Sony debuts tubular, non-directional speaker

Finally, Sony is striving to incorporate its technology into our "everything everywhere" lifestyles with a stereo speaker that matches our fast-paced, Jetsons-esque, 21st century "chill sessions." What are we talking about? Mainly, the company's new non-directional speaker prototype, a thin, tall, acrylic tube with a woofer at the bottom, a mid range "unit" at the top, and a tweeter created through the use of the vibrating, resin cylinder. Apparently, the speaker is capable of projecting sound in a omnidirectional fashion due to it's circular shape and unique speaker placement, though there's no telling how accurately it reproduces Mastodon's harmonized guitars. The speaker is self-powered (i.e., active), and as far as we know, Sony has no immediate plans for release, Stateside or otherwise.

[Jim @ Sep 12th 2007 10:58AM]

First .. sorry had to do it once in my life .. cool though :D

[John @ Sep 12th 2007 11:18AM]

First? How about a no on that one. :)

This looks pretty awesome, but it'll be at least 2-3 years until we see this available to the general public. :(

[Simon @ Sep 12th 2007 11:20AM]

Fail.

[Jack @ Sep 12th 2007 10:58AM]

Wuvevva !

[Ryan @ Sep 12th 2007 11:08AM]

This looks pretty cool...I wish they would have came out with something like sooner.

[Simon @ Sep 12th 2007 11:28AM]

why?

[headm @ Sep 12th 2007 12:09PM]

why not?

[a ham sandwich @ Sep 12th 2007 11:21AM]

i get the concept and the idea makes sense to me. tho it seems like if you had one in your house next to the sofa, and invited some people over to watch the game, it would be a good way to scare the crap out of them due to its non-conventional design :P

[Simon @ Sep 12th 2007 11:22AM]

Prepare to be flooded.

[L. Cyphre @ Sep 12th 2007 11:24AM]

Someone post this in /b/.

As for the speakers... Groovy. Finally something that really looks 21st century.
Would like to test them first though...

[foxdude0486 @ Sep 12th 2007 11:26AM]

I want? This would be so awesome to stick in the middle of a room, so people question "wtf?" and I tell them what it is!

[Bassnote @ Sep 12th 2007 11:26AM]

Something like this is genuinely innovative and stylish, yet nowhere near delivery to market. What do Sony give us instead?! F**king Rolly.

[Temple @ Sep 12th 2007 11:29AM]

Looks Hawt; it'll replace the stripper's pole I have in the middle of my room.

[Andir3.0 @ Sep 12th 2007 12:40PM]

I was thinking... Acrylic tube, drill, and a bit of inventiveness and you have a speaker bong.

[Yasser @ Sep 12th 2007 11:37AM]

Mastodon... you've got good taste in music Joshua. It’ll be a good test for the speaker I’d imagine.

[Duder @ Sep 12th 2007 3:01PM]

Indeed. If it cannot play Birchmen well it must be destroyed.

[TIMMAH! @ Sep 12th 2007 11:57AM]

In what colors does it light up?

[Wesburl @ Sep 12th 2007 12:05PM]

Someone give me his IP, i'm at work and lazy....

[John @ Sep 12th 2007 12:12PM]

mmm, my favorite type of technology; the unreleased kind.

[Marshall @ Sep 12th 2007 12:18PM]

I like the design but doubt these will ever be released. The NXT speakers do a pretty good job, so it seems like these should work relatively well.

[docree @ Sep 12th 2007 12:23PM]

From website translation it also has stereo sound that emanates in three directions from one unit.

"When it fits in classification of usual speaker, it can express 3 way 3 speakers." Qwara translation

So could one walk around it and hear stereo sound from all sides?

[keithwwalker @ Sep 12th 2007 12:41PM]

Sony is back, when they start making weird tech like this, life is interesting. Let's hope this stuff filters back to the USA

[foobarino @ Sep 12th 2007 12:54PM]

It'd give new meaning to blown speaker...

[mark @ Sep 12th 2007 1:29PM]

these speakers look a little too fragile for mastadon ;)

[madgamer @ Sep 12th 2007 3:20PM]

I know people here hate bose, but they have had a speaker similar to this thats a portable PA for a while now. its called the bose L1 model II: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bose-L1-Model-II-System?sku=600095

[JJ @ Sep 12th 2007 4:12PM]

Sounds like an engineering nightmare