Davone Rithm Loudspeakers demoshow hos Lydarkitekten (Fredrikstad).
http://www.davoneaudio.com
Begivenheten finner sted 29.April 2010 fra kl 11:00 -2000. Davone Rithm høyttaleren er revolusjonerende, nyskapende og designmessig mesterverk skapt av Paul Schenkel. I tillegg demonstreres produkter fra Koreanske Calyx Amp og Trafomatic Audio .Gode tilbuder tilbys også disse dagene.
mvh
LYDARKITEKTEN AS
Strykerveien 9B
1658 Fredrikstad
Håkon A. Larsen
Telefon. 47 948 68 730
E-post: info@lydarkitekten.com
+
Moiz audio
93047149
Background of Paul Schenkel, owner and founder of Davone
Educational background
My education is a Bachelor degree of Aeronautics and a Masters degree in Physics. After
graduating from university at the faculty for surface physics, I moved together with my wife to
Australia. Here I continued working for halve a year in the area of surface physics. When this
project was finished I started looking for a job in acoustics, my real passion and the reason for
studying physics. During this period I started designing loudspeakers. After being one year in
Australia we decided to go back to the Netherlands.
Professional background
Back in the Netherlands I started working at Philips Hearing Instruments in a research
position. The task was to develop a model of the vibrational and acoustic behaviour of a
hearing aid in order to predict the maximum gain before feedback. Here I had access to the
most sophisticated tools like laser scanning vibrometry, acoustic holography, vacuum chamber,
anechoic chamber etc. I built the model in Abaqus, a Finite Element Modeling (FEM) software
capable of simulating the non-linear behaviour of rubber and the interaction with acoustics.
This period has given me a lot of insight in what really happens in the world of acoustics. After
being in the research position of three years I decided to become project leader. In the mean
time Philips Hearing Instruments was bought by a Danish Hearing aid company and they
closed Philips Hearing Instruments down. I was offered to continue my job in Denmark and
here I became what we call a program manager. In this role I was responsible for large
projects with many disciplines from hardware to software, from production to marketing.
Design background
Having no design background at all, I just sketch what I like. I have been raised with an
interest for designer furniture and my grandfather was an architect that is the closest I can
come to an explanation of my interest for design and architecture. In general I am a quieter
person who is best in keeping the overview but I can go into details when I have to. Someone
told me once that the speaker matches my character and I agree. The rithm is a quiet shape
that is not meant to stand out and is designed from a distance with only few details.
Davone together where it all comes
I have been building speakers all my life, just like many people in the audio industry. With my
interest in classic design I have never understood (and I still dont) that there are no
loudspeaker manufacturers that try something new with the cabinet shape and yet keep it
stylish, non technical, like the famous furniture design classics. Often in furniture design
magazines I can see that in the background of a very stylish house there are speakers that
clearly do not match the rest of the house. What a waste! The average designer knows very
little about loudspeakers. So there is a market gap that should be filled.
That said, starting a business is a whole other matter. But a few years ago I could see that the
different pieces of the puzzle started to fall in place. I had a solid background in acoustics,
some refreshing design ideas, business experience from a large company and we lived in
Denmark which has a number of quality manufacturers in the furniture and loudspeaker area.
After showing a first prototype on the Danish hifi show we started the company based on the
high number of positive reactions.
Davone rithm
I am often asked where the idea for the rithm comes from. Basically, it is not possible for me
to say that the curve started with design or acoustics - both worlds are balanced all the time
when I make the first sketches of a design. I have after all an acoustics background, not a
designer back ground. The curve has been refined with tests, mostly regarding the angle at
which the speaker radiates into the room and how deep the speaker can be mounted before
the edges would be audible. The inner acoustics was pretty much OK from the start.
And where does the arc idea come from? Good question. I can only say that I am a big fan of
Oscar Niemeyer, Arne Jacobsen, Jørn Utzon and the likes. They had a very keen sense of style,
ratios and materials and I am trying to introduce this in the loudspeaker world. So I let myself
be inspired by their buildings and furniture and somehow the bow shape suddenly appeared in
the sketchbook. But this is a very indirect process so I can not say that I have been inspired by
one particular building or piece of furniture. It is the accumulation of looking and appreciating
beautiful things around me over the years. Just like photographers see the world through a
lens, I see all objects as potential speakers
The name rithm
I chose "rhythm" because rhythm is the resemblance between sound and architecture. Both
have repeating elements. Both bows in the rithm are exactly the same, they are repeating, like
rhythm.
About the spelling; Goethe (german poet) ones said: "in der Beschraenkung zeigt sich der
Meister". This means that the best in class can be recognized by their simple solutions to
problems. Someone who does not understand a problem well, will likely end up with a complex
solution. And simplicity/minimalism is what the Davone designs are about. And therefore I
chose to write rithm in a simple way, instead of the overly complex correct spelling.
