Via Will Collier at vodkapundit, we have this offering for funniest real ebay offering since...well, since the last time anyone mentioned this sort of thing. The caption on Will's post is rather amusing, too. Excerpt:
In my batchelor days I decided I needed a subwoofer for my lounge, a subwoofer so powerful it could loosen fillings, shake out the colesteral from my arteries and generally make a lot of noise. It seemed to me that the Death Star, ignoring the weakness that ultimately lead to it's complete destruction, was a pretty good design... so I made my own (with a lot of help from my then housemate).
| Diameter | ~ 36 inches, on it's stand it's about 44 inches tall. |
Speaker Diameter |
12 inches |
Weight |
~ 65Kilos.... I did say it was over engineered! |
Power |
More powerful than you can possibly imagine, or 300W which ever is the smaller |
Weakness |
No known weakness, but the Rebel Alliance may find one |
Loud |
Yes |
Unique |
Probably, I've not seen another. |
It's pretty much the idea of this that tickled me, but the account of its construction was also pretty funny, especially the bit about no project going under-engineered or even adequately engineered.
P.S. Be sure to read the Q&A at the bottom of the eBay listing...some of them are priceless.
P.P.S: Edited HTML, because it cut-and-pasted a bit screwy.
Very good. Cheers, Slarti.
Posted by: James Casey | July 22, 2005 at 11:03 AM
There really should be a "Best/Weirdest Stuff On eBay Today" site.
Anyone know if there is such a thing?
Posted by: CaseyL | July 22, 2005 at 11:14 AM
You don't need to have your question answered.
That's not the site you're looking for.
Slarti can go about his business.
Move along.
Posted by: James Casey | July 22, 2005 at 11:30 AM
I think I want to build one of these things, just so I can blame "outgassing".
Posted by: Slartibartfast | July 22, 2005 at 11:57 AM
On a related note....I think my favorite is the translation of "Jedi Council" as "Presbyterian Church".
Posted by: Katherine | July 22, 2005 at 12:37 PM
For Bach Violin Sonatas
My first set of speakers was the infamous Bose 901. The picture shows something very similar to my second set, purchased around 1980. Matching 15 inchers, but the key was the 2 1/2 pound magnets.
Lived in a fourth floor converted house attic, had them six feet apart in a 5x10 living room. Elevated off the floor to avoid rattling walls. Midrange sucked, so bought a second pair with an 8" and a 3", placed between the monsters. There was some trick of wiring I used so the smaller speakers used only the difference between R & L channels.
And at the time I was mostly listening to chamber music:Boccherini,Cherubini,Haydn...and Keith Jarrett. Sounded great at low volumes. You can never never have enough bass.
Posted by: bob mcmanus | July 22, 2005 at 01:16 PM
Bah. I am no longer into audio, so I did a little window shopping at Boston Acoustics.
For 2700 you get down to 37 hz.
For 1300 a powered subwoofer gets you down to 27 hz...lousy 12" cone. It is a matter of physics, you need size to get bass.
Mine were actually rated down to a true 20 hz, and I could definitely feel the difference in depth and body of the music. Do yourself a favor, and try a listen sometime.
Posted by: bob mcmanus | July 22, 2005 at 01:39 PM
Boston Acoustics...bah. Get yourself a these, or, if you've got the bucks, one of these. If you're handy in the wood shop, you can just throw this together: two subwoofer cabinets, by appearances about 14 cubic feet each, with an 18" driver in each.
Posted by: Slartibartfast | July 22, 2005 at 02:49 PM
Katherine, my father and I thank you for a much-needed, sinus-clearing laugh-fest. "I am made by the Presbyterian Church." Unbelievable.
Posted by: Opus | July 22, 2005 at 03:24 PM
Off, bold!
Posted by: Slartibartfast | July 22, 2005 at 04:03 PM
Slarti: for some reason, ever since the site redesign, to fix unclosed tags you actually have to go to Typepad, log out as you, log in as Moe, navigate to the relevant comment, and edit it so that its tag is fixed. Thus far, I've remembered to log back out again and log in as me, so I haven't inadvertently posted as Moe, but I'm sure it's just an accident waiting to happen.
Posted by: hilzoy | July 22, 2005 at 04:15 PM
Hmmm...how come I was able to fix it without doing that?
Posted by: Slartibartfast | July 22, 2005 at 04:23 PM
Slarti -- you didn't ;)
Posted by: hilzoy | July 22, 2005 at 04:41 PM
Katherine--many thanks!
The wish power are together with you!
Posted by: Tad Brennan | July 22, 2005 at 04:49 PM
The Osborns may need warning labels:
Gavreau's Infrasound Weapon
This anecdote speaks to why 20 hz is low enough:
"In one historic instance, Samuel Clemens, Tesla’s close friend, refused to descend from the vibrating platform. Tesla was sorry he had allowed him to mount it. After repeated warnings, Tesla’s concern was drowned out by both the vibrating machine and Clemens’ jubilant exaltations and praises. Several more seconds and Clemens nearly soiled his white suit, the effects of infrasound being "duly recorded"."
Posted by: bob mcmanus | July 22, 2005 at 04:52 PM
Well, thank you to whomever did fix my error. I must learn it again: preview is my friend.
Posted by: Opus | July 22, 2005 at 11:47 PM