"Personal Planars" by Steve Deckert.

I did these speakers a few years ago now, and they're still in service meaning they've passed the acid test! I originally had them on the web site when it first opened, but the page eventually became buried while I tried to decide what to do with them. Certainly a potential money maker as evident by the numerous calls I received by manufacturers wanting to market them. My decision is simply this: You know what? Life's too short, I have too many ideas and too little time, so I've decided to show you how to make your own and offer them up on the almighty alter of D.I.Y. sacrifice.

I can confidently say, that the sound this pair of original prototypes yield will destroy any "computer" speaker so completely that you'll just sit there with your mouth open. They're also wonderful conversation pieces for the office! Some of the things I've enjoyed, besides the sound card in the computer becoming more than listenable and analogue sounding, but the simple fact that I can reach them with my hands and adjust their toe-in and placement. You might agree that this process for heavy spiked home speakers can take days and usually two people, so it's nice to be able to accomplish the same results on your desk in a matter of minutes.

In the picture you can see a few wrinkles in the film, a symptom that occurs with time. It takes about 6 months then you have to take a hair dryer and wave it over the panel until the wrinkles disappear. The tension of the film determines the low freq. cut off. At the present time with the relaxed film, they have solid bass to 40 Hz. The power handling drops in direct proportion to the tension on the film. At a tight stretch they handle amazing amounts of power, enough in fact to sit atop your home speakers and play out in your listening room. I like things that you can tweak to fit you taste.

When I get time, I will do a write-up on the mechanics of how exactly they work, and offer plans so you can make a pair. There will also be more pictures, so check back from time to time. The remainder of this page is what's left of the original web page content.

-Steve Deckert

These full range bipolar pneumatic panel speakers stand only 14" high giving recording engineers new flexibility in mapping the sound stage and depth in their recordings. Typically placed on either side of the Personal Computer's display monitor, near field listening allows for engineers to hear a replica of the sound stage as it would be presented on a listeners high end stereo. With the digital and midi recording trend pointing more and more at the PC, these panel speakers give the personal engineer the 3D soundfield so critical to good mixing. No longer required is the large room in front of the desk containing multi-thousand dollar studio monitors.

Designed for the digital front end found on most PC SOUND CARDS, these speakers when amplified with a quality tube amplifier will not only sound good, free of any grain or digital hash, they will respond to the musical content so well you will be finding depth in you're CD's in the hundreds of feet! You will also find it a little unnerving when you start to hear things with more layers that you do on your high end speakers in the living room! (Happened to me)

(3D model I did of it. 85K)


(Specifications 32K)


(Actual photo on my desk 13K)


Technical Drawing (23K)

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Note to 3D game players:

"You know great things are often side effects of original ideas. I didn't just sit down one day and decide to attempt a pair of audiophile computer speakers. In fact I liked the way my computer sounded on the bookshelf speakers I was using near by. Nope, these were born out of need, like most things. About two years ago, I got side tracked into the game DESCENT(tm). About half way through (months after I started it seems like) I kept getting killed by invisible robots in the mine. These robots would come from behind and make only a subtle sound as they approached. I needed to be able to hear things behind me so I could turn to one side or the other and fight. That is what started it."

"After returning with my best attempt at high fidelity speakers for the computer, the ones pictured on my desk, I fired the game back up and was simply astounded at the accuracy in which the sound engineers mapped the sound effects in this 3D space. In fact I was flabbergasted. The 3D space on the screen and the action therein was so perfectly matched it was frankly difficult to believe. I could in fact play the game with my eyes closed and not loose my sense of center (if you've played the game you know what I mean 360 degree 3D). I could hear things behind me, and to both sides. I am without any doubt sure that if any of the engineers who worked on the sound for this game heard these speakers they even would be flabbergasted... as was I.