Here’s a bedside lamp from Sony that’s designed to look like an old lantern. It doesn’t just contain an LED bulb inside, there’s also a speaker so you can stream music to it. Sound and light are remotely controlled through an app on your smartphone.
Is this a clever design to help render our technology invisible, or a pointless union of lamp and speaker? If you don’t like the fixture there’s an LED bulb speaker, too. No word on pricing or availability just yet.
The speakers sound clear and produce room filling sound thanks, Sony says, to the company's "vertical drive system," which pushes sound waves through the glass. The sound is present, but I'd crtainly be curious to hear how the Symphonic Light Speaker sounds when pushed full of something besides light and fluffy singer songwriter songs. Like what if I put on Sly and make this this rip through dynamic brass and crazy bass lines? I'm guessing they won't do as well.
Still, the technology is something I'd certainly like to see evolved. I like seeing walls of speakers but these days their design is trending more towards invisible. This certainly not the first time we've seen music played through glass, but we're interested to see what an audio powerhouse like Sony can do in an area where only niche manufacturers have dabbled before.
