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Ace of Bass – Updated -

About Design Sojourn
Mar 20, 2007
9 Comments


The Phoenix Electrostatic Speaker, designed and developed by my team and I, has been featured on Wired Magazine. Sniff…


Hmm not the best shot I think. I’ll see if I can get more shots that have been approved for released.
wiredmag3.jpg

Get a Wired [1-year subscription] from Amazon.

Here’s the write up, which I’m saving for eternity:

Electrostatic speakers, which make music by vibrating diaphragms between oppositely charged plates, have been around since the ’50s. But unlike poodle skirts, they never caught on, because the distortion-free sound was projected in a fairly narrow sonic field. Nakamichi has widened the optimal listening area by shaping the plates in its Phoenix speakers like teardrops. And to bump up the bass, notoriously lacking in electrostatics, each speaker has an integrated dual-cone subwoofer. The two drivers move opposite to each other, canceling out errant vibrations that would color the sound.
Phoenix: $8,600 per pair, www.nakamichi.com

This article is located in the latest Wired Magazine 15.03, grab it while you can! I know I will.


Edit: Added gratuitous shot from the magazine. Ahhh so tasty.
phoenix_wired_page

Edit 2: This product has also been awarded a 2007 Good Design Award.




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    • Comments

    NTT
    Mar 20, 07 – 8:47 am

    Wow! Did you guys do just the industrial design, or the whole speaker? If you are designing and developing the whole speaker, I would be interested in knowing what you guys do.

    Design Translator
    Mar 20, 07 – 9:17 am

    Hi NTT,

    Thanks for stopping by. Yes, together with my team, we conceptualised and designed the entire speaker and speaker system.

    The electrostatic technology was however developed as a joint venture between our R&D and our technology partners. The Industrial Design focused on managing the raw technology and communicating its intent to our consumers.

    NTT
    Mar 20, 07 – 11:45 pm

    :$ I did not realise that you work for Nakamichi. I thought you were new start-up or something like that.

    So how much of the R&D for Nakamichi is done in Singapore? Or is most of it done elsewhere?

    Design Translator
    Mar 21, 07 – 7:15 am

    We do that and everything else to do with design!

    Its not commonly known but Industrial Design for the entire Nakamichi brand is done out of Singapore.

    Design Sojourn » The Harsh Realities of Blogging | How to do good design and create clever products! A blog on industrial design and entrepreneurship
    Mar 21, 07 – 10:17 pm

    [...] I thought to now give myself a break, and really enjoy my Wired magazine article. So hopefully I can get over is burnt out and get back to this neglected site soon. You have to [...]

    Jasper
    Mar 22, 07 – 10:32 am

    After reading your blog entry, i realized that my brother brought the magazine from one of his trips, it was there all the time … It looks much better in the mag, very slick!

    I would really like to hear the bass, since i’m a German electro kid… must be really good sound..

    How many of these do you have at your home?

    Design Translator
    Mar 22, 07 – 10:58 am

    No kidding Jasper, I wish to have at least a pair. But no such luck. I can only hug the prototypes at work! Quite true as well, it looks wonderful in the magazine, but I can assure you it looks far better in front of you for real!

    The sound is amazing, crystal clear and bass so rich we actually had to tuned it DOWN! We have high hopes, not bet the house hopes, but high hopes for this product.

    Jasper
    Mar 22, 07 – 12:01 pm

    True, they are quite pricey, speakers are usually the most expensive part of good home sound system.

    For music lovers with big pockets I guess.

    BillyWarhol
    Jul 01, 08 – 4:09 pm

    Beautiful Speakers*

    I’ll have to go into Bay-Bloor Sound to hear them!!

    ;)) Peace*


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