It’s not every day that you get to see raw unfettered designs combining with advanced technology to create beautifully handcrafted products, especially when it comes to the audio industry. In an industry where everyone is competing to be as modern as possible, Transparent Sound and Jonas Majors collaborated to create the Steel Speaker, a rustic beast of a speaker. Weighing 20 kgs or almost 44 lbs, the speaker was handcrafted by Jonas Majors, a master blacksmith, in his workshop on the island of Mörkö, south of Stockholm. According to Per Brickstad and Martin Willers, the masterminds behind Transparent Sound, “[The Steel Speaker] is supposed to manifest the power of our big speaker acoustic platform by its mere presence. The electronic appliance industry seems many times overcrowded by black boxes. Therefore we saw it as our challenge to make the black box into a sculptural piece of craft that elevates a contemporary designed interior rather than violating it.” A part of a collection named UPCRAFTED, the Steel Speaker was an attempt to investigate up to what extent could an advanced tech item be transformed into a visually pleasing and exquisitely designed object. Not to mention the speaker is numbered, with only 10 limited edition pieces on offer, showcasing “the raw metal texture of the aged steel”. The speaker boasts 3″ full-range drivers paired with a 6.5″ woofer and a built-in 100W Class D amplifier, ensuring your neighbors get a cheeky taste of your rich system! Though it may possess a grungy, old-world aesthetic, it’s functionality is up to date with Bluetooth connectivity, enabling it to be compatible with smartphones, computers, tablets, Apple Airplay, Amazon Echo, Sonos and Google Cast! Created from real natural materials, power-packed with advanced functionality and steely good looks, the speaker is made to order, with at least 8 weeks of delivery time needed to ensure absolute perfection! “An edition of 10 unique and numbered pieces” sounds far too less, and I think we’d better get our hands on it before they run out! Designer: Transparent Sound with Jonas Majors