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A blast from the past.

smowry

smowry

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Here's another example of why the Loudspeaker Industry is so developmentally delayed. Some folks might remember this.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Whole Truth About Beryllium Diaphragms

After a year of research I uncovered and compiled an interesting story from within the loudspeaker industry. You can download my manuscript here, http://www.s-m-audio.com/truth.zip Feel free to distribute this file.
www.diyaudio.com www.diyaudio.com


The Whole Truth About Beryllium Diaphragms

The Whole Truth About Beryllium Diaphragms
forums.prosoundweb.com

The Whole Truth About Beryllium Diaphragms

After a year of research I uncovered and compiled an interesting story from within the loudspeaker industry. You can download my manuscript here, http://www.s-m-audio.com/truth.zip Feel free to distribute this file.
www.audio-forums.com


You can gain understanding of the industry by what the community says.
 
After a discussion with Mike Klasco at a CES years ago, it was determined that the source of Beryllium in USHER's domes was from the Beryllium used to manufacture the paint. USHER's domes were Ti painted to make them look like Be. Then marketed as Beryllium. Usher received several awards for their Be series of Loudspeakers from the Audio press.

elementgames.co.uk

Element Games

AK Acrylic - Astral Beryllium 17ml - AK Acrylics - AK Interactive. Wargaming web-store with low prices, speedy delivery and excellent customer service. Specialising in Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k.
elementgames.co.uk elementgames.co.uk

The feedback from my investigative work that meant the most to me was from a Loudspeaker Pioneer.


From: Roy Allison
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: The truth
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:23:08 -0400


Steve,

This is an important story and must be the result of many, many hours of work. Where will it be published? Or has it been published and I missed it?

Congratulations on a brilliant bit of investigative reporting.

Regards,

Roy

Ed Dell and Vance Dickason refused to publish my story. They "could not handle the truth". Subsequently Ed Dell fired me after my story went viral. He claimed that I would be sued. How does one sue a guy that lived in Thailand in 2009? "Eat it or choke."

One must consider the source of a comment to determine it's credibility.
 
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smowry said:
After a discussion with Mike Klasco at a CES years ago, it was determined that the source of Beryllium in USHER's domes was from the Beryllium used to manufacture the paint. USHER's domes were Ti painted to make them look like Be. Then marketed as Beryllium. Usher received several awards for their Be series of Loudspeakers from the Audio press.

elementgames.co.uk

Element Games

AK Acrylic - Astral Beryllium 17ml - AK Acrylics - AK Interactive. Wargaming web-store with low prices, speedy delivery and excellent customer service. Specialising in Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k.
elementgames.co.uk elementgames.co.uk

The feedback from my investigative work that meant the most to me was from a Loudspeaker Pioneer.


From: Roy Allison
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: The truth
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:23:08 -0400


Steve,

This is an important story and must be the result of many, many hours of work. Where will it be published? Or has it been published and I missed it?

Congratulations on a brilliant bit of investigative reporting.

Regards,

Roy

Ed Dell and Vance Dickason refused to publish my story. They "could not handle the truth". Subsequently Ed Dell fired me after my story went viral,. He claimed that I would be sued. How does one sue a guy that lived in Thailand in 2009? "Eat it or choke."

One must consider the source of a comment to determine it's credibility.
Click to expand...
How can something like that even be proven?
 
Pearljam5000 said:
How can something like that even be proven?
Click to expand...
Did you read my report?

Bogusium was 0.6075% Be.

Mike Klasco, the industry materials expert from Silicon Valley had the domes analyzed. He then published his report in Voice Coil, "Bogus Beryllium". It was he who claimed that the domes from SONIC were painted Ti. Subsequently, I identified SONIC as USHER's supplier. I no longer have a copy of his discussion article from Voice Coil. Does anyone out there have a copy?

From DiyAudio Forum.
Well folks about 5-years ago my colleague, Mike Klasco wrote an article for Voice Coil magazine entitled "Bogus Beryllium". Unfortunately, it had little impact on the situation. The parts tested came from Sonic Electronics with offices in Taiwan. The test results at that time were "Painted Titanium".

http://www.audioxpress.com/magsdirx/voxcoil/addenda/media/BogusBeryllium.pdf This link is dead!
 
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When I review this dated topic, it reminds me of the way General Danny Richie interacts with @amirm. General Richie can hear it but Amir cannot measure it. Numerous subjective comments were "It sounds good". Dr. Earl Geddes admitted that these comments could have resulted from the placebo effect. Usher's transducers had the symbol Be inscribed on their faceplates and the domes where painted to look like Be; however, the material was really Bogusium (Bogus Beryllium), 0.6075% Be. http://www.gedlee.com/About/About.aspx
Earl's wife Dr. Linda Lee is a psychoacoustic scientist.
 
The irony is that when I was done shattering Usher's dreams, they abandoned their award winning Be series line. They replaced it with bogus diamond. This is just a thin layer of vapor deposited Diamond Like Carbon or DLC on Ti. https://www.dentonvacuum.com/markets-applications/display/diamond-like-carbon-dlc-coating/. Usher does this as to justify the misrepresentation of their products as "Diamond" rather than an attempt to improve performance. Usher is a member of Loudspeaker companies that are owned and/or managed by Decepticons. https://usheraudio.com.tw/portfolio-types/dancer/

Usher is on ASR. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../advice-on-usher-dancer-mini-x-diamond.62354/

Back in 2009 the Decepticon list also included Tang Band and Sonance. While in 2026, Dayton Audio has applied for acceptance to an updated list.
 
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Philbo King said:
The stuff is pretty toxic, FWIW
Click to expand...

Hi Philbo King,

Properly installed beryllium tweeters in loudspeakers are generally safe for end-users, as the danger comes from inhaling beryllium dust during manufacturing or if the solid dome is damaged, broken, or burned; the sealed, intact tweeter poses minimal risk, but you should never open it, attempt repairs, or expose it to fire, and handle broken units with extreme care, bagging and disposing of them as hazardous waste. There are several other toxic substances contained within the typical loudspeaker including lead and formaldehyde but under normal use pose no threat to the end user. Be domes have been on the market since 1977 and there have been no verified cases of consumer harm. However, the toxicity of materials contained within the loudspeaker has nothing to do with my report that uncovered fraud and false advertising. The issue of toxicity and consumer risk is irrelevant with regards to fraud and false advertising. Your claim is valid but irrelevant.

Did you read my report?
 
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@Pearljam5000

I am in no way critical of Usher Audio loudspeaker performance, build quality and/or design. Again, those topics are irrelevant to the objective of my report. My report's objective was to expose fraud and false advertising. Previously, Usher claimed painted Ti domes were Be. Presently, Usher claims DLC coated Ti is Diamond. I used the example of Al coated mylar potato chip bag being called Al foil. Unfortunately, Usher's fraud and false advertising continues. I have no financial motive. I never did. However, I despise deception within the Loudspeaker Industry.
 
This actually has been known for some time. Few driver manufacturers (either OEM driver manufacturers or entire speakers manufacturers) have pure Be tweeters. Even the "pure" Be is not 100%, like 100% copper wire, you may get few n, but rarely pure 100%. I so happen to know this when I came across an infomercial on Paradigm's Be drivers.

Additionally, when some manufacturers claim "diamond" tweeters, it's more often diamond coated, although supposedly SEAS has a "pure diamond" if I'm not mistaken.

And guess what? The aluminum drivers aren't 100% aluminum neither, although for different reasons.
 
PristineSound said:
This actually has been known for some time. Few driver manufacturers (either OEM driver manufacturers or entire speakers manufacturers) have pure Be tweeters. Even the "pure" Be is not 100%, like 100% copper wire, you may get few n, but rarely pure 100%. I so happen to know this when I came across an infomercial on Paradigm's Be drivers.

Additionally, when some manufacturers claim "diamond" tweeters, it's more often diamond coated, although supposedly SEAS has a "pure diamond" if I'm not mistaken.

And guess what? The aluminum drivers aren't 100% aluminum neither, although for different reasons.
Click to expand...

That is all discussed in my report from 2009. I discussed percentages with Dr. Geddes at a CES many years ago. He claimed that the material must be at least 50% to call it Be or Diamond or Aluminum and even then it must be referred to as an alloy. Claiming that a material is Be when it is painted to look like Be but only contains 0.6075% Be is intentional fraud. Claiming DLC coated Ti is diamond is also fraud. DLC is not even diamond; it is carbon. DLC Ti contains 0% diamond. I am not aware of any diamond coated domes. Diamond dome are also manufactured using vapor deposition. A diamond coated dome would cost as much as a pure diamond dome. Typically, the diamond vapor is deposited onto a copper substrate; the diamond does not adhere to the copper and can be removed. Most Al domes are 5052 Al alloy. It has better properties and is easier to form. Nobody uses pure Al except for wire. Then again, it's typically 99%. However, there is only one manufacturer of Be foil and it's 98% Be. They make it from powdered metal. Only TAD manufactures their own Be diaphragms using Vapor Deposition. Even Focal buys the foil and forms the diaphragms themselves. OFC copper is typically 99% Cu. Don't be confused by AlBemet, with is 40% Be and 60% Al. AlBemet is marketed by the same company that markets the Be foil.

You seem to imply that fraud is somehow okay. Everybody does not act like Usher, Tang Band, or Sonance. My report from 2009 cleaned up Usher's, Tang Band, and Sonance's Be misrepresentations and the related Be fraud. Sonic is out of business. However, Usher is still misrepresenting their domes as diamond.

Please take a few minutes to read my report.
 
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smowry said:
You seem to imply that fraud is somehow okay. Everybody does not act like Usher, Tang Band, or Sonance. My report from 2009 cleaned up Usher's, Tang Band, and Sonance's Be misrepresentations and the related Be fraud. Sonic is out of business. However, Usher is still misrepresenting their domes as diamond.
Click to expand...
How did you come to this conclusion?

What I am saying is that nothing presented here is news. And nothing presented here is shocking or surprising. To some people at least.

And further I used diamond and Aluminum as additional examples.

smowry said:
Please take a few minutes to read my report.
Click to expand...
Are you going to every audio forum to promote your report?
 
PristineSound said:
How did you come to this conclusion?

What I am saying is that nothing presented here is news. And nothing presented here is shocking or surprising. To some people at least.

And further I used diamond and Aluminum as additional examples.


Are you going to every audio forum to promote your report?
Click to expand...

No I did that in 2009 and ironically most forums still have it active today but read only. I may write something new about Usher's misrepresentation of Diamond. Would you like to work with me on a Bogus Diamond investigation?
 
A paradox of the Loudspeaker Industry.

1. Companies apply for utility patents for even tiny improvements and claim inventions and receive 20 years of other use of function protection. Even though they were either covered by designs that already existed or were a natural and straightforward progression of existing engineering design methods. This is restraint of trade and discourages R&D. Alternatively, companies could apply for design patents and obtain 15 years of copy protection but allow other companies to explore product function. Note that utility patents have fees that must be paid to maintain the function protection, whereas design patents do not require fees to maintain copy protection.

2. Honest companies implement high performance diaphragm materials like Acoustic Grade Beryllium and CVD Diamond into their transducers. Then dishonest companies like Usher Audio paint Ti domes and claim they are Beryllium. Then when folks catch on, they deposit DLC onto Ti domes and claim they are Diamond. Usher Audio is not alone in perpetrating fraud and false advertising. This discourages companies from implementing high performance materials.

As a result, the Loudspeaker Industry is developmentally delayed and is decades behind the other associated A/V industries, such as TV's and Monitors, Computers, Electronics, and Digital Audio.
 
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Michael Borresen should not have taken a concept that was developed in 2008 by an R&D Transducer Engineer working independently in Phuket Thailand that was subsequently published in 2009 for the purpose of placing that concept into the public domain (Prior Art) such that anyone was free to use it and then claim he invented that concept.
1768847081890.png



1768847218454.png


Above is a 30mm Be dome Almost Air Core Tweeter prototype sample Circa 2008.

This was not a butterfly (quasi-random) assembly, rather it was a rear pin gauged assembly.

https://pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archi.../Mowry_Steve/Air_Core_Tweeter_Magnet_Assy.pdf

Note that the client that help fund the development of the Almost Air Core Tweeter died in 2017. Fortunately, he missed Borresen's antics.

1768847477244.png

Above is the Patented Borresen Midbass complete with the "Barbie" spider.

This transducer assembly could also be pin gauged from the rear.

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/ee/58/7f/2bcce6b865b6e7/US10993035.pdf

The claims in US10993035 tell all!

Now Boycott Berresen; it has a nice ring to it.
 
Surely your axe blade is sharp enough already that grinding it further will only shorten its lifespan
 
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