Two of the most prominent pieces in a home theater living room are usually 1) the extra large speakers that accompany the receiver and 2) a stack of unsightly DVD and Bluray discs that the owner has collected over the years. Though it's not the first time we've seen the idea of combining media storage with speakers, we're always glad to see it's not the last, as Polish designers Witek and Anielka have proven with their latest Soundshelf concept.
Look! Shelving Meets Technology
As quoted from the designers (with a few grammatical corrections to make it a little bit more coherent - the translation wasn't very good):
"Why do traditional speakers have to be put away in the corner of the room or hidden in the wall? Speakers can be displayed, and the additional function could be imparted. The object becomes the item of furniture by a simple arrangement of DVD and books. Two suggestion of shape give the possibility to arrange the interior in the modern style and to achieve a good quality of home video amplification."
Not bad. To be honest, we've been fans of this idea for quite some time now, from PB Teen's skateboard speakers to fancier diffusion devices, but usually are appalled by the sound quality of the products. At times, we feel like these designers are just playing with our emotions - like Pottery Barn did with their Bedford Smart Technology Hutch a while back. It was released for about half a year, but then pulled off the shelves with no trace left to be found. A pity, really.
Has anyone out there had experience with a speaker-shelf product or taken it upon themselves to make one as a DIY project? Let us know in the comments!
[via Design Boom]
Comments (3)
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I think this is one of the best integrations of technology and home furnishings I've seen in a while. It's functional and practical which probably means that it won't be affordable.
view modernguy's profile
You are right modernguy. Make Wireless or Bluetooth an option and they've got a more expensive winner. I can see myself putting this above my LCD TV.
view DriveBot's profile
These are pretty cool, but I wonder how sound quality is affected. Have speakers been boxes all these years only because people were too lazy to design more interesting ones or do the standard shapes and sizes serve a function?
I don't agree with the line about "a stack of unsightly DVD and Bluray discs that the owner has collected over the years" Why are DVD's "unsightly" but books perfectly fine?
view Orchid64's profile