Top 10 sleek must-have audio designs every audiophile needs to get their hands on

At Yanko Design, we believe in constantly innovating, creating, and evolving. It’s a philosophy that serves as a lifeline for us, and one of the results of this lifeline is the YD x KeyShot Inspiration Hub! The Inspiration Hub is our ‘ever-expanding encyclopedia’ of design work for you to participate in, to inspire designers, and to get inspired by. Created in collaboration with KeyShot, the Inspiration Hub is your one-stop space for inspiration where designers like you can submit your impressive designs and be awarded to stand out in the crowd and to inspire other like-minded designers.

To kickstart your journey and send some motivation your way, we’ve curated some of our favorite audio designs from the Inspiration Hub. These unique and uber-cool audio designs will motivate you to create something spectacular and submit the design, as a gateway to sharing it with the best of the design world. Additionally, we will also be picking our favorite Design of the Week, Design of the Month, and Design of the Year – every week, month, and year from the submissions on the Inspiration Hub. Keep an eye on our Instagram page and the Inspiration Hub to see if your design gets picked. Fingers crossed!

Click here to Download KeyShot Pro (Use Code ‘KSYANKOHUB’ during installation for a full Pro + KeyShotWeb trial) to take your sketch from concept to render!

1. DROP-01 Turntable

Called the DROP-01, this stunning teardrop-shaped turntable was designed by Andrea Casagrande. Built using premium quality materials like durable aluminum, and elegant glass inlays, the turntable features a sturdy construction that supports explicit and powerful audio playback. Besides allowing you to listen to your favorite songs at home, the turntable has a distinct and unique aesthetic that makes it an excellent addition to your living room.

2. Harmon Kardon Gramophone Mini Speaker Concept

Designed by Wagner Pozebon, this speaker design is the perfect epitome of minimalism, combined with the spirit of the good old gramophone, while also incorporating a modern and contemporary design aesthetic. The versatile wireless speaker features a translucent body that mimics the classic gramophone’s contours. The amplification of the speaker is right on point delivering encapsulating audio from the soundbox.

3. The Stingray Headphones

Designed by Junhyeok “Hugo” Oh, the Stingray Headphones have been created to adapt to the back of human heads, hence making them quite an ergonomic pair of headphones. They cover the back of our heads, preventing migraines and helping users to focus completely on the music. The headphones are designed to be portable, and they can be swiftly clipped onto or put into bags and pockets, making the headphones extremely easy to carry around with you.

4. The Torso Speaker

Torso Speaker inspired by Michelangelo Statue of David

Torso Speaker inspired by Michelangelo Statue of David

Designed by Yang Dong Wook, the Torso speaker has been designed in the image of Michelangelo’s bust of David, combining nuanced and elegant classical qualities with product design. The speaker look’s like an abstract sculptural piece that you would place on your mantelpiece, allowing guests to compliment and appreciate the artlike speaker. It adopts the same shapes, contours, and tilts as the Bust of David, with slanted shoulders and a slightly angled head, resulting in an incredibly expressive form.

5. Pavy’s Earbuds Design

Designed by Simon Pavy, this innovative earbuds concept is a unique audio device that can be used while traveling, playing sports, or during any activity where we have limited or no access to our smartphones. The nifty device combines AirPods and an AirPods case with a new and improved iPod Nano screen, hence creating a hybrid of the AirPods and the iPod, resulting in a gadget that has no need for a smartphone, since it does it all!

6. DROP-01 Speakers

Quite similar to the DROP-01 turntable and sharing the same visual language,  the DROP-01 Speaker is another innovative creation by Andrea Casagrande. The teardrop-shaped speakers are built using aluminum and glass inlays as well, allowing them to emit a clear and concise sound, enabling you to enjoy your favorite tunes.

7. Study 02 Speaker

Designed by Studio First Light, this stunning speaker tries to visualize sound through the dynamics of cloth. An eccentric and bold orange highlight was added to the speaker to add an extra sense of oomph. The delicate details and sleekness of the speaker combine to create an audio device that is truly elegant, eye-catching, and a delight to use!

8. The Bored Buds

The Bored Buds are a concept for a pair of earbuds that are not just intuitively designed but are also multi-functional. Basically, they’re earbuds that are also part of a Bluetooth speaker. So when you’re not listening to music using the audio accessories, they are nestled in the speakers through the protective case and serve as the control buttons.

9. Jude’s Turntable

Designed by Brendan Jude, this exquisite turntable design is dark, sleek, and handsome. Matte black and wooden accents contrast and yet somehow perfectly complement one another to create a turntable that is classic, sturdy, and sophisticated. I love how the light plays on the turntable, creating interesting visual illusions.

10. Louis Vuitton Portable Speaker Concept

yz.idesign designed this sleek and sophisticated Bluetooth speaker that draws heavy inspiration from the luxury brand Louis Vuitton. The speaker has a versatile and portable form and what’s super cool about it is that it lights up! The multi-colored strip on the top of the speaker seems to be the portion that lights up.

Click here to Download KeyShot Pro (Use Code ‘KSYANKOHUB’ during installation for a full Pro + KeyShotWeb trial) to take your sketch from concept to render!