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Steel Speaker Transmits Sound Using a Wooden Sphere

In the market for a high design centerpiece for your living room — and also happen to need a Bluetooth speaker? Look no further.
Joey Roth
Joey Roth

In the market for a high design centerpiece for your living room — and also happen to need a Bluetooth speaker? Look no further. The Steel Speaker, from designer Joey Roth, combines a monolithic look with a unique sound-driving mechanism utilizing a sphere of wood.

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"Sounds in the real world, from a guitar to the human voice, usually emanate from a single point and then interact with the environment to form the tones that we hear. As a full-range omnidirectional design, the Steel Speaker does the same thing," Roth explained in an email to NBC News. "The single full-range driver fires down onto the birch sphere, which diffuses the sound equally in all directions."

That ball also holds the Bluetooth antenna, since if it were anywhere else, the signal would be blocked by the solid steel frame.

Joey Roth

It's all locally manufactured around Roth's home base in Portland, Oregon — and the design, in keeping with its creator's industrial, geometric aesthetic, is certainly striking. If you're curious about the shape or audio qualities, there's a cutaway view at the bottom of the speaker's page.

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Bad news for anyone on a budget, though. At $450, the Steel Speaker is a relatively expensive treat — though design lovers and audiophiles might feel it's a bargain.