Sony to sell 360-degree glass speaker system

Sony today announced it would translate one of its concept speaker designs into a production device. The Sountina promises a radical approach to sound by outputting the same sound at 360 degrees from the speaker itself: an upward-facing driver vibrates a glass tube that in turn pushes sound outwards in all directions rather than in a cone, as with traditional speakers. The change both leads to a new look as well as reducing the horizontal footprint of the Sountina.

The audio equipment also promises a unique visual effect through an amber, blue, and purple LED lighting system that can be remotely controlled to change the ambient effect for the room; the same controller can also fine-tune audio settings for the actual speaker.

Sony outfits the Sountina with inputs for conventional RCA audio, digital audio through co-ax or optical connections, and two-channel linear PCM; despite its narrow and unusual design, the 85-watt device supports a subwoofer and can still generate frequencies between 50Hz and 20KHz, according to the company.

The Japanese firm expects a quick turnaround for its new speaker and will begin selling it on June 20th for a premium price equivalent to $10,091; the Sountina is pitched at both private buyers as well as stores and other public places. A US launch isn't mentioned with the announcement, though Sony has recently brought over unique designs such as the XEL-1 OLED TV and the Rolly music player. [via Impress]