These amazing Philippe Starck-designed speakers leap out from the crowd. Beautiful audio, stunning looks and excellent functionality. And while they look very 2010, they actually first hit the scene back in 2008!
We originally covered these speakers back in December 2008, a collaboration between Starck and wireless tech company Parrot (who now win the prize for most eclectic array of products in their portfolio… they make those iPhone Drones too) these speakers use NXT speaker technology to use the entire surface of the product as part of the speaker itself. 360-degree audio that is very nicely rendered, plus they feature iPod docking as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth audio integration from a range of devices and computers.
But in the end, it is that amazing look. It doesn’t matter when you first spot them. They are going to look “new” for a very long time to come. Elegance is a virtue when it comes to designer tech.
olearymo
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 3:55 PMEugh.
For most designers, design is design. For Mssr Starck, it seems to be a matter of personal taste. Not that he doesn’t have any, but he’s more of an artist than a designer.
This would just be listening to sound come out of Phillipe Starck’s brightly coloured ego.
yenjaiken
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 9:47 PMAs an Industrial Designer myself, i give you props for that comment.
As for Starck, he’s already super-famous so he can do whatever he wants and people will still buy it regardless if it is design or a product of Starck’s ego.
olearymo
Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 8:42 AMIn which case, any of his designs are a failure from the start. As soon as they become famous for being famous, they become art.
In a way, you’re saying Starck’s success is his undoing. He is not a true designer as long as he is famous.
Tragic, really. But then, whenever I’ve seen footage of him he seems a bit of a jerk.
Nomet
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 8:54 PMWhen buying a home theatre system recently I was looking for some nice speakers that looked even slightly funky where the company put at least something different into their design. I looked all around Brisbane, from high end to low end stores and the only speakers I could find were plain, giant black floor standing speakers (didn’t matter which company). Completely bland, very boring. Ended up with a 7.1 Klipsch set with some grey on the trim – sadly this was good as it got. If I had of seen some home theatre speakers with this sort of design, they would have won me over.