In an out-of-the-way corner of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, I found what must surely be the cutest audio product of CES: Sonawall speakers. The company's suite is like the audio equivalent of a Sanrio store, filled with adorable little speakers designed to deliver good sound from almost impossibly small enclosures.
The tiniest of Sonawall's creations is the $199/pair Sonapod, a molded enclosure just a little larger than an egg and holding a single driver. You can place Sonapods in corners, on tabletops, or on walls, or combine two to make the $249 Sonacenter. You can also get the same driver in a quarter-pyramid shape, the $149 Sonacorner Liten. All of the little spekaers will work as front left/center/right or surround channels, and they'll also work for stereo. The company offers various supercompact subwoofers to fill out the tiny transducers' sound.
Company president Kenneth Persson told me that most of the company's speakers are built entirely at its Buellton, California, headquarters. The company doesn't have a lot of dealers in the U.S., but its products seem a natural fit for custom installers ... or for anyone who likes small, cute stuff.--Brent Butterworth
I bought a set for our living room and was pleased beyond all expectations. It sounds like a complete concert hall in just one room. Can't believe so much sound comes out of so little a box!
Posted by: Don Anderson | January 12, 2009 at 01:39 PM
We saw this same demo at the Venetian. These speakers were amazing. So hard to believe that they sound as good as they do. The only problem is you need to pair it with one of their subwoofers which brings the total package close to $1000. I can think of many other speaker packages I would rather have at that price.
Posted by: Ryan | January 16, 2009 at 06:30 PM
I also saw these tiny speakers with the big sound.They were amazing but if you have to buy their subs to go with it the price would be too high for me!
Posted by: R | February 21, 2009 at 02:51 PM