Cathedral Loudspeaker Prototype
1931 Philco Model 90 Cathedral Radio Design Patent Filing
What a crazy time!!! The H1N1 flu virus comes into the U.S. from another country during a global pandemic. Homebound families are glued to their electronic devices as live content streams wirelessly into their homes. The year of course is ‘20… 1920, that is!
Sadly, the Spanish flu which lasted from 1918 to 1920 infected around 500 million people (a third of the world’s 1.5 billion population), but 1920 was also a time of incredible technological revolution which included the world’s first commercial radio broadcast from KDKA in Pittsburgh. This new form of communication quickly caught on, and over the next couple of years, 500+ radio stations were broadcasting news, music, sports, drama & variety shows, ushering in the “Golden Age of Radio.”
In the early years, families would gather ‘round their one floor standing “console” radio that was more akin to a large piece of furniture— beautifully handcrafted & ornate, and listen to evening favorites like “The Shadow” and “The Lone Ranger”. By the 1930s, tabletop radios were in fashion with their smaller form factor & improved electronics. One of the most popular early models was the Philco Model 90 Cathedral Radio. Originally referred to as “gothic” style cabinetry for their steep & pointed gothic arch tops, the “cathedral” name later became the common moniker for this style of radio which many manufacturers mimicked for its gorgeous architectural-inspired beauty & diminutive size compared to the larger consoles.
This past weekend, I was thinking about how to create a more cost effective, but still beautifully styled high-end loudspeaker cabinet like the Flatiron 1.0 and Flatiron 2.1. With their special triangular shape and multiple curved corners, it takes considerable hours and materials to craft & finish these uniquely designed cabinets. Add in some of the best available audio components on the market today, and yeah, they’re not for everyone’s wallet or pocketbook. The simple “box” speaker was certainly a place to start construction consideration. Strong dado & rabbet joinery combined with attributes of acoustic-friendly rigidity was too good to pass up. But I wanted to continue a bit of the design language already started with the curves from the Flatiron series. What’s a boy to do? What about those vintage cathedral radios I mentioned above? Those are neat in an old fashioned way, but still beautiful. What would it look like to recreate a distinctly modern version of the cathedral cabinet with its iconic arched top?
First hand cut MDF working prototype of cathedral 1.0 with components
Starting with a solid cubic box, I added curved front & rear facades to replicate the arch from the cathedral radio cabinets, but with one major difference— instead of steep or pointed gothic arches, I used Roman semicircular arches to thread through the cleaner geometric look from the Flatiron series. Another key element pulled from the Flatiron grillwork is the perforated metal screening (Halftone pattern shown below) curved across the top of the “belfry” or bell tower section of the Heinsenfolg Cathedral Wireless Lifestyle Speaker. Inside the belfry, I’ll test a facade-mounted white ceramic-aluminum self-enclosed tweeter which should produce crisp highs without the fatigue of a straight metal dome, and then pair a 6” midrange woofer for punchy extended bass. I’ll try ported & sealed cabinet sizes to test the voicing and bass response. Either way, the overall cabinet size will have substance, but NOT obnoxiously massive. Similar to the Flatiron series, I am looking for a great combination of top performance in a usable tabletop form factor— or floor standing design!
Well, just quick a small glimpse behind the kimono as our artisan team takes this new loudspeaker design from concept to production. After all the testing is complete, and we dial in some beautifully produced cabinets, we’ll get them up on our Emporium Shop in all the same beautiful colors available in the Flatiron series to boot!
Cathedral Tower: 9”W x 10.5”D x 36.5”H
