Wood cones - any experiences?

Overstock.com has the mini system featuring these speakers for $325 (scroll down the page). It seems like interesting tech stuff, but it's not aim at the high end market. I haven't heard it, but it's probably a very good buy at this price if you're in the market for that type of product.

Interesting indeed. As a collector of speaker drivers, I've come to the conclusion that natural fiber cones sound best in drivers 3"-4" and above. JVC claims to soak the cone in sake (rice wine) to prevent it from splitting. I spoke to another driver maker and he said that he's done the same but that after a period of time the cone eventually splits.

The JVC wood drivers are relatively new (have been out in Japan for at least a year) so the jury is still out regarding its longevity.

Keep in mind that it is a small cone so there will be no bass. Still, extrapolating on my experience and based on woods natural/favorable resonance, I would think that it should sound pretty good.

Keep us posted if you decide to buy a pair.

Yes I do agree that it doesn't seem to be aimed at the high-end market. But at times innovations do shake the previously set theories.

Ultrakaz - JVC has standalone speakers to that use the wood cones. I was hoping I could get them to hear at the mass electronics stores - like BB or CC .. went there but no such luck.

I may buy the micro system down the road - waiting for an event so that I can get permission from dear wife - you all know how it goes ... :)

They could be teak veneers which would help prevent splitting. I heard about the existence of JVC wood cones but not a lot of details and I haven't heard them play. Cheers!

Bamboo drivers are in the works to take advatage of wood's natural resonances. http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch_fr.pl?bamboo&zzANY

I saw them at the Sharper Image. The system seemed to have excellent build quality. The sound was very smooth and natural. Of course it's tough to tell much about the sound quality with all the background noise at the Sharper Image. The system had a subwoofer that the Sharper Image was including as part of the package at the time. I wouldn't hesitate to use this as an office system. If nothing else, it's an interesting conversation piece.

Let's not forget that Paper Cones are also a Wood Product.

I DISliked the JVC very much. Strange resonances seemed to unnaturally enhance the reverb in Chris Isaac's "Dream About You". Then again JVC electronics are pretty bad to begin with. Usually this is grain or brightness, not reverb. I like Denon UD-M31 or Yamaha much better.
Newbie13 I got the Tang-Band drivers and actually small pieces of bamboo appear to be bonded to the paper. Apparently to further damp the paper.