Bored of bog-standard hi-fi systems? Here's the solution
Swedish sound pioneers Transparent like to put the innards of their turntables and speakers on display. Usually that’s meant quite literal transparency, with wiring shown off inside speakers and turntables mounted on tempered glass. With their latest piece, Transparent have taken on the 20th century architectural style that aimed to hide nothing. “We had been looking at Brutalism quite a bit,” says Transparent co-founder Per Brickstad, "because it's such a mesmerising architectural style. You don't know if these buildings are from another planet.” Rather like his speakers.
The Brutalist Speaker has been three years in development. It’s quite the arresting audio object. First-off, unlike most brutalist buildings, it’s not made of concrete. Crafting, in either bare metal or black colourways, is from 70% recycled aluminium. Part of the Transparent ethos is transparency of manufacturing and sustainability. As the company puts it, “the main materials of our products [are] aluminium and glass .. chosen for their ability to last a long time, and to exist in recycled material streams. We are constantly working to increase recycled sources with the aim of closing the material loop.”
Transparent’s Brickstad suggests brutalism fits easily into the company’s ethos of form follows function. Not just that but, “it also lends itself well to positioning components for acoustic performance too,” he says, “the Brutalist Speaker is more than just a speaker, it's a sound monument that invites the listener to a grand adventure.” Big statements. So what’s the audio performance like?
The Brutalist Speaker: For audiophiles and aesthetes alike
Height of 23 inches promises a deeper room filling bass than the company’s smaller speakers offer, while hefty six and a half inch woofer is side-mounted and dual three inch tweeters are set at ninety degree angles to each other. Front of the speaker - the narrow edge - carries a neat control panel for volume, treble and bass. For audiophiles here’s how Transparent describe the frequency range: 32Hz - 20KHZ -6DB. We’d simply think it'll sound like nothing you’ve heard before, rather like the sight of a great brutalist building of the 1960s to unprepared eyes.
This then is the speaker to match Denys Lasdun’s National Theatre, Erno Göldfinger’s Trellick Tower or Sheffield’s newly renovated Park Hill flats. Just as the design brings the notion of brutalism up to date, so does the connectivity offered by the Brutalist Speaker. Wi-fi connectivity allows for Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music, as well as connection to other speakers. Two line-in connections allow for analogue components, while there’s Bluetooth as well.
Brutalist architecture - well looked after that is - could hardly be more fashionable these days. Anyone who’s taken a look at apartments in London’s landmark Barbican Centre will tell you that. Transparent’s Brutalist Speaker isn’t exactly cheap either. Still given the engineering, both conceptual and actual, that goes into each speaker the asking price of £3,200 might be the most cost-effective way of inviting brutalism into your home. Beyond dragging in a slab of concrete, that is.
Next up: OPUMO's guide to the best brutalist architecture in London.
