Speaker Archive

  • Murata’s paper-thin waterproof speaker perfect for phones, pool parties

    Murata’s paper-thin waterproof speaker perfect for phones, pool parties

    Posted on June 10, 2010 | No Comments
    Waterproof phones are few and far between stateside, but in Japan, they're pretty common -- and hey, who wouldn't like to be able to safely take that two-hour conference call from the comfort of your bubble bath? To that end, Murata is touting its new ultra-thin piezoelectric speaker that clocks in at just 0.9mm thick while maintaining IPX7 compliance for water resistance. It's said that waterproof phones are traditionally made by covering speaker holes with a film, compromising sound quality -- but with Murata's design, no film is necessary, offering you that symphony hall-style audio you so desperately need from sixteen inches under the surface of your swirling hot tub. Party on!

    Murata's paper-thin waterproof speaker perfect for phones, pool parties originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Thanko’s mouse has a built-in speaker

    Thanko’s mouse has a built-in speaker

    Posted on February 26, 2010 | No Comments
    Tokyo-based crap gadget maker Thanko continues to amaze. The company today announced [JP] a mouse with an integrated speaker, believe it or not (Thanko already gave us the "mid-air" mouse, the USB cooler mouse, a heated mouse, and a liquid mouse).

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  • Orb releases a mini Speaker/Amp combo

    Orb releases a mini Speaker/Amp combo

    Posted on February 25, 2010 | No Comments
    Orb, a small company in New York, makes odd-looking speakers with some great sound. They just announced a small speaker/amp combo for $299 which includes two speakers and an optional subwoofer. The handmade speakers come in multiple finishes (I have the copper here at the house, which I personally don’t think go with my rug) [...]

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  • JVC’s ultra-slim PC speaker for business use

    JVC’s ultra-slim PC speaker for business use

    Posted on February 24, 2010 | No Comments
    JVC in Japan today announced [JP] the NC-SP1, an ultra-slim active speaker that's just 34mm thick and can be connected to your computer via USB. Marketed as a device that's particularly suitable for presentations, it supports Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac OS X 10.4 machines and requires just one USB port.

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  • Portable speaker turns your iPhone into an electric guitar (sort of)

    Portable speaker turns your iPhone into an electric guitar (sort of)

    Posted on January 25, 2010 | No Comments
    Japan-based Bird Electron has announced [JP] the Ezison 100 today, a quite unusual speaker for the iPhone (or iPod touch) that's supposed to turn those devices into some kind of electric guitar. The Ezison 100 is (hand)made in Japan, with Bird Electron saying they used mainly wood and acrylic fiber in the production process.

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  • iHeart: “Jewelry Box” speaker and dock for your iPhone/iPod

    iHeart: “Jewelry Box” speaker and dock for your iPhone/iPod

    Posted on January 22, 2010 | No Comments
    This one is for the the ladies: A cute, heart-shaped active speaker box for the iPhone or iPod that doubles as a dock and also offers a mirror that pops up when you open it. Aptly named iHeart [JP], the "Jewelry Box Speaker" is the brain child of a Japanese company called Marubeni Infotec.

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  • Tube amplifier-shaped USB speaker

    Tube amplifier-shaped USB speaker

    Posted on December 31, 2009 | No Comments
    Tube or valve amplifiers are electronic amplifiers that make use of vacuum tubes to boost the power of a signal. They've been around for decades, and some audio freaks still love the sound they help to produce. And they look kind of pretty, too. Reason enough for Hanwha Japan to come up with the US-0498 [JP], a PC speaker that looks like a tube amplifier (but isn't one).

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  • D’Egg: Egg-shaped speakers for $3,580

    D’Egg: Egg-shaped speakers for $3,580

    Posted on December 4, 2009 | No Comments
    Here's the right thing for all audio freaks out there who happen to be ready to shell out a lot of cash for a very unique product: Japan-based tech company BifrösTech (what a name) is selling egg-shaped speakers [JP] that are priced at $3,580 for a pair. The so-called D'Egg TGA-2R1 is sized at 140×140×235mm and weighs 2.6kg (including the stand that's included in the price).

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  • Soundmatters’ foxL v2 portable Bluetooth speaker rocks the suburbs

    Soundmatters’ foxL v2 portable Bluetooth speaker rocks the suburbs

    Posted on December 1, 2009 | No Comments
    Soundmatters made a few (sine) waves last year with the introduction of its awfully cute foxL Bluetooth speaker, but for those preoccupied with other matters, there's nothing wrong with snagging v2 in order to catch up. The pocket-sized (5.6- x 2.2- x 1.4-inches) speaker sports new BT circuitry that allows for 3x better reception than the prior version, and it also automatically pairs and searches for Bluetooth devices. Users can now answer and terminate a call from the speaker itself, and as expected, you'll also get a bit more volume out of this one compared to the original. The rechargeable battery will keep the jams spinning for five hours on a full charge, and if the international charging prongs weren't enough, there's also the option to regenerate over USB. It's set to ship later this month to jet-setting music junkies for $199, while a wired (read: non-BT) variant will go for $30 less.

    Soundmatters' foxL v2 portable Bluetooth speaker rocks the suburbs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Music Card: Credit card-like MP3 player with built-in speaker (video)

    Music Card: Credit card-like MP3 player with built-in speaker (video)

    Posted on November 18, 2009 | No Comments
    Japan-based gadget maker Strapya is offering the so-called Music Card MP3 Player (the link leads to their English store), an MP3 player that houses a speaker and an earphone plug but is still just 5mm (0.20") thin. Sized at 5.4x8.6cm, the player weighs 20g. Strapya says the headphone jack is just 2.5mm and ships fitting earphones with the player itself, but they'll also give buyers an adapter so they can use their 3.5mm headphones as well. You can connect the player to your PC or Mac via USB and store MP3 or WMA files in its 2GB internal memory. If you don't use the built-in speaker, you can listen to music for about 15 hours before the battery needs to be recharged.

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  • Droid experiencing external speaker problems, could be a software issue?

    Droid experiencing external speaker problems, could be a software issue?

    Posted on November 15, 2009 | No Comments

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    It's no reason to panic just yet, but apparently a good amount of people are having trouble with the external speaker on their Motorola Droid cutting out for no reason. It seems to be software-related, and sometimes a reboot fixes it temporarily, but it's a scary problem for people relying on the handset as an alarm clock (or, you know, to receive calls), since you never know when it will strike next. For its part it seems that Motorola is replacing handsets that have the issue, though that's no guarantee of escape from the clutches of silence. Let's hope Motorola updates us with a software patch or some other serious solution soon -- people need to hear that robotic "Droooiiid" alert sound -- and meanwhile let us know if you've been seeing a similar issue.

    [Thanks, Bryan]

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    Droid experiencing external speaker problems, could be a software issue? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Victor JVC announces a very pretty, very thin home theater sound system

    Victor JVC announces a very pretty, very thin home theater sound system

    Posted on October 14, 2009 | No Comments
    Victor JVC has announced [JP] a new home theater sound system for the Japanese market today, consisting of a set of two speakers (SP-FT1/FT2) and the corresponding amplifier (AX-FT1/FT2). And the system is very pretty, mainly because the speakers are just 30.8mm thin and weigh 0.85kg each.

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  • Wooden speakers with integrated digital clock

    Wooden speakers with integrated digital clock

    Posted on August 25, 2009 | No Comments
    A Japanese company called Evergreen is selling wooden speakers with a built-in digital alarm clock. Two versions are available: The DN-WSP1802 (pictured above) is the double speaker model, while the DN-WSP1406 is one unit only. Both versions will play your music in stereo (3.5mm).

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  • The Bass Cannon: It is a cannon that sends out bass

    The Bass Cannon: It is a cannon that sends out bass

    Posted on July 30, 2009 | No Comments
    Anything that begins "I built this as part of an audio visual project for Burning Man 2007" is automatically suspect, but this is actually cool. It's basically a huge cardboard tube with a massive driver. The resulting noise, at about 30Hz, was loud enough to be heard around the creator's block.

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