Original story

Internet Relay News - 8.11.2001

Emfi membrane gains ground in hi-fi loudspeaker market

The Emfi thin film membrane developed by Finnish audio engineer Kari Kirjavainen is cutting a swathe through the hi-fi loudspeaker market. The membrane has already replaced the traditional twin speaker cabinets in many households, and the future looks even brighter.

Thin film membrane loudspeakers are popular with interior designers, since they can be part of the wall surface of a room, rather than taking up floor space like conventional wooden speaker cabinets. Already more than half of the world’s leading audio equipment manufacturers have announced plans to start building their speakers using the Emfi membrane.

As well as saving space, the Emfi membrane speaker opens up new worlds for hi-fi sound reproduction. A speaker wall can be divided into several speaker units, allowing the sound source to be similarly divided into multiple component parts. According to audio experts, the traditional stereo or quadraphonic audio recording systems will soon give way to so-called “broad-surface” multi-channel recordings, particularly when the lower register “woofer” reproduction of the new membrane speakers has been somewhat improved. Sound engineers and other professionals in the audio image field are convinced of the potential of the membrane speaker system. “Now at last I have a tool that allows me to make a practically unlimited palate of sound images”, says an enthusiastic Alec Console of the Music Department at the Finnish Broadcasting Company, one of the first places to run trials on the new equipment.

According to Console, the revolution in loudspeaker technology is really only a part of the story, and there are amazing new audio applications to be had from the parallel phenomena of membrane microphones. In effect, the walls, floor and ceiling of a studio could all become a single microphone surface, greatly expanding the sound shaping possibilities of recording sessions.

The company which has developed the thin film membrane, Panphonics Ltd, is also engaged on research to apply the technology to television, multivision, and computer display monitors. A number of monitor manufacturers have already expressed interest in the visual applications of thin film technology. The general consensus inside the industry seems to be that within a relatively short time any kind of surface can be covered to create a television or multivision screen or serve as a computer monitor. This will open up new vistas for the already burgeoning virtual reality sector.

Although the Panphonics CEO refused to be drawn on the question, the company’s lab is also reportedly developing a laser-driven thin film surface. Researchers claim that this could be the key to the development of moving hologram images. At present, some 70% of the Emfi thin film membrane output goes to sound insulation applications.

At the Cologne AudioVisual Fair last month, there were also persistent rumours that certain large datatech and audiovisual multinationals had already offered the 26-year-old Kari Kirjavainen up to $250 million to get their hands on his thin film patent.

Hannula I. & Linturi R. 1998: 100 Phenomena. Yritysmikrot Oy, Helsinki 1998. Copyright notices ISBN 952-9508-18-2

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