The Sole Speaker collaboration manifests the transformation of waste material into a design and audio object, exemplifying how rejected soles from Axel Arigato sneaker production can be upcycled to create the speaker cabinet.
97% Upcycled Sneaker Soles
TS—W Modules
Transparent has a Circular Design Philosophy that runs through every part of the company. While most outcomes of this approach may not be immediately visible to the external world, the Sole Speaker highlights a circular material concept that culminates in the creation of a speaker.
Rubber waste has been used before to make road signs or as a filler in construction. In order to elevate this waste material, we directed our focus toward the fashion industry, specifically the sneaker soles molding process. We realized we could transform this waste material into a cabinet, but to do so, we had to invent an entirely new production process of pressing rubber granulates into a three-dimensional shape.
The acoustic design of our speakers requires a sufficiently solid cabinet to direct the energy of the magnets to where it should go: the vibrations of the speaker cones. We conducted rigorous testing and experimentation at our partner facility in Portugal, allowing us to design a cabinet that performs at the same high level as our large Transparent Speakers — an impressive achievement for the rubber material.
Although the sound performance and audio quality is on par with its tempered glass sibling, the Sole Speaker has its own sonic character. The sound is rich, deep in the low end, clear mids and with crisp details in the high frequency spectrum."
120W
35 Hz - 20 kHz ±5dB
Dimensions (W × H × D): 452 × 351 × 132 mm
Weight: 11 kg
L/R Drivers: 2 × 3’’ (Full Range)
Woofer: 1 × 6,5’’
Amplifier: Class D built in (Active)
Output power: 120 W
Sealed Cabinet Volume: 10,2 l
Frequency Response: 35 Hz — 20000 Hz ±3 dB on axis
High Quality Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
Front Controls: Bass, Treble and Volume adjustment on front panel
Line in: 2 × 3,5 mm Mini Jack (front and rear)
Wireless Module Compartment with 5V USB Power outlet
Wireless Module: Bluetooth 5.0 (pre-mounted)
Single or True Wireless (stereo) pairing
3.5 mm port for digital optical and analogue signals
µUSB port for 5V power
RX and TX mode (switch)
Chip: Qualcomm CSR8670C
Codec: aptX LL / SBC / MP3 / AAC
Low Latency: <40ms
Gold-plated contacts for perfect signal transmission
User Manual
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