Stone Speakers 20,000% Greener Than Other Speakers?

Throwing a figure like 20,000 per cent around seems absurd. Rarely is anything we use in our normal lives 20,000 per cent more/less/better/worse/whatever than a competing product. Yet, AudioMasons claim their stone speakers are 20,000 per cent greener than other speakers. Seriously?

In addition to desirable resonance qualities, the stone used to make their speakers is apparently highly sustainable. The $US1146, two-way Comet speaker features 7-inch and 1-inch drivers, with a frequency response of 42Hz-20kHz.

But Treehugger’s Lloyd Alter isn’t so sold on that idea. First, he points out that their touting of LEED qualification is strage: that’s generally for buildings and structures as opposed to consumer products. Secondly, the 20,000 per cent figure comes primarilyfrom comparing the stone encasements of their speakers to a speaker whose enclosure is cast from virgin aluminium (though they also calculate the energy saved as well). And sure, there are aluminum-encased speakers, but I wouldn’t call them the de facto standard of audio gear. And lastly, Alter points out that the process of cutting and shaping stone isn’t all that green. The claim to eco-supremacy appears to be hype more than anything else. [AudioMasons via TreeHugger]