Speakers don’t just have to sound great. When you’re outfitting your digs, chunky boxes of wood and plastic just don’t cut it anymore. When it comes to sleek containers for speaker systems, the Transparent Speaker definitely figures high in the aesthetic department.
Made by Stockholm-based People People AB, it’s the same rig that got a lot of attention at the last CES, as well as the fancy speaker they used on the Britney/Will.I.Am video “Scream and Shout.” Turns out, they haven’t quite gotten around to manufacturing it for stylish consumers yet, so the crew is bringing the project to Kickstarter to seek funding.
More than a potent noisebox for blasting all those mixes you download from SoundCloud around the living room, the Transparent Speaker is deservedly being billed as a “highlight of industrial design.” Sporting a cabinet made from see-through high-precision watercut glass, the speaker should blend right in wherever you install it. And the view inside is not an unsightly mess of wires and boards either; instead, the tiny components are all obscured inside a black box with just a few wires connecting the various parts visible from outside.
Specs include a 6.5-inch subwoofer, two 3-inch full-range drivers, embedded digital signal processing (DSP), a machined aluminum box with all the controls (knobs and switches) available from its face, 2 auxilliary ports, a USB power out socket (so you can charge your phone from it) and a toaster slot for Apple Airport Express.
You can plunk down cash to get the Transparent Speaker both as a kit or as a pre-built unit. Pledges start at $360 for the kit and $490 for the complete speaker.