Real, the technology has been around since 1900 or so. Just highly impractical because they need a supply of ionizable gas. There have been commercial models though. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1002/acapellavoilin.htm
I think it's real, very cool too. Ive read about this some where. I wonder what the sound quality is like, hard to make out from a you tube video.
Plasma is for tweeters only as they can't move large volumes of air. But they're supposed to be the best, because they have instant response. No physical driver, no inertia to overcome.
It's definitely real. You can make Tesla coils sing in the same way, and that's very similar technology.
Hmm static when no sound is when sound is playing... unable to touch, and sound like singing Christmas cards... I think I'll pass. Electrostatic speaker is the big winner in sound quality, however cost a nice FORTUNE, and if you want i for your MP3 player... then be prepared to carry a nice amplifier box with several D batteries to power it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdf3VA06iSA
heheh cool Tulatin: Basically an audio amplifier which can modulate the supply to the arc. You can see on the scope it looks like it's being driven with PWM. You can generate this by comparator-ing a fast triangle wave with your audio signal. Then you amplify it a lot - hence the big iron. To strike the arc you'd need hundreds if not thousands of volts, and to sustain it (as you can see in the 2nd vid) you need several amps (but at a reduced voltage -- the current keeps the air ionised)
