Sound is translated into a series of vibrations. One hugs the device to feel the music and it even plays an equalized light show along with the sound. A very unique device I would love to see on store shelves.

Designer: Sungwoo Park

The Ceramic Speakers are made from porcelain, cork, and Baltic birch. Each material is minimally finished, left to add its natural beauty to the design. The included amplifier is made from stainless steel sheet metal, with a cast iron base and paulownia volume slider. Aside from the electronic components, plastic is rarely used.

Typical speakers are designed to play even the most compressed or poorly recorded track. They gloss over the details that give high-resolution music its depth. The Ceramic Speakers’ custom-made drivers, porcelain and cork enclosures, and Tripath amplifier reveal every nuance. They will show the difference between lossless and mp3 files, and will unlock vinyl’s richness.

Binding posts, 1/8″ jacks, and banana plugs have been perfected through years of electronic design. It would be arrogant to replace these simple, effective standards with proprietary connectors. Due to their open design, the Ceramic Speakers work with nearly all high-quality components. The terminals also have a utilitarian beauty that the design emphasizes rather than hides.

If you like it then you shoulda put ring on it a.k.a Joey is taking pre-orders now. $495 plus free shipping. Mr. Roth, are you going to send us one?

Designer: Joey Roth (Buy it here)

Designers: mintselect @ mintpass

To pump up the volume, you roll the body so that the “beak” opens up; shutting the beak powers-off the system. Click the black speaker once to skip to the next song and click it thrice to go back.

Wow Mickey n Donald…a winner team!

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Designers: Solène Le Goff & Christophe Gouache

Designer Chiu Chi Hung wishes to remind us of a time before hand-held flickering light-based mp3 players. A “sound-only era” as it’s described, using radio waves as medium.

When the sensor is activated and detects air flow, the radio is activated. Once the radio is activated and functioning, the sound produced, (the volume and “mood” produced,) is altered by the wind direction and intensity. Maybe it’s music… maybe it’s naught!

Fun!

Designer: Chiu Chi Hung

Let’s have a short (or long!) discussion here about the combination of things. As things stand, the most common place I find people hold their time is in their cellphone. On their portable phone! Imagine that. I couldn’t have say, 15 year ago. I wouldn’t have believed you. What if things had gone differently than they have – what if instead, time stayed on your wrist, and music went there too?

This concept is called “Tick Tack Music Watch,” and I’ve got to say it’s pretty cute. Like a bunny rabbit cute. Designer A.Tnokovski plans on marketing it to “teens” and I think he’d be right.

I’m thinking as soon as phone service becomes as “free” as internet service, we go ahead and build that in to Tick Tack 2, and we’ll be in business.

Designer: Apostol Tnokovski

From here it gets cryptic. As you may well know, many of the submissions and discoveries Yanko gets and makes are made by people who speak limited english. This is one of those times. So as an added attraction for this post, the details of the speakers are translated here in their original state:

extra from designer :
felt wooden, felt flexible, so i laced this 2.1 audio speaker system,
marterials:
VINYL PRINT ON MOLD (GLOSS COAT
MOLD – FROM ECO FRIENDLY MARTERIAL : GANESHA (hollow not solid to preserve dome effect)

Wild, huh? Speakers made of our elephant deity friend Ganesha?

Tell me what you think!

*NOTE to the wise: I don’t believe the bear being reflected on the woofer is meant to be seen as a printed image, rather as a reflection of the power of the sound. So, that in mind, remember this year when you’re celebrating “Bear Week,” you need to celebrate with your very own Eco-Woof speaker system.

Designer: Andrew Mboyi

The earbuds reside on a 20″ long cord with a built-in mic. Wearing it in front or wrapped behind your ear (sport is what they call it) is personal preference. The cord is rubberized and pretty thick so there’s no need to worry about accidentally tearing it apart. Like any bluetooth headset, pairing it with your phone or computer depends on the receiving device but to activate pairing mode on the earbuds, just press and hold the mic button on the cord until a you see an alternating red/green light.

They’re smart enough to know when to turn off and last over a day with full use which surprised me because the battery cell must be TINY. They’re hidden inside the earbuds and to charge them, you flip open the right bud’s cover. Inside is SE’s standard 2-pin charging port. Charging takes several hours tho which is the crappy part but I guess if you do it overnight, it’s not as bothersome.

In use they sound fantastic. Music was loud and clear. Phone calls seamlessly switch without a hiccup and the caller could not detect any unusual audio artifacts. These earbuds are excellent. The buds come with silicone caps to fit different shape ears too.

Why would anyone want these over the large selection of bluetooth headsets currently on the market? First off these guys are stereo and they fulfill two duties – handling phone calls and play music the way they were intended to be heard. $140 may seem pricey but when you consider those two factors, you’re actually getting a bargain. There are plenty of worthy headsets for phone calls only but all the wireless earbuds for music are terrible. These are by far the best ones on the market.

Now a note of caution. These are not fully compatible with the iPhone or iPod Touch. They pair just fine, calls come in, music plays but there’s no volume control. The touch-based volume buttons on the iPhone and Touch never appear leaving you stuck in volume limbo. It’s only a matter of a simple software update on Apple’s end but that has yet to happen and I can’t say when it will. It’s not anyone’s fault really – just a case of software oddities. I still firmly believe these are the best stereo bluetooth earbuds on the market.

What we loved:

• Great design, compact case
• Solid metal and plastic construction
• Long battery life
• Easy pairing
• Noise canceling technology
• Awesome sound, crystal clear
• Snug fit good enough for exercise

What could be improved:

• More color options
• Battery charge time
• Seamless switching between music and phone calls

Designer: Sony Ericsson ( Buy it here )

Designers: Jinsun Park & Seonkeun Park