Underwater Sound Equipment and
Costs
-
(
hydrophones,
loudspeakers,
music instruments
)
-
- hydrophones:
-
- ITC-4066, approx. $550;
ITC-8212, approx. $1,264
(see references for ITC).
-
- "The hydrophone you need can be determined once you establish what the
projector provides. For example, if you plan on transmitting the music
in the audible range through 15 kHz, you may want to use the ITC-4066
or ITC-8212 hydrophone. Both should work, pending a review of the
projectors output and location. The ITC-8212 has the same frequency
range of the ITC-4066, but it has an integral preamplifier to boost
the signal by approx. 20 dB" (Adelhelm).
-
- underwater loudspeakers:
-
- (a.) Lubell Labs, basic portable system: $1172.79
-
- --recommended to me by Cliff Adelhelm of ITC.
-
- --used by Dan Harris (Redolfi's underwater engineer) for Ben Clarone
Music in New York.
-
- --"Our speakers have excellent output between 200Hz-20kHz. This type of
design cannot put out good low frequencies. One of our customers has
told us that they have had good luck using a Clark Synthesis
transducer (
http://www.clarksyn.com) along with our unit,
as theirs does good up to 200Hz" (Brian Lubell; e-mail correspondence,
Fri, 06 Feb 1998).
-
- (b.) Clark Synthesis, Tactile Sound Transducer; TST NEO 329F:
$499, 200 Watt Amp: $499.
-
- --"In response to your e-mail inquiry about how the Clark Synthesis
TACTILE SOUND transducers perform so well underwater at low
frequencies I can only reply that it's one of the reasons they were
issued U.S. Patent #5,473,700. The real 'secret' behind the Clark
design is in their unique shape and construction and they do perform,
in the qualified opinion of this long-time audiophile, better than
anything else that I've experienced both in and out of the water. Yes,
you could expect some very respectable full-range and/or bass
performance underwater (to dance music or anything else you chose to
play) within the usual variables of pool size, number of transducers
employed, amplifier power, mounting location(s) and method, etc. There
are special versions of the Clark transducers made specially for
underwater and/or high humidity locations (underneath boat docks is
another popular installation) with special waterproof adhesives and
wiring" (Rob Robinson, member of marketing team for Clark Synthesis;
e-mail correspondence, Fri, 13 Feb 1998).
-
- --"[The TST NEO 329F transducers] consist of two 1-in.-deep,
8-in.-dia. clear Lucite domes mounted back to back. One side of the
dome contains the voice coil, and the other contains a huge 22
1/2-ounce neodymium magnet. When current is fed through the voice
coil, the magnetic forces cause the domes to deflect, creating a
transduction force of more than 1 pound per watt--which moves
whatever the transducer is attached to. The domes are very rigid
structures, so their response to the applied audio is very accurate"
(Popular Mechanics, May 1997; read on Clark Synthesis webpage).
-
- --in a phone conversation, Mr. Thomas Clark Fenner, inventor of
the Tactile Sound Transducer, relayed to me that the TST NEO 329F produces
power sufficient for underwater sound since Lucite, its transducing
material, can create more displacement than aluminum--which is used in
the construction of most normal loudspeakers. Lucite consists
essentially of polymerized methyl methacrylate and is normally used as
an acrylic resin or plastic. Recent innovations in the design of the
TST, furthermore, have attained a flat frequency response for
everything from 10 kHz to 100 kHz. Also, problems with underwater
sealants had once negated underwater applications of the TST, but
Fenner tells me that these problems have been solved and that
Clark Synthesis is going to be the "next big thing" in underwater
acoustics.
-
- (c.) Underwater loudspeakers can also readily be found elsewhere, with
reference to synchronized swimming: there are companies that make
underwater speakers so that the swimmers know when to pop their heads
out at the same time. Such loudspeakers are also commonly used to play
music underwater at pools for recreation.
-
- underwater musical instruments: contact Michel Redolfi and/or Dan
Harris (see links and addresses); Harris has invented underwater MIDI instruments,
mixers, digital
equipment, and other electronic underwater devices; Redolfi has even
composed an
underwater opera, for which an underwater bubble was architectured
for an opera
singer to sing in underwater!
-
-
top of page
-
-
(
Introduction,
Main Body,
Closing,
References,
Links and Addresses
)
©1998, john a. maurer iv