With the exception of Bang & Olufsen, the Danes have mainly focused on creating the most compelling perpendiculars since perhaps Frank Lloyd. The Swedes, on the other hand, have been known to throw a few more curves into their design -- think IKEA vs. Abba. Enter Aesthesis, a Swedish audio loudspeaker company that is going even further than mere curves with its Gramophone line; we're talking waves of beauty here.

And to do it, they started with Swedish car maker Koenigsegg -- or at least, with some of their designers. Aesthesis procured the talents of Ergonomidesign, Eker Design, and Carbocomp which all provide services to the maker of million dollar automobiles.

They spent four years coming up with the Gramophone, which employs a custom developed, full-range coaxial driver to eliminate phase differences and reproduce sounds from 37-20,000 Hz. The curved horn amplifies the higher frequencies, the open cabinet amplifies the lower frequencies. The narrowing of the cabinet is for damping echoes.

The entire point of the Gramophone is to "bring more intriguing, avant garde and sensual products to the market without compromising with sound or picture quality." The handmade, carbon and stainless steel speaker is 1.2 meters (47.2 inches) high, and comes in black -- or any other Natural Color System hue you choose.

Which is to be expected when there will only be 100 pairs of Gramophones made, and each pair will go to the tune of €60,000, or $85,500 U.S., plus shipping. The question you should be asking is: are your ears good enough?



[Source: Aesthesis | Images: Maria Fredriksson]

Bose is out, the iHome is in. The iHome is made specifically to house your various Apple devices and the sound it creates packs a punch!

The iHome devices are equipped to operate with iPods and iPhones as well as Zunes and most MP3 players with an audio cord - or even Bluetooth technology.

The range runs from $49.95 to $199.99 and any order over $99.00 comes with free earbuds. Our pick? The Rotating Alarm Clock, $79.99, at right. Check out the gallery to see what it does (it flips!), and for more cool products like the color-changing iPod player.

Shop the iHome store here (finally, a music site that doesn't crash your web browser).

If you adore your iPod or iPhone and think it belongs on a pedestal, these new wireless speakers might be just perfect for you. 'Zikmu,' the Parrot wireless speakers by Philippe Starck have a dedicated iPod / iPhone docking station and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. The two speakers communicate with each other using Bluetooth technology in order to position both speakers wherever in the room. Using the docking station built into one of the columns, users can enjoy their favorite music while recharging their iPod or iPhone and the speakers and the device can be controlled from anywhere in the room using a remote control. The Parrot by Starck speakers promise a 360° immersive sound experience. The Parrot by Starck wireless speakers will be available for Spring 2009 at a suggested retail price of $1,500.

[via Gizmodo]

Most speakers, no matter how expensive, are usually pretty ugly in my opinion and although these glass ones from Harman Kardon aren't exactly beautiful (I think they look like something out of an alien spacecraft) they certainly score points for being different and having a design that sets them apart from the herd. It's also fun to note that the cut glass exterior not only serves an aesthetic purpose but it also helps improve sound quality by reducing movement and vibration.

Sold in pairs in a limited edition of 3,000 units, the GLA-55 cut glass speakers will be available starting next month for about £500.

Sony has been coming out with some interesting speakers lately. Rigel recently mentioned the tiny Bravia Theater Micro System which put big sound in a package the size of a strawberry. Now check out the Sony Sountina. We're not talking small here, the six-foot tower is made of glass and has a 13 cm woofer and 7 cm mid range speaker. The speakers spread sound out in a circle giving listeners equal sound no matter where they are in the room. Even cooler, in dim light, the glass turns colors, displaying blue, amber, and purple. It sells for $11,800 from Dynamism.

[via Uncrate]

Smaller has always meant better (and more expensive) in the world of technology, and it would seem that it's no different for the world of surround sound speaker systems. Sony's new Bravia Theater Micro System has speakers so small they make me giggle -- they look like something that was experimented on in that old movie Honey I Shrunk the Kids! With side, surround, and a center speaker that each barely measure up to a good sized strawberry, the system claims to sacrifice nothing in the way of sound and everything in the way of cumbersome space-gobbling size. The catch is that the collection's subwoofer is monstrous, but working to hide just the one piece seems like a small (pun intended) price to pay for such an "out of sight, out of mind" sound system. $799.99

Via Dvice

You are probably familiar with the name THX from the systems at the movie theaters but they are making strides on the home market too. This time last year, the first THX-certified television from Vidikron was introduced. Now the first desktop speaker system to use THX's Ground Plane and Slot Speaker technologies has come out. The Razer Mako 2.1 Speaker System costs $400 and promises great sound in a compact size. Engadget reviewed the system this week and were pretty impressed with its capabilities, check out the review here.

[via Uncrate]

Usually the term Fat lady isn't one of endearment but the Morel company has given this moniker to their new floorstanding loudspeakers. The speakers are made of an outer layer of carbon-fiber composite with an inside fiberglass enhanced layer. The Fat Lady's zaftig shape is the result of over two years of research and development to create extraordinary sound dispersion through the driver membranes without deflection and sound distortion. The speaker uses two 9" woofers, a single 6" midrange and a 1.1" hand-coated soft dome tweeter. They are expected to cost around $20,000 a pair.

Another entry into the blockbuster speaker category, the Klipsch Palladium™ P-39F floorstanding speaker just looks loud. The P-39F uses a proprietary horn-loaded tweeter assembly made of unique acoustically-damped materials and three high-output woofers to offer high sensitivity and extremely low distortion. The P-39F's three low-frequency drivers have nine-inch hybrid cone woofers (made of aluminum, Rohacell and Kevlar), powered by a three-part neodymium magnet structure. The boat-tail-shaped cabinets are up to 30mm thick with multiple laminations of medium density fiberboard. Each set is a left and right speaker pair that are acoustically matched. The pair sells for $15,000.

[via Uncrate]

Loiminchay, a company best known for their fine pens, has now expanded into the world of speakers with Loiminchay Audio. The speakers are made from shaped solid layers of Birch MultiPly bored out and finished inside and out with sixteen coats of lacquer. The Loiminchay speakers are designed in New York by Loiminchay's owner Patrick Chu, and crafted in China. They will show three models named after artists at the upcoming CES 2008. The Degas is a stand-mounted monitor, shown at right, that promises excellent bass down to 35Hz in moderate- to large-sized listening rooms of about 50 to 500 square feet. It has a 6.5-inch ceramic midrange driver and a sparkling 1" diamond tweeter. The Degas with Diamond Tweeter is $30,000 in clear, and $32,500 in piano lacquer finish.

The Chagall has a bass cabinet built up of MultiPly Laminate, with an 8-inch woofer in a 1-inch thick concrete board wrapped with leather for a non-resonant driver platform. They weight around 150 lbs and the Chagall equipped with the Diamond Tweeter is $48,500 in clear, and $53,500 in piano lacquer finish.

The most lavish and compellingly designed speakers are the Kandinsky, which handle frequencies above 750Hz up to 27kHz with a curved 19-inch wooden horn driven by a custom 2-inch beryllium high-compression driver. The Kandinsky starts at $45,000 a pair and the Chagall custom-finished in solid cherry runs $75,000.

Care for a little sculpture with your speaker? The latest entry into the increasingly crowded field of speakers that are meant to be noticed rather than hidden are the NACSound for Sonance line. These loudspeakers are made out of ceramic, aluminum, wood, and carbon-fiber materials and are designed to be either suspended from the ceiling or be placed on a flat surface (it's the rather birdfeeder-like looking object in the picture above). The speakers range in price from $1,000 to $4,500. More pictures and styles in the gallery below.

Move out of the way ginormous flat screen TVs and make room for this pair of enormously flat pair of speakers. Big enough to be mistaken for room dividers but measuring only 1" thick (noisiest room dividers ever) these Podium 1 speakers are intended to appeal to people who want awesome big sound in a reasonably portable package. Sound emits from both the front and back and is said to sound much more like live music than other systems.

They're big and they're flat, but I think they're also really boring and ugly to look at. For $8,000 a pair shouldn't they be shiny or something?


Via Gizmodo

Audio systems maker Paradigm has created a new line of speakers designed to work with your flatscreen TV. There are four separate systems designed for different applications.

The first is the Paradigm Vista system, a strictly a speaker set-up including Paradigm's new Millenia S1, C1 and ADP1 loudspeakers. It has front and rear speakers which are designed for bookshelf mounting but can be also be used with floorstands. It sells for $5,100

The Paradigm Impact system is a slim floorstanding system designed for places where space is at a premium. It sells for $11,400.

The Paradigm Prestige system uses Paradigm's Studio Series speakers with Anthem Statement amplification and AV processing. The system is designed for high-end sound but is also compact enough to sit on a bookshelf. It sells for $19,800.

The top-of-the-line system is the Paradigm Elitist, the ultimate Paradigm entertainment system that uses a preamplifier/processor combination from the Anthem Statement Seriesd with Paradigm's Seismic 12 subwoofer and floorstanding Studio Series loudspeakers for deep bass, low distortion and exceptional definition. It sells for $23,600.

These days the rules of speakers are simple, they have to sound great and have really cool looks. The Duevel Planets are omni-directional speakers topped by a pair of chrome "planets," one over the woofer, the other over the tweeter. The company that sells them, Urban Fidelity, is on a mission to get people not to buy plastic speakers. The speakers can also be used as part of a home theater system. They have received a variety of good reviews including a rave from Sonic Flare. They come in silver, red or black for $1295 or blue, green, or gunmetal for $1395.

In the world of high-end loudspeakers these Penaudio Chronos speakers aren't striking me as particularly impressive to look at, although they are very tall and stately looking. Cased in wood (there are several different colors and options available) they don't have the same high-tech modern appearance as many other expensive speakers, but that doesn't mean they can't punch out sound with the best of them. Read this review and decide for yourself if they're worth the $8,550/pair price tag they come with -- I have to say I'm not convinced.