Speaker Cloth 2.0 - water-repellent

Sound transparency and water repellence are not mutually exclusive!

Our Speaker Cloth 2.0 was developed to protect your valuable speakers from splashing or dripping water. It is therefore ideal when speakers are to be used outdoors. It is also extremely useful in a wide range of other outdoor applications where protection against the effects of liquids and maximum acoustic transparency are required.

Permanently water-repellent and washable
Speaker Cloth 2.0 achieves its water-repellent properties through a special finish using a complex plasma process. Plasmas are ionised gases that contain ions, free electrons, excited molecules, radicals and molecular fragments. The excited particles bond permanently with the fibre during treatment so that the water-repellent properties are not lost through wear (e.g. friction) or cleaning (washing, ironing, brushing). This distinguishes it from textiles in which the water-repellent agent is only applied to the surface.

There are plenty of situations where sensitive audio components such as microphones or loudspeakers are used outdoors and not always under cover. That is precisely why we developed Speaker Cloth 2.0. Here, we explain what kind of protection it offers against rain and splashing water and why the idea of a fully waterproof speaker fabric simply doesn’t make sense.


Picture this: you’ve set up your terrace for a warm summer evening. The speakers are in place, the playlist is already running and then, quite unexpectedly, a brief shower passes through. This is where outdoor-ready speakers really come into their own. You can leave them where they are, knowing that a bit of rain won’t do any harm. A key element of such speakers is a water-repellent front fabric that allows raindrops to bead off the surface, protecting the delicate speaker membranes behind it. That is exactly the kind of application Speaker Cloth 2.0 was designed for.
 

No harmful chemical agents

Speaker Cloth 2.0 is a highly acoustically transparent speaker fabric with an additional water-repellent finish. Some time ago, we made a deliberate switch to an innovative coating based on coconut-derived raw materials. It relies on renewable resources, works reliably and is harmless from both a health and environmental perspective. In theory, the liquid itself would even be safe to drink. What mattered most to us was avoiding fluorocarbon chemistry and so-called “forever chemicals”, while continuing to manufacture Speaker Cloth 2.0 at a consistently high quality level and in line with our environmental principles.
 

Speaker cloth with lotus effect

From a technical point of view, the hydrophobic treatment means that rain or splashing water beads up on the surface of the fabric instead of penetrating the pores. This works because microscopic particles attach themselves to the fibres, creating a finely textured, slightly rough surface. Water droplets make contact at only a few points and cannot cling to the fibres. They roll off in a near-spherical shape, often carrying dust and surface dirt with them. This so-called lotus effect ensures that rain or spray from garden irrigation does not harm the fabric and that the speaker membranes behind it are well protected, provided the overall construction is properly designed. In practical terms, the level of protection is comparable to IPX4: splash-proof from all directions, but not waterproof. That is why we deliberately describe Speaker Cloth 2.0 as water-repellent, not as waterproof.

For purely physical reasons, it is impossible to make a textile with the level of acoustic transparency required for speaker fabrics completely waterproof. The open pores are essential for sound waves to pass through freely. Once those pores are sealed, sound transmission, particularly in the high-frequency range, collapses almost immediately. At that point, the material is no longer suitable for demanding acoustic applications.
 

Avoid water jets and capillary forces

One crucial factor in real-world use is the pressure with which water comes into contact with the fabric. If a jet of water is directed straight at the surface, or if wet hands are pressed firmly against it, water is effectively forced into the fine pores. For that reason, the fabric should not be sprayed directly with a garden hose, hand shower, or tap aerator that produces water jets like in the photo on the left. .

There is another limitation to be aware of. If the fabric is in prolonged contact with a closed, sufficiently heavy body of water, for example when a puddle forms on its surface, capillary forces can draw water through the fibre structure. This tends to occur where the fabric rests directly on a solid surface. Many people will recognise the effect from camping: tent fabric that is normally water-repellent suddenly starts to let water through when it presses against a tent pole. Speaker Cloth 2.0 therefore performs best when mounted freely, with enough distance from the underlying surface. This minimises capillary effects and preserves the hydrophobic properties.

Application examples for water-repellent speaker fabric

In practice, Speaker Cloth 2.0 shows its strengths wherever sound quality and weather protection have to go hand in hand. We see it used on terrace speakers, for example in cafés with outdoor seating, and in permanent outdoor installations where an unexpected rain shower would otherwise cause problems. These are by no means limited to open-air events with expensive PA systems. Operators of wind farms use our fabric to protect sensitive outdoor microphones in their measuring stations. Researchers in Australia rely on it when recording rare animal sounds in rainforest conditions. Speaker Cloth 2.0 has also been successfully deployed in specialised outdoor ultrasound applications for distance measurement.
That leaves one final question: how long does the water-repellent finish last? Here, too, Acoustic Fabric 2.0 scores highly. The fabric remains permanently water-repellent and can even be washed and ironed in accordance with our care instructions.

In short, Speaker Cloth 2.0 combines maximum acoustic transparency with an innovative, environmentally responsible form of water repellency. It is a highly practical solution for anyone looking to protect sensitive audio equipment from rain or splashing water without compromising sound quality. It does have its limits: it cannot protect against water applied under pressure, capillary effects, steam or persistently high humidity.

If you’d like to see whether Speaker Cloth 2.0 is the right choice for your project, the best place to start is with a free sample. We’re also happy to hear about your specific application and work with you to find the right solution. Just get in touch.