Petite Square: A Sleek Wooden Bluetooth Speaker

Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen, you can find them everywhere and it becomes increasingly hard to discover one that stands out. A new project on the crowd sourcing website, Indiegogo, looks to change that. Petite Square is a new type of Bluetooth speaker that is made of a 50,000 year old wood found only in New Zealand.

Ancient Kauri is said to be the oldest workable wood available and is used to craft violins, furniture and now, the Petite Square. Each speaker is a handmade 2 inch square with a pair of them being able to produce stereo quality sound. The Bluetooth enabled speaker lasts 15 hours on each charge and comes in over 10 different colors. Currently in their working prototype phase, they look to raise enough funds to begin mass production this April. The Petite Square starts at $59.

Transparent Speaker Is Transparent

People People, a unique Swedish startup, is planning on bringing its new home audio system into your living room without clogging up your view of things. As the name implies, People People's Transparent Speaker is a speaker system designed with a see-thru glass housing giving you the opportunity to enjoy the inner workings and the environment behind it. Inside, the Transparent Speaker features high-end hardware like a 6.5-inch subwoofer with an amplifier, two 3-inch full range drivers and a machined aluminum control panel complete with treble, bass and volume adjustment knobs. The Transparent Speaker is Swedish design and simplicity as its finest.

While you can plug in your audio source via two standard 1/8" and 3.5mm auxiliary inputs, there's also a USB port for hooking up a Bluetooth dongle if you'd like to go wireless. There's even a special slot that can house an Apple Airport Express for superior AirPlay music streaming over a WiFi network. People People's minimalist Transparent Speaker will come in either a complete and fully assembled package for $490, as well as in a do-it-yourself kit which you will need to put together yourself Ikea style, for $360. You'll also need to supply your own glass panels to make up the speaker housing which is kind of a deal breaker unless you're into the whole DIY thing. The Transparent Speaker can be pre-ordered on Kickstarter.

Marshall Hanwell Speaker Makes Its Debut

 

You can't talk about guitar amps without mentioning Marshall. The iconic white on black Marshall amp is making its way into the home audio lifestyle. Marshall Headphones in partner with Marshall Amplification have announced of the Hanwell, the company's first home speaker designed after Marshall's iconic classic concert amps. The Hanwell will feature retro golden colored analog volume, bass and treble knob adjustments and switches with a pair of long-throw woofers and a set of dual hi-fi tweeters housed in a black vinyl wrapped wooden cabinet.

Marshall's Hanwell hi-fi speaker will include a coiled audio cable and will go on sale in November for an undisclosed amount.

NuForce Cube Portable Speaker Serves Up Headphone Amp With USB DAC

NuForce has released its Cube, an all-in-one audiophile worthy portable speaker with a powerful built-in headphone amp and USB DAC. NuForce's 2-inch tall, aluminum enclosed cubic speaker isn't wireless, but offers wired connections for superior sound quality and versatile configurations. The Cube works as a standalone portable speaker with its built-in rechargeable 8-hour battery and can be connected using a 3.5mm stereo cable, connect to a computer via USB and act as a headphone amplifier capable of driving power hungry headphones with clean, high quality audio.

NuForce's Cube may look like a puny speaker, but with a precisely optimized  amplifier chip and tuned speaker driver, NuForce claims it'll blow away low quality portable speakers. The Cube speaker includes a carrying pouch, USB and 3.5mm cables and is available now in silver, red, black and blue for $119. 

iHome’s New Party Essentials

Every party requires music, most parties require really loud music, but the best parties need really loud music along with awesome lighting. iHome unveils their iP76 Color Changing Speaker Tower that will help you to do just that. Dock in your iPhone and select between different light modes: fading colors from one to another, pulsing to the music, or producing a strobe-like effect. It will be sure to get the party going.

This tower features four Reson8 technology speakers, Bluetooth wireless streaming, and an iPhone dock on the top. iHome plans to release this party starter in June for $200. 

Yamaha Pumps Out PDX-11 Rugged Portable Speaker

Yahama is bringing back and redefining the boombox with its new PDX-11 portable speaker for iPhone and iPod. Designed to have an octagon shaped body for ruggedness and stability, the PDX-11 features a top charging dock with volume-only controls and a metal carrying handle. Powering the PDX-11 is a two-way speaker system with a single four-inch cone woofer and a dedicated tweeter said to deliver strong bass response, clear highs and stunning mids. Yamaha's PDX-11 portable speaker can be powered using six AA batteries or by using an AC power adapter. It's available right now in four colors for $99.95.

Nikon Speaker Lens Is Just What You Think It Is

Photography geeks are never satisfied with only coffee lens mugs, that's why this outrageously bad sounding single eBay speaker made to look like a Nikon 55-200mm lens would make a great stocking stuffer for the Holidays at around $20. It will probably alienate your Canon shooting friend too. You can grab this Nikon speaker lens of a knockoff in the traditional black or opt for the more ridiculously looking, extravagant silver painted one if you want to be different. Want the lowdown on specs? It's packing a built-in rechargeable battery that's charged using a USB cable, micro-SD memory card support, 3.5mm audio output and playback control buttons. Trust us when we say this isn't going to sound any better than your iPhone's speaker.