What are dipole speakers? How do they differ from conventional speaker enclosures? And why does our acoustic fabric suit the sustainable high-end open-baffle speakers from Spatial Europe so well? Read on for the answers.When you hear the word "speaker", you're likely picturing a rectangular box with five enclosed sides and a front baffle carrying the drivers. If not, you're either a true high-end enthusiast or a specialist who knows a speaker isn't just a box.
Granted, in most cases that box is precisely what speakers look like—and operate like. It has dominated the market for decades. Yet alternative designs persist. Among them are horn systems, panel speakers, and open baffle designs. The latter two share a dipole radiation pattern: they emit sound in a figure-eight pattern, projecting both forward and backward, unlike conventional direct-radiator systems that send sound mostly forward. This concept is far from new. In fact, the original full-range electrostatic panel speaker—the QUAD-ESL®—debuted as early as 1957. It laid the g
It’s all the rage to disguise audio gadgets with stylish designs that blend seamlessly into living spaces. Even Ikea has jumped on this trend: under the Symfonisk brand, the Swedish giant offers a „picture frame with WiFi speaker“ that delivers surprisingly good audio quality at an affordable price. Recently, the price of this device was even reduced.
The frame speakers are priced similarly to the Sonos One, and the sound quality is remarkably close too. Unsurprising, as it’s well known that Symfonisk products are powered by Sonos technology. Much like the One, the picture frame speaker sits a notch or two above average smart speakers in terms of audio quality. Sonos has placed a waveguide in front of the tweeter to distribute high frequencies more evenly throughout the room, and generally, the hardware is sufficient to fill medium-sized rooms with sound.
Two Symfonisk wall speakers can be configured as surround speakers for a Sonos Arc or Beam soundbar, and Sonos’s Trueplay function in the iOS app can also be used to fine-tune the spe
Do you ever catch yourself thinking that everything used to be better? If we’re honest, it’s often nostalgia – that rose-tinted haze of emotions and memories – that makes the past seem more appealing than it really was. But sometimes, just sometimes, things truly were better. Or at least more beautiful and impressive.
Take audio equipment, for example. These days, we’re surrounded by compact, app-controlled, “smart” speakers delivering digitally “optimised” sound. Sure, it’s amazing what these pint-sized gadgets can produce in terms of sound volume, but let’s face it: HomePods, Sonos Ones, and Ikea Symfonisks are more about booming bass for the casual MP3 listener than delivering the kind of sound that gets audiophiles genuinely excited.
Sure to make HiFi enthusiasts‘ hearts race: A complete, well-preserved Sansui ‘Intelligent Super Compo’ with restored speaker grilles.
No wonder, then, that those of us old enough to remember can’t help but feel a pang of joy when we see a proper vintage HiFi system with its classic tower of components and serious speakers
Let’s be honest: have you ever listened to music from a recording that truly captures the spatial depth and precision of a live concert? In today’s world of immersive audio and Dolby Surround, that might sound like an odd question. But think about it—this isn’t about digital tweaks that “optimise” sound and put you in the middle of the stage, where, frankly, the audience would never sit. The real question is: how do you recreate the sound from the front row, where every detail is razor-sharp, and the soundstage feels genuinely three-dimensional?
Most audio purists will agree that traditional speakers just can’t get you there. Speaker cabinets always influence the sound, and conventional speakers are unidirectional: They project sound mostly forward, making the listening experience a bit flat. The room doesn’t “breathe”, and even with perfect phase alignment, there’s usually only one “sweet spot” where everything sounds just right—the much-quoted apex of the stereo triangle.
The advantages of planar speaker
We first reported on the HornAudio system back in 2022. Since then, this extraordinary active system has brought the principles of professional sound reinforcement technology to a high-end level in more and more living rooms and public spaces – and at an amazingly affordable price.
Satellites of the HornAudio SoRi 2 system with front covering from Akustikstoff.com
The story of the system's origins begins with the coronavirus pandemic: the almost complete collapse of the event business initially heralded difficult economic times for the Dutch band Rapalje. However, founding member Maceál, also a manufacturer and distributor of professional PA systems in his hometown of Groningen and far beyond with his company HornAudio, as well as a sought-after expert for all questions relating to sound reinforcement technology, used t
Stage performers such as musicians, cabaret artists, readers, and lecturers are usually confronted with a fundamental question before any live performance: Will the PA system provided on site meet the requirements? At the end of the day, the PA system is key to the success of a live event – even in the long run. Poor sound prevents the proverbial spark from striking during the performance, no matter how hard an artist tries on stage. Much more serious, however, is the fact that audiences usually blame poor live sound on the artists themselves, which means that inadequate PA systems can be a real career obstacle.
To minimise this risk, most performing artists rely on a so-called tech rider, a contract addendum that specifies the required features and performance data of the PA system and the lighting equipment. But in daily practice, even precise specifications in a tech rider do not protect artists from unpleasant surprises, and hardly any artist will cancel a sho
The white-bellied frog (geocrinia alba) is an extremely tiny species that only lives in an equally tiny area. Scientists have found that total area the extremely endangered frogs occupy is less than 2 square kilometres of swampy patches in the Margaret River region in southwest Western Australia. Such an endemic species naturally attracts the interest of scientists.
Biologists at the University of Western Australia wanted to record the frogs’ distinctive noises to to gain further insight into the behaviour of the animals. But in a wet environment, this poses particular challenges. So they got in Touch with Soundlabs Group in Mittagong, Australia, our distribution partner for the Asia / Pacific region.
“My appli
Philippe Guènerie’s from the French town of Blois specialises in exclusive retro design and impressive high-quality horn systems. The hi-fi tinkerer has been building loudspeakers and amplifiers for a long time. He also refurbishes historical amplifiers and radios.
Whenever speaker fabric is required for a project, he relies on the products of Akustikstoff.com. „You have beautiful things on offer,“ he praises the range.
Impressive: Philippe Guènerie specialises in high-end horn systems.
Nothing is more pleasing than satisfied customers – and we’re especially pleased when we exceed our customers‘ expectations. We did so again, this time with our Metallic-Line speaker fabric , which will now even appear on British television. A few days ago, we received a message from Paul Golledge, who lives with his partner Emma Newton-Gunn in the Château de Montvason, a lovely castle in Normandy. The couple is among the protagonists of the British Channel 4 series „Escape to the Chateau DIY„.
Paul Golledge and Emma Newton-Gunn, who are delighted with the compelling look of Akustikstoff.com’s Metallic Line speaker fabric. Photo © chateaudemontvason.com
Paul writes: »Hello, I ordered your copper acoustic cloth for a project I have.
We are once again filming for U.K. channel four ‘chateau diy’ and I have built a large pair of Art Deco speakers for my French Mouthful O’
The number of complex ultrasonic applications is increasing. The range extends from distance measurement and the identification of obstacles to non-destructive material testing with phased arrays for air-coupled ultrasound. So-called 3D-printed waveguides are currently being developed for such technically complex applications. So far, adequate protection of the equipment against water and dust has been a problem, however, as many practical applications require the equipment to function even under extremely demanding environmental conditions.
The Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany has now addressed this problem in a research project and carried out tests with our liquid and dirt-repellent Acoustic Cloth 2.0, among other things. The results presented by Professor Mario Kupnik’s research team in September 2020 during the 2020 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) in Las Vegas* demonstrate the high suitability of acoustic material 2.0 for protecting waveguides
It doesn’t happen too often that people decide to optimize the acoustics of their living room. But true audiophiles are of a special breed. Marcel from Almere in the Netherlands is one of them.
Marcel and his wife designed the room interior and commissioned Mutrox, a renowned Dutch acoustics specialist and studio builder, to develop and deliver the required acoustically active elements.
The main goal was to acoustically optimise the room while retaining the look and feel like a living room. The second and more demanding aim was to provide the opportunity to adjust the reverberation of the room, in this way giving the residents the opportunity to fine-tune the room acoustics at their discretion whenever they like.
Marcel and his wife finally opted for the use of false walls, acoustic curtains, and an acoustically active suspended ceiling. While the suspended ceiling is fixed due to the limited height of the room, the side walls and the front wall are made of various movable boxes that contain acoustically active elements such as
The field of application for our sound transparent fabrics is surprisingly broad. They also play an important role in organ building, for instance. It is quite possible that you will come across products from Akustikstoff.com when visiting a church, for example in Ahaus in northwest Germany.
The pipe organ, whose roots reach back to antiquity, has played a central role in Christian liturgy since the Middle Ages. Elaborately designed organs are special treasures of numerous churches and impress with their enormous sound variety. Mozart once called the pipe organ the „king of instruments“. Like other instruments, however, organs need regular professional care and occasional restoration. For many parishes such a restoration project is a welcome opportunity to expand and redesign the instrument in order to broaden its musical range and move it closer to modern sound ideals.