What’s over 1m tall, made of glass, costs five grand and will make your living room sound like the Royal Albert Hall? You got it (did the headline give it away?) –
Sony’s latest high-end cylindrical speaker system, the
Sountina.
The ¥1,050,000 (£5,120) that the device will cost when it goes on sale in Japan next month brings some seriously odd design along with – Sony says – a real improvement in audio quality over standard cabinet speakers.
Wall of sound
That upright glass tube acts as the tweeter and combines with a 7cm mid-range cone and a 13cm woofer to build a 360-degree wall of sound.
Obviously, crystal clear sound isn’t enough, which is probably why the engineers have built in bulbs that light the glass up in either blue, amber or purple hues.
There’s also a removable leather sleeve that covers the metal base of the 12.5kg unit for living rooms that aren’t themed like an architect’s aluminium and glass wet dream.
The Sountina is clearly gorgeous, but we wonder if Sony’s going to offer insurance for that tower of glass being knocked over by the family dog.
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28-05-2008
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