# WOOD CONE Speakers - New XTANT website



## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

I have been wondering for years what Mitek planned to do with XTANT. I happened to check out their website and it is updated and they are showing new stuff. Wood cone speakers of all things. I know JVC markets a mini system with wood cone speakers. But never thought I would see car speakers.

Anyone know what's up with them?

http://www.xtant.com/


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## JayBee (Oct 6, 2006)

the subs have leather dust caps, it looks like they are going for the ritzy crowd.


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## MACS (Oct 3, 2007)

Subs with leather dust caps, amps with teak wood inserts, and wood cone 6 x 9's.......I can't wait to see the prices on this stuff.  

I think I'll stick with my old school Xtant 301a. It's very shiney


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## tbreihan (Sep 30, 2005)

That just seems... ridiculous.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

I'm definitely intrigued. I'd rather have them do this than take the Xtant name and package a cheap chinese amp in it. The fit and finish on those is incredible. Is it silly to have wooden accents? I guess, but Sony, Pioneer, Phass, and others have been doing it for decades.

I wouldn't be too quick to judge. Who would think that whiskey casks make great enclosures with a unique tone? Well, no one until Pioneer tried it. Who knows, these cones may have an amazing tonality to them. After all, wood is just REALLY pressed paper. The proof will be in the audition.


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## speakerboy (Oct 2, 2007)

I wonder if the wood is just a cover for a traditional cone - like some of the "flat cone" subs out there.

Looks like Xtant is being played out.


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## CodeMan (Oct 31, 2007)

Being a guitarist for the better part of 2 decades, I know that thin woods and the elements don't mix whatsoever, even when laminated. It would seem to me that you'd have to treat the wood so much to overcome this that it wouldn't really be wood in the traditional sense by the time you're done with it.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

CodeMan said:


> Being a guitarist for the better part of 2 decades, I know that thin woods and the elements don't mix whatsoever, even when laminated. It would seem to me that you'd have to treat the wood so much to overcome this that it wouldn't really be wood in the traditional sense by the time you're done with it.


Could it really be any more delicate than pressed paper? I think most of Scanspeak's stuff is virtually naked paper, with maybe some Scotchguard applied for good luck.


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## kknack (May 21, 2007)

IDK about the speakers, but the cosmetics on the amps sure are nice. The power offerings on the other hand could stand to be a little bit better.


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## CodeMan (Oct 31, 2007)

Mooble said:


> Could it really be any more delicate than pressed paper? I think most of Scanspeak's stuff is virtually naked paper, with maybe some Scotchguard applied for good luck.


I think so, yeah. It warps, bows, cracks, you name it. Humidity is a HUGE issue with instruments and I'd think it would apply here as well unless you laquered it so much it became virtually aluminum. Just a thought.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

CodeMan said:


> I think so, yeah. It warps, bows, cracks, you name it. Humidity is a HUGE issue with instruments and I'd think it would apply here as well unless you laquered it so much it became virtually aluminum. Just a thought.


I guess the grain in the wood might be the problem. With paper it's interwoven and you have more intergrity in multiple directions.


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## pikers (Oct 21, 2007)

for brothaz and they wudgrayne


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

Mentioning "wood" in a speaker cone is marketing.

What does wood bring to mind for most? Warmth, natural, pleasing. At least it makes sense compared to a plastic or polypropelyne or carbon fiber cone.

A paper cone is either a pulp thats placed on a form as a paste or it's a material in paper form thats placed on a form an trimmed.


Several raw driver companies like SEAS and other European comapnies have released wood fiber cones....and the marketing department at xTaNT noticed this.

Good or bad? It could go either way.


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

CodeMan said:


> Being a guitarist for the better part of 2 decades, I know that thin woods and the elements don't mix whatsoever, even when laminated. It would seem to me that you'd have to treat the wood so much to overcome this that it wouldn't really be wood in the traditional sense by the time you're done with it.



Well, I was baffled myself how this was done years ago when JVC released wood cone speakers. They said early designs would crack, split, warp, etc. But they found that soaking the wood in sake solved the problems. Interesting???

http://www.jvc.com/presentations/WoodConeSpeakers/story/index.html


They even offer a DIY wood cone speaker kit now.
http://www.acquiremag.com/tech/home-audio/jvcvictor-sxwd1kt-wood-cone-sp.php


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/campaign/products/pureDistillation.html

Sake? Whiskey? I guess alcohol and audio equipment really do go together.


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## St. Dark (Mar 19, 2008)

Hmmm... gotta wonder if it's tech or marketing. The last offerings they had were made by Morel, IIRC. At least there was some solid tech there. 
Gotta wonder now. 
Could be solid, though...as noted above the truth will be in the audition.


As to those new amps... dunno...but I don't think I'll be in a hurry to replace my 2200ix's with them.


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## monkeyboy (Jun 12, 2007)

WLDock said:


> Well, I was baffled myself how this was done years ago when JVC released wood cone speakers. They said early designs would crack, split, warp, etc. But they found that soaking the wood in sake solved the problems. Interesting???
> 
> http://www.jvc.com/presentations/WoodConeSpeakers/story/index.html
> 
> ...


Strange... I found soaking my liver in sake prevented the same things...


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## DonutHands (Jan 27, 2006)

the line looks amazing and thats what seems to matter to xtant for the time being. it will sell well if it is marketed correctly.


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## Infinity (Jun 28, 2005)

Did anyone else notice that their subs are dual 2, but the amps only put out max at 2 ohm? Unless they honestly think 300 watts is enough for one of those.


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## jking29 (Jan 6, 2008)

Maybe the amp is rated by Zuki?


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

jking29 said:


> Maybe the amp is rated by Zuki?


Good one Daniel-san.


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## WRX/Z28 (Feb 21, 2008)

I'd be interested to see how the stuff is. I remember Audison made a high end amp with wood as well... there might be a method to their madness, although the website doesn't really explain much... yet. They do say under tech that the reason for wood is that it's a "Strong durable, material". I'd like to know more.


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## deadbeat son (Feb 24, 2008)

WRX/Z28 said:


> I'd be interested to see how the stuff is. I remember Audison made a high end amp with wood as well... there might be a method to their madness, although the website doesn't really explain much... yet. They do say under tech that the reason for wood is that it's a "Strong durable, material". I'd like to know more.


Yup, the 6 ch Alpine 3666 had a burled walnut strip as trim on it as well. I always wanted one of those amps. 4x30 + 2x60 with built in x-over and eq. Quite a few features for back then!

-JP


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## Toxis (Feb 4, 2008)

They completely gave up on the X series amps... 3 amps? Seriously, 3?


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## finebar4 (Aug 26, 2005)

WRX/Z28 said:


> I'd be interested to see how the stuff is. I remember Audison made a high end amp with wood as well... there might be a method to their madness, although the website doesn't really explain much... yet. They do say under tech that the reason for wood is that it's a "Strong durable, material". I'd like to know more.


Check out the avatar, mine has nice burled wood strip down the center.


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## WRX/Z28 (Feb 21, 2008)

Nice, I always liked wood. Anyone remember the bad guy from Gone in 60 seconds? He loved wood too...


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## unpredictableacts (Aug 16, 2006)

You know what they say...if you spank it they will come.


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## 6262ms3 (Feb 27, 2008)

deadbeat son said:


> Yup, the 6 ch Alpine 3666 had a burled walnut strip as trim on it as well. I always wanted one of those amps. 4x30 + 2x60 with built in x-over and eq. Quite a few features for back then!
> 
> -JP


Heh, my buddy still has one of those! What worries me is that the site makes no effort to justify why wood makes a good-sounding cone material, they're just selling it on aesthetics alone. Most car mids are hidden anyway, which kinda defeats the purpose. At least give me some matching wood tweeters, with wood x-overs! And give me choice! Oak(SQ)? Maple(SPL)? Cherry(SQL)?


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Autiophile said:


> If you can't tell, I am relatively familiar with the forest products industry.


Are you familiar with the Fidelity Select Paper and Forest Products Portfolio?

http://personal.fidelity.com/products/funds/mfl_frame.shtml?316390657

It's certainly not the best-performing fund out there but you might make some money if you hold it for a year  

(Actually it's down over 16 percent in the last year  )

(I work in mutual funds...)


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## Infinity (Jun 28, 2005)

HondAudio said:


> Are you familiar with the Fidelity Select Paper and Forest Products Portfolio?
> 
> http://personal.fidelity.com/products/funds/mfl_frame.shtml?316390657
> 
> ...


I'm familiar with it. I work in printing


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## lunchmoney (Dec 27, 2007)

I think this conversation needs to back up... and first answer a basic question... (which I don't know the answers to, and would love to hear)...

How do the material properties of a speaker cone affect its performance? Does it really matter? Provided that it's rigid enough? 

I've seen everything from paper to polypropylene to aluminimum, etc, etc, all in highly respected speakers.... the industry can't seem to decide what material is ideal, which makes you wonder how critical the material choice really is...

I'd like to know this first before even beginning to speculate on a wood speaker.


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## MACS (Oct 3, 2007)

Wood cone speakers just seems like a bad idea to me. It would be virtually impossible to get matched tonal quality from a pair of speakers. Every piece of wood has different characteristics, strength, density, grain structure, etc.. The differences can vary greatly, even if it's from the same tree.

I would imagine you could have some problems getting a decent sound stage out of these things with the passive crossovers. Maybe these would be better for an active system. There is a possibility the cone will distort, shrink, or crack after you purchase it.

Wood in its natural form, can easily fail in the extreme car environment. Now if they employed a veneer lamination process, that is then vacuum formed into the cone shape. This process yields a high strength product. 

While I am not an expert on speaker design, I am an accomplished carpenter/woodworker and have been in the profession since I was 16 years old(now 38). Knowing what I know about wood and it's uses there is no way in hell I would buy these until they had a proven track record.


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## ALL OR NOTHING (Mar 9, 2008)

i've always been an xtant fan... excellent amps!


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