SPEAKER ORCHESTRA
RAPID EXPLORATION


  • How might we lock sound sources in 3D space?
  • How might we provide each instrument in a song with its own tailored speaker?
Explored making two speakers for individual instruments — claps and guitar in a flamenco duo. Each speaker was designed around the spatial acoustic character of the instrument, and its form aimed to mentally position the speakers in the foreground of a room, rather than the background — as performers.

The speaker on the left is a Distributed Mode Loudspeaker, which is flat and produces sound almost omnidirectionally. The guitar’s body is turned into a resonator via an audio exciter to product lows and mids, while its headstock is turned into a cone speaker to produce highs.

The process involved controlled testing of the acoustic properties of each speaker, showing us how different materials and typologies behave acoustically.

I learned a lot about acoustics, how instruments make sound, how materials influence sound radiation and how to send sound signals through electrical devices and making a speaker from scratch.