And so it came to pass, on 09-15-96 21:36,
   that DAVE HALLIDAY spake unto ANDRES VALLOUD:
AV>>Ah... nice of them... but it sounds odd to me because I have read
AV>> that there
  >>a way to deploy a diamond coating on things which would increase the
  >> speaker efficiency a lot (imagine... diamond-hard cones. Btw, more
  >> clarity than ever
 DH> Question:  I know that diamond has a very high hardness.  It is
 DH> very good for cutting things.  I also know that a diamond is very
 DH> brittle. The way a jewelry diamond is made is by chipping off parts
 DH> until it has the cut desired ( it does this along plains of
 DH> crystallization so you get nice regular facets )
 DH> I would imagine that a speaker cone with a diamond coating would
 DH> fracture the first time you applied a signal to it...
Well, assuming that this was a good idea in the first place...
There are two factors that are important to cone construction: rigidity, and 
weight (or lack thereof).  The lighter the cone, the easier it is for the amp 
to drive *and control* it (less mass = less momentum).  I'm afraid a diamond 
coating of any sort would increase the mass without necessarily affecting the 
stiffness (stiffness != hardness).
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Q: Why don't blind people skydive?
A: It scares the heck outta their dogs!
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