Posted on: December 17, 2007
Did You Hear That?
Music is popping up in the strangest of places – lamps, showers and stuffed animals, oh my! Here's how to make these innovative speakers work in your home
By Dani Altieri Marinucci
CTW Features
The Sound of Light: Combine two room essentials – sound and light – in a sleek combo fit for any room. Image courtesy Mitek Corporation
Think back to your college dorm room. Under that pile of dirty clothes, empty pizza boxes and beverage cans you’ll find a hulking stereo speaker with a partner somewhere across the room. You remember the attractive faux wood sides and black-fabric facing sprouting multiple wires and taking up prime floor-sprawling real estate.
Now fast forward to the 21st Century where speakers come in more designs than Jimi Hendrix had guitar picks.
With their sleek, contemporary designs, whisper-thin tower speakers look more like funky sculpture than sound machines. Wireless outdoor speakers transmit audio from numerous sound sources: CD, TV, iPod or MP3 player. Mighty sound from a mini body: These new designs sport multiple tiny stereo speakers, tweeters and subwoofers that promise amazing sound quality.
The family-owned and operated Mitek Corporation, headquartered in Phoenix, designs and manufactures high performance residential audio like the Soundolier Wireless Speaker Lamp. This award-winning floor lamp is functional and stylish with a hidden, full-range wireless speaker that produces 360-degree sound, creating full-home surround sound without cutting into walls.
“When we started hearing from contractors and consumers that surround-sound installations just weren’t working for them we started thinking about a solution,” explains Andy Dixon, Soundolier’s project manager. Designed in-house, this speaker lamp can be set for left or right sound, paired for rear surround sound, or set to “mix” to give stereo sound from a single lamp. “When connected to the Soundolier digital wireless transmitted, the signal reaches up to 300-feet away. You can have whole house sound with a couple lamps and the flick of a switch.”
Can’t be far from your music – even while in the shower? No problem. Net Japan presents the waterproof Juke Tower MP3 Speaker for bathroom and outdoor use. Extremely versatile, this tower is completely waterproof so you can listen to your favorite tunes while soaping up. It even allows you to keep track of the time with an LED clock. The glossy, all-white Juke Tower, when powered by three AA batteries, can store up to 12 hours of play time and has a detachable USB drive so you can drag-and-drop music from either the PC or a Mac.
If whimsy is your thing, how about stuffed animal USB powered speakers? These cuddly cute and affordable speakers from DealExtreme come in puppies, teddy bears, bunnies and pigs, sell for under $15. These speakers may not satisfy a true audiophile but kids are guaranteed to love ‘em.