Some design requirements often lead to materials being developed rather than use the readily-available ones.
Such is the case of New York brand Master & Dynamic, who produced a concrete composite material for a wireless speaker with the help of architect David Adjaye,
Yup, a wireless speaker called MA770. Because they want the end-product to have a sculptural shape that forgoes the traditional box-shaped speaker, the concrete composite material has to be invented.
Source: Master & Dynamic
“This speaker is not about the traditional idea of making boxes, but about a directional form,” said Adjaye.
MA770 works as a let alone single stereo unit but can be paired with another speaker via Wi-Fi. It also supports Google’s digital media streaming software Chromecast, the first speaker to do so for stereo pairing.
It was found that the concrete composite material has an added value when it comes to acoustics and durability.
Source: Master & Dynamic
According to the company, the concrete’s dampening properties – which prevent it from vibrating – are five times better than wood and ten times better than plastic.
“The speaker can be placed just inches away from a turntable and play at full volume without causing the record to skip,” said Master & Dynamic.
Master & Dynamic’s chief product officer Drew Stone Briggs shared through Engadget, “We set out to use concrete not just because it’s cool, but we liked it for the ability to completely control every aspect of it,” he explained.
“Not only can we control it for sound-dampening and to make it a much better acoustic enclosure, since it’s our material, we can change every aspect of the tuning. That’s what makes it special.”
Of course the entire speaker cannot be made with the concrete composite material. For its controls and its magnetic grille on the front, the materials used are anodized aluminum and stainless steel, respectively.
Source: Master & Dynamic
Adjaye shared that he became fascinated with the idea of using triangles to break down the mass of the box, and to see if the sense of volume could be dissolved through sculptural detail. It looks like that it has paid off.
Interested buyers can purchase the MA770 for about $2,075. But take note, this wireless speaker is not like any other out there as it weights 35 pounds. Well, because it is made of composite concrete.
