It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that audio isn't just a day job for most of our consultants but falls more in the category of personal passion. 

Ryan Knox has had drivers sitting around to test a theory with a prototype, but with two children at home under the age of four, the time involved for prototyping several boxes to see what sounded best didn't fit well into day-to-day life. Ryan needed a way to rapid prototype his concepts in a manner that could safely involve his son and daughter. As it turns out, a cardboard arts and crafts project worked into the weekend activities nicely.  (As Ryan says, try building this speaker any other way from start to finish in less than three hours while entertaining two kids under four.)

Some of our team suggested, it would have been exceptionally eco-friendly had Ryan used the shipping box for the drivers in the design.  Ryan said he considered it, but the box still had another set of speakers in it that would have needed a new home. Currently, the cardboard compact subbass is "installed" in Ryan's pickup, and the sound is stunningly good. For a driver + $7 in materials it rivals professional gear (though admittedly not as pretty.)  Of course, this isn't just any DIY project.  There is no small amount of physics involved in getting the sound that these produce and if it looks simple from the outside, you should see the cardboard configuration inside.

Sunday afternoon, the families of our San Diego office all gathered for a spring BBQ and celebration of the newest office addition. Robert Lynne Black joined the AD Team on February 21, 2010 weighing in at 8.1 lbs! His addition to the Black Family (and to all of us at Acoustic Dimensions) is such a blessing.

During his recent trip to Israel, Chris Brooks of the NY office had the pleasure of presenting a lecture at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance for Avi Bar-Eitan, who teaches computer music at the Academy. Chris talked about “What Musicians Should Know about Acoustics”. The class was very responsive and asked lots of questions---leaving his PowerPoint presentation totally in the dust.

The search for words provided him some levity. For instance, no one knew what “gypsum board” was, but one very sharp student figured out that you could use the word “sheetrock.” They remained there for two hours to answer questions, followed by discussion. Chris mentioned that the inquisitive students were the high point of his trip.

There is significant amount of construction currently going on in Israel. The joke goes that the national bird of Israel is the crane—seen over every cityscape. The people Chris met in Israel were amazingly friendly and generous—often going way out of their way to be helpful and informative. Israel is tiny country (10 miles wide at the narrowest point; a 5 hour drive from top to bottom), drenched in history, with a robust economy and vibrant, extraordinarily diverse culture.

We just launched our new smartphone-friendly site at acousticdimensions.mobi.  The site is designed for small screens and has "quick load" versions of content that is on our main site.

While the tech forums are full of articles predicting 2010 as the "year of the smartphone", our own analytics show that iPhones (the predominant users), Droids and Blackberries were attempting to view acousticdimensions.com in growing numbers. (And if you were one of the brave mobile users to attempt this, we salute you.)

So, we introduce "mobi." And, we would love to know what you think...

Saturday night was a fantastic party as all of us in the Dallas office had the opportunity to witness two people we adore--Dan Schoedel and Courtney McGinness--marry each other.  (Who knew that acoustics and lighting went so well together?)

The couple are on their honeymoon this week somewhere tropical while we hold down the fort. (And update Courtney's business cards and e-mail address to her new name.)

Dan and Courtney, we couldn't possibly be happier for the two of you.  Enjoy your week!