Typically, a speaker cabinet's job is to shut up and look pretty, vibrating as little as possible so as not to muddle the sound from the woofers and tweeters. But in June 2003, the Japanese manufacturer Onkyo had a radical idea: What if the whole cabinet (not just the front) vibrated, as musical instruments do?
Teaming up with guitar maker Takamine, the company spent more than two years searching for the right combination of board thickness and internal bracing that would let the speaker walls resonate enough to produce natural-sounding music yet still support the electronic components. The result is the D-TK10, a compact mahogany-and-rosewood speaker that looks great and sounds extraordinary-distinctly warm and rich, without sacrificing clarity. Since the entire speaker vibrates, the sound fills a wider space, creating an effect that's like 3-D for your ears. Get your order in soon-the factory can deliver only 50 handcrafted pairs a month.
Onkyo D-TK10
Size: 10.9 x 8.7 x 5.2 in.
Frequency Response: 50 Hzâ€100 kHz
Power: 200 watts
Price: $2,000/pair
Get it: onkyousa.com
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