Have you ever entered your card details correctly, only to find the payment won't go through? It's frustrating, especially when you're eager to complete your order. So, what could be the reasons, and what can you do about it?Often, the issue doesn't lie with our online shop but with certain national debit cards. Many banks issue debit cards that work seamlessly within their home country but may have limitations abroad or for online transactions. We've particularly noticed this with customers from France, Italy, and the Netherlands.
The Classic Case: The French Carte BleuePayment service providers we, like many international online shops, rely on often don't support certain national debit cards. Supporting them would require specific technical setups and agreements with national banks.
Take the Carte Bleue (CB) in France, for example. It's prevalent in nearly every household and closely tied to the national banking system. While some CBs are co-branded with international credit cards like Visa or Mastercard, many are primarily national debit cards. These often lack essential features for international
Whether it's a cozy TV console or a custom-built AV cabinet, our speaker fabric creates a tidy and elegant ambiance. But does the remote control still work reliably when infrared transmitters and receivers are separated by a layer of speaker cloth? Discover how standard remote controls operate, why our acoustic fabrics allow infrared radiation to pass through, and what to consider regarding installation and material selection.Understanding Infrared Signals Infrared (IR) radiation is invisible light within the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths ranging from approximately 780 nanometers to 1 millimeter. It lies just beyond visible red light and extends into the terahertz range. In physics, IR primarily refers to electromagnetic waves that we perceive as heat without seeing them. You can feel IR as gentle warmth on your skin, and thermal imaging cameras utilize the infrared spectrum to display temperature differences in images.
How Your IR Remote Control WorksWhen you press a button on your remote contro
It’s a fundamental challenge of modern life: even though we like to believe otherwise, we can’t truly live “in harmony with nature”—especially not with our current lifestyles and a global population of around eight billion people. What we can do, however, is use resources as sustainably and responsibly as possible to keep our environmental footprint as small as we can.
That often requires us to think systemically—something that, unfortunately, forces us to question long-held beliefs and comfortable habits. Take fast food, for example: is it now guilt-free just because plastic packaging has been replaced with paper? If we consider the PFAS-coated pizza boxes, takeaway cups, burger wrappers, and straws, it quickly becomes clear that the real solution is to change our eating habits entirely, cutting out fast food, delivery services, and drinks “to go” altogether. Not to mention, our GP would probably be in full agreement.
This is just one example of how systemic thinking often leads to cognitive dissonance, that uncomfortable tension between what we believe and how we actually behave. And let’s be honest: we often deal with it by ignoring inconvenient f
The week from Christmas to New Year’s Eve is a time to pause and reflect, to give thanks. It is the time of year when we look back on what we have achieved together and, at the same time, set our sights on the road ahead.
What were the greatest opportunities and challenges for you in a year marked by constant change and uncertainty? What new tasks did you tackle, what creative solutions did you find, and what milestones did you reach? And how confident are you as you look towards the future?
For us, the most significant change this past year was setting up and launching our new printing facility. We are now able to offer our premium speaker fabrics with bespoke prints – even certified as non-flammable on request. This opens up a world of new design possibilities, from custom colours to graphics and photographs. Behind the scenes, we
Is your home the cosy haven you’ve always dreamed of – thoughtfully decorated, with every detail just so? Brilliant. A well-designed living space isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s the foundation of comfort and wellbeing. After all, home is where we relax, recharge, and show off a bit of personality.
But for music lovers, pulling this off can feel like juggling plates. It’s not just about taste – there are practicalities to navigate too. Room acoustics, for one, often need a nudge in the right direction with absorbers and diffusers. Speakers demand the perfect positioning, standing proud to deliver peak audio performance. Meanwhile, turntables and amps cry out for AV furniture that’s both functional and visually appealing, offering storage and easy access without looking like you raided a 90s hi-fi store.
Off-the-shelf solutions? They’re decent up to a point. But when you’re after something truly bespoke, compromises creep in fast. Speaker grilles and AV furniture, for example, usually come in black, white, or grey. Fine if you’re going for “recording studio chic,” but not exactly ideal for a home that’s more hygge than hardware s
Unfortunately, we’re no longer able to ship our technical textiles to every EU country. We know this particularly affects our private customers, who have come to know akustikstoff.com as the go-to place for high-quality speaker cloth across Europe.
The reason for this decision is the EU Packaging Regulation, which each EU country has implemented into national law. The result? A bureaucratic nightmare that’s not only impenetrable but also ridiculously expensive.
A mess of rules and red tape
Let’s say a manufacturer, importer, or retailer wants to operate across all EU countries. It doesn’t matter whether they’re selling to private customers, business customers, or even just resellers – they must meet complex national regulations in each of the 27 EU countries. This means joining a waste recovery scheme and submitting two annual reports: one on the planned amount of packaging, and another on the actual amount of packaging they’ve put into circulation.
And that’s not all. In some countries, they also have to:
Remember that holiday in your favourite country, where almost everything was perfect? Even the simplest dishes were at least twice as delicious as usual, right
No wonder. We know from numerous scientific studies that an experience such as a meal is always influenced by all our senses, especially visual perception. “You eat with your eyes, “ as a German proverb goes, meaning that food is more enjoyable when it is attractively presented and served in an appealing setting.
It’s all about the setting – even when it comes to listening pleasure
And guess what: The same applies to our listening experience. Strangely enough, things sound subjectively better to a certain extent in an acoustically-questionable but impressively furnished baroque hall that smells of precious wood and fresh roses than in an acoustically optimised, but smelly and shabbily furnished room.
Believe it or not, perfect musical enjoyment is not so far from the perfect dinner: every detail matters. Needless to say that the performance of each element in the audio signal chain needs to be flawless, but the aesthetics of your setup and eve
A few days ago, I once again found an incredibly cheap flight ticket promising to take me to the destination of my next dream vacation for a mere 29 euros from an airport near me. But, of course, upon closer inspection, it was anything but a bargain: Various service fees, flight safety charges, fuel surcharges, insurance costs, airport fees – and of course, hefty additional costs for any luggage larger than a lunchbox drove the actual ticket price up to a hefty triple-digit amount.
You’re wondering what this has to do with speaker fabric? Quite simply: as an operator of an online shop for speaker fabric, you can experience similar surprises on your shipping service providers‘ monthly invoices – with the fine but unpleasant difference that all additional costs are incurred long after the shipment has been dispatched. Once a package is on its way, there’s no turning back. Especially for deliveries abroad, this can quickly spoil your entire budgeting, with surcharges for islands, peculiar extra fees for deliveries to »remote areas«, or exorbitant return costs for undeliverable shipments. If a shipment is returned from a non-EU co
As a leading specialist in sound-transparent textiles, we are known for continuous innovation in the field of high-quality loudspeaker fabrics. Today we are introducing another ground-breaking development: the option to print your customised photos and images on our fabrics.
We have been continuously developing our extensive range of high-quality products for many years: our standard fabric has been joined by the water-repellent 2.0 fabric and the flame-retardant, M1-certified FR fabric, while the range of available colours has grown to 42.
This selection of colours and fabric qualities alone makes it possible to create exceptionally individual designs for speakers, AV furniture, absorbers, ceiling sails, recording studio equipment, home cinemas and many other applications.
However, we will soon be taking individual design options to a whole new level: by customising the fabrics, you can incorporate your style, personality and creativity into the design of your speakers and audio environments in a unique way. The possibilities are almost endless - in the hi-fi and high-end sector as well as in furniture construction, exhibition stand construction
A few years ago, I was in Malta at this time of year. One day I visited the Gaia Foundation and their Peace Grove above Għajn Tuffieħa Bay. It was a windy day, and the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard all around, while the bright, already somewhat warm sun made everything feel more alive. I noticed several beautiful olive trees standing in the midst of all the greenery. The vibrant green hue of the leaves caught my attention, and I couldn’t help but think how great this colour would look in our acoustic fabrics.
And now, it gives me great pleasure to announce the introduction of the new colour Olive to our extensive range of standard colours for acoustic fabrics. Olive is a warm, inviting colour that exudes a sense of calmness and serenity while adding new, spring-fresh Mediterranean accents.
Only until 31 January: A whopping 29% discount on the practical 150 x 60 cm cuts of our liquid- and dirt-repellent Speaker Cloth 2.0 and 25% discount on our Speaker Cloth PA in all available colours.
Click here to go directly to the promotions
The new year begins with extremely good news for private customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein who have not previously been able to be supplied by Speaker Cloth.com: From now on, all our fabrics are available for them and can be ordered directly online at www.akustikstoff.ch.
Behind Speaker Cloth.ch is our long-standing business partner Reto Campell in Kirchdorf. Reto has been in the audio business for almost 40 years and has built up an excellent reputation, particularly in the car audio sector. It was not for nothing that his company "Soundgarage" was responsible at the time for the acoustic equipment of the "Clio Swiss Champion", which was specially launched by Renault for Switzerland. As early as the 1990s, Soundgarage was the largest Swiss importer of products from the renowned manufacturers