip and the vertical coverage is good due to the height of the panel array.
Any electronics , amplifiers and electronic xovers, etc may be mounted at the
bottom of the array and at the same time the weight of these items provides a
counter balance to speaker. N.B. More panels may be used than that shown
and the supporting structure varied to accomodate them. A 3dB increase in
sound level will occur with every doubling of the number of panels.
2. Cylindrical bass enclosure :- The next configuration is designed to be full
range with the option of crossing to a sub woofer for the very lowest
frequencies, especially if very high acoustic levels are required at these
frequencies. A 2 octave bandpass design may appeal, covering the range of
~20-40Hz. It should be noted that the panels are again enclosed and the rear
of the panels are resistively treated as before. The enclosure is open at one
end at the point where its length is 1/4 lambda, and the enclosure will radiate
through this aperture at resonance. Above this frequency, if the cross-section
of the enclosure is small compared to the wavelength, the enclosure volume
behaves essentially as a capacitance. The enclosure Q can be controlled by
the resistance of the material loading the rear of the ESL panel and part of
this may be distributed through the enclosure volume if necessary. The
enclosure walls should be 3/4 - 1" thick and possibilities for materials are thick
cardboard tube, two concentric PVC tubes filled with sand and sealed top and
bottom with pieces cut from a PVC sheet. One further possibility is that
concrete pipe, where a 1/2" wall thickness would be suitable. The diameter of
the pipe will be 15- 18", and a length of 6' giving full frequency reinforcement
and radiating from the aperture at ~ 45Hz, and gradually falling below this.
The fundamental panel frequency required for this speaker is 35-40Hz
and a spacer thickness of 0.2" to accomodate the diaphragm excursion.
The HV bias will in this case be of the order of 6KV. If difficulty is
experienced in obtaining a low tension for this Fo, then the length of the
 panel may be inceased from 18" to around 24" which will lower the Fo
for the same diaphragm tension, as the Fo is proportional to 1/A (
A=area of diaphram ). In order to mount the ESL panels a section must cut
away to within an inch or so (2.5 - 3cms) of the top and bottom to facilitate
mounting of the panels. If the wall material is concrete then a mounting strip
of MDF may fixed to edges of the cutaway for mounting. In the case of PVC,
a flat strip of PVC may be glued to seal the annulus on both sides and a strip
at right angles top to bottom on both sides for mounting. In all cases the
panels should be sealed to the enclosure with a thin foam waether sealing
strip about 1/4" wide.
 

Monopole ESL
The base of this speaker can enclose any associated electronics, and should be weighted for stability.
 
  

Full range ESL

The enclosure height may be varied from 5 to 6' depending on the size and number of panels. For
instance in the case of the 6' enclosure :- 3 panels 6.25" by 24" or 4 panels 6.25 by 18". Less panels
may be used for smaller versions of this enclosure and the reader may wish to experiment with
smaller diameter versions, perhaps with narower panels to a lower frequency for mid/high use. As a
guide 3" width panels in a 6-9" diameter tube for operation to 150Hz with the column either full height
or reduced height placed on a floor stand.
 

In all of the topologies above, panels are wired in parallel with each side of a set of driven
plates in phase with each other. Similarly, all the diaphrams requiring the same bias voltage
may be wired together in parallel.

Two more versions currently under development may be tried. the first of these is a telstar shaped
system with a radius of about 1/2 metre, horizontal coverage of 180 degrees and vertical coverage of
about 120 degrees. the unit is suspended at the top of a cylindrical bass enclosure based on a 6 . 5" to
8" drive unit. The small individual ESL panels are in this case triangular in shape and when forming
the entire speaker are intended to approximate a point source, with near spherical dispersion
characteristics.
The second, is a wall unit proposed in the literature by Peter Walker of QUAD. In this unit two of the 3
element panels are mounted in an enclosure enclosed within a wall and the cabinet treated internally
so that it appears deep compared with the lowest wavelength of interest. The high frequency
dispersion is controlled by the usual resistive treatment. Details of these designs will appear in a
further update of this page. It should be noted that these two last designs would be suitable for
advanced constructors.
This page will remain under construction for a time, while sections on complete speakers
based on different topologies are added.
 

 Neil S. McKean.
email:- nsm@cortex.mhri.edu.au