If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives): speaker design

Showing posts with label speaker design. Show all posts

A Case Of Bass. Vintage Suitcases and Train Cases Turned Into One of A Kind Speakers.

In March of this year, the Cimino-Hurt brothers decided to launch A Case Of Bass, combining two greats: vintage electronics and vintage luggage, to make super sweet boomboxes. While not the first to do this (I blogged about a similar company named BoomCases years ago), these are significantly more affordable.

above: The Cimino-Hurt brothers combine 'tude and talent

The Portland-based company, A Case of Bass, creates portable sound systems hand-built to ensure quality and craftsmanship. Each "Case of Bass" is created after scouring the world for the finest unique vintage suitcases (train cases, brief cases and make-up cases, too) and then pairing them with a selection of speakers that guarantee the best combination of sound and aesthetic.

The Burlap Banger:

The Champ:

The Starflight:

Bunny:

Nicky29:

The cases incorporate - to your specifications - the types of accessories that will make your case unique to you. These include input types, amplifier sizes, power supplies and batteries, and finally any personal detailing you might desire.

Cecille:

Sam:

Marcelle:

In partnership with local Portland businesses, artists, and craftsmen they create these one of a kind portable parties.

Up-cycled and Sustainable
Sustainability, for those at A Case of Bass, means taking materials and designs, into which great amounts of energy have already been committed, and re-purposing them to extend that investment. It’s not recycling, where objects are stripped into the basic materials and then smelted back into something else. It’s up-cycling, where things are given new life and expected to be passed on or designed to be completely usable for something else without the need of deteriorating initial energy investment.

Staxx:

Candy:

Scooter:

Because the brothers want to give universal access, they do things like sell their products at an affordable price and make an eighth inch input standard on all of the cases. They use some new electronics, but only when they can’t find a reliable substitute from their rescued electronics. When providing things that have great environmental and economic impact implicit in their construction, like batteries, they strive for low impact, long life, and of course, rechargeable systems. At present they offer lithium ion rechargeable packs that are lightweight, high capacity, and high efficiency.

Midas:

Ruby the Riveter:

Finally, to demonstrate the overall sustainability of each case, they give a percent by mass of up-cycled material for each case. This is a process and they don’t profess to have all the answers but are working to continuously improve the quality of each case as an environmentally and socially responsible piece of electronics.

A Case of Bass
Online store
Local Portland retailers:
Hellion Gallery
Tender Loving Empire
Hollywood Babylon

It's A Lamp. It's A Speaker. It's The Amplamp By Futuros

Is it a table lamp? Is it an audio speaker? The truth is that the amplamp is a unique combination of both. The amplamp is hand-crafted by Dominic Bromley, one of the UK's most successful lighting and ceramics designers - and the guy behind Scabetti.

what does it look like?
Available in black or white and with your choice of shade.

How does it work?

Amplamp delivers a unique sonic experience that easily compares to the most advanced consumer audio products. The sound combines tightly controlled deep bass with crystal clear presence, accuracy and precision.

By using a unique configuration of Airsound drivers and a transparent NXT panel speaker, the Amplamp is able to create a 360 degree spatial sound with realistic staging. The listener is enveloped in exquisite stereo sound, regardless of wherever they are in the room.

With the shade in place, the unit delivers above 20kHz, which is higher than you can hear - the domain of cats and bats. And at the same time it reaches down to less than 40Hz - lower than the lowest note on a bass guitar. So you really will not miss a thing.

Features include:

• On-board amplifier - 80 watts including sub woofer
• Spatial stereo from one amplamp
• NXT and Airsound technologies
• Optional docking station controls and charges your iPod

An exceptional speaker- The amplamp takes the speaker out of the conventional black box. An active speaker for an iPod, MP3 player or any other sound source, the amplamp uses cutting edge technology to produce a precision, room-filling stereo sound from a single unit.

The listener is enveloped in exquisite stereo sound, regardless of where they are in the room. A powerful, vertical-firing, bass sub woofer adds a depth and richness only found in larger, higher specification, hi-fi systems.

About NXT technology:

NXT's technologies are unique and based on harnessing the natural modes of vibration in a panel to reproduce sound. These technologies are derived from a profound understanding of bending wave physics and its applications to sound generation.

Traditional speakers act like a piston, pumping air with a rigid cone. NXT speakers are different. A transducer is used to excite a carefully designed panel, which vibrates, & converts the mechanical energy into sound pressure waves over the entire surface area. It is the same principle that makes an acoustic guitar or violin make its sound.

An additional characteristic is that the sound volume does not decay over distance like a standard speaker. This allows users to set a volume that is comfortable whilst they are sitting close to the unit while also being sufficient to fill the whole room with sound.

A powerful, vertical-firing, bass sub woofer adds a depth and richness only found in larger, high-specification, hi-fi systems.

About airsound technology:
It works by using small side firing speakers to reproduce spatial information contained within a stereo input signal. The resulting sound is used to interact with & modify the mono sound field generated by a forward facing NXT panel speaker.

Pre-order yours now here. Or call: +44 (0)1249 700 643
Read about Dominic and Frances Bromley of Scabetti here.

Other wild audio speakers worth checking out:

Ross Lovegrove's KEF Muon Speakers

Tons of unusual and amazing audio speakers

The G1 Giya speakers

the wireless Ferrari speakers

Symbio Design's Loud speakers

Artcoustic wall speakers

Mini-Gods speakers from Marka27

Speaker Manufacturers Turn Up The Volume On Design. 20 Of The Wildest Speakers.

above: The Muon Speakers by Ross Lovegrove for KEF

When I grew up, in the seventies, you basically had few choices when it came to speakers. The average consumer deliberated between JBL or Kenwood while the audiophile went for Cambridge Soundworks, Harman Kardon or Bang & Olufsen. Besides wattage output, your biggest deciding factor was whether or not you wanted wood paneled speakers or all black.

Well, boy has that changed. Speakers are no longer even called "speakers". Now they are 'loudspeakers' or 'sound systems' or even referred to as 'audio output devices.' Made from stainless steel, glass, acrylic, ceramic and more, speakers of every shape and size are popping up. Whether they are floor standing, shelf-sitting, or wall mounted, there's no shortage of unusual designs from which to choose.

Technologically, they are far superior than decades ago. And rather than bog down this blog with technical specs, let me simply share with you some of the designs. Some beautiful, some ....butt ugly. And give you links to the manufacturers so you can drool over the details on your own time.

Let's start with one of the most blogged about speakers (myself included) that were an expected hit at this year's CES.

above: The KEF Muon speakers by Ross Lovegrove; Read all about them here.

Loiminchay (a company known for making high end writing instruments- aka 'pens') Audio has emerged with new line of wood high end audio speakers, named after famous painters:

See more here.

Also unveiled at this years' CES (Consumer Electronics Show), Davone Audio's Rithm Speakers:

above: The new Rithm Loudpeakers, clearly influenced by classic danish design, in various woods.
Learn more about them here: Davone audio.

I just love Ferguson-Hill's Horn loudspeaker and bass unit:

See their range of products here.

Goldman's Logos Speaker System have the ultra hi-tech look:

above: Goldmund's Logos range :the Logos1 monitor and the Logos2 active subwoofer.

Cabasse's Baltic Evoltion speakers come in either pearl and wenge wood or wild cherry wood with black pearl:

See Cabasse's full line of products here.

Duevel's planet series below- also available in many colors- has received plenty of press:

above: See the full line of Duevel products here.

The new Klipsch Palladium P-39F Floorstander:

See more Klipsch speakers here.

The Nucleus® Reference AV Loudspeaker from Anthony Gallo Acoustics:

above: available in black, white, stainless or grey
Visit Anthony Gallo Acoustics here.

Waterfall Audio makes stunning glass speakers in many shapes and sizes:

See the above model and more glass speakers here.

Avantgarde Acoustic´s horn loudspeaker systems:

Check them all out here: Avante Garde Accoustic

German Physiks:

above: Just some of the various speakers by German Physiks

The Purity- a hybrid electrostatic loudpeaker from Martin Logan:

above: Martin Logan's Purity loudpeaker in cherry.

Gepetto (A hungarian design firm) has just released their new AiR1, a state of the art high end electrostatic loudspeaker: