I saw the ad before I saw this thread. I regarded the claims I saw there just as skeptically as many of you above, and found the tired old 'hot chick model' ploy to be particularly tacky - even borderline insulting - attached to a product in this price range. That sort of marketing does nothing for a new manufacturer's credibility IMO (not to mention for Mr. Gilmore's appearance by comparision!).
And I don't feel that way just because the ad might be considered sexist, but because it almost seems like an attempt at a bit of sleight-of-hand for an ad to trumpet supposedly revolutionary technology while at the same time wrapping it up with T & A ; could it be a diversionary tactic? Most ad campaigns go one way or the other - advanced technology or blatant sex appeal - so this one, perhaps unintentionally, helps prompt me to question the legitimacy of the very technology it purports to offer. Not classy enough for a $20K product if you ask me - I mean, if you're gonna do it, at least get a model with natural breasts, give her something stylish to wear, and keep the leering, goofball-lookin' audiophile guy out of the photo ; who among us wants such a pathetic reminder that in real life being a shlubby middle-aged gear-head will never cause hot young chicks to flock to your side? - though I must say the speaker itself doesn't particularly look like it should cost that much either.
Anyway, besides the confusion engendered by tossing around both the terms 'ribbon' and 'planar' (as in planar-magnetic) to describe their HF driver, what I want to know more about are the LF drivers. They are described as being a "dynamic/planar hybrid". Well, do they have a conventional voice-coil or not? 'Cause if they do, they're dynamic woofers - that flat-fronted diaphragm means nothing. Until I see something presented to change my mind, I'll agree with those above who find nothing apparently revolutionary about this speaker's design, and who smell a fishy odor surrounding some of the vague yet seemingly incredible specs. None of this is to say that it might not be a fine speaker at real-world operating parameters, only that its marketing campaign, technical claims, and pricing to me tend to raise more doubts than they allay.
And I don't feel that way just because the ad might be considered sexist, but because it almost seems like an attempt at a bit of sleight-of-hand for an ad to trumpet supposedly revolutionary technology while at the same time wrapping it up with T & A ; could it be a diversionary tactic? Most ad campaigns go one way or the other - advanced technology or blatant sex appeal - so this one, perhaps unintentionally, helps prompt me to question the legitimacy of the very technology it purports to offer. Not classy enough for a $20K product if you ask me - I mean, if you're gonna do it, at least get a model with natural breasts, give her something stylish to wear, and keep the leering, goofball-lookin' audiophile guy out of the photo ; who among us wants such a pathetic reminder that in real life being a shlubby middle-aged gear-head will never cause hot young chicks to flock to your side? - though I must say the speaker itself doesn't particularly look like it should cost that much either.
Anyway, besides the confusion engendered by tossing around both the terms 'ribbon' and 'planar' (as in planar-magnetic) to describe their HF driver, what I want to know more about are the LF drivers. They are described as being a "dynamic/planar hybrid". Well, do they have a conventional voice-coil or not? 'Cause if they do, they're dynamic woofers - that flat-fronted diaphragm means nothing. Until I see something presented to change my mind, I'll agree with those above who find nothing apparently revolutionary about this speaker's design, and who smell a fishy odor surrounding some of the vague yet seemingly incredible specs. None of this is to say that it might not be a fine speaker at real-world operating parameters, only that its marketing campaign, technical claims, and pricing to me tend to raise more doubts than they allay.