Plastic Speaker Cone History

Mike Klasco explains the evolution of speaker cone materials, from paper to the first experiments in plastics and finally to Polypropylene (PP), which became the preferred resin sheet material for thermoformed speaker cones. The article also discusses recent trends in woven composite cone fabrication. This article was published in Voice Coil, February 2014.

What are my two cents on criteria for sustainable product design? Bioplastics, sustainable, biodegradable, or end of life recyclable attributes are all aspects of a truly green product. I think that a conscionable green design philosophy focuses on the total integration of “good citizen” eco-friendly materials and processes and long, useful life.

Endumax, an innovative and superior cone material with performance beyond woven composites, has only recently been introduced to the industry. From a speaker designer’s perspective, it is possible for extremely wide cone body angles (shallow cone), smaller voice coil diameters, and/or smaller magnetic systems to achieve comparable or superior results to existing speaker cone solutions. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2015.