By David Ponce
Aside from looking a little like a giant pimped-out Hershey Kiss, this prototype speaker from Fostex seems really promising for those of use who really like to feel our music (for another such speaker, check this one out). Instead of using a paper cone and inducing vibrations in the air, this particular speaker shakes the living snot out of whatever surface it happens to be sitting on (like your table). The technology behind it sounds quite esoteric:
It features an actuator using a super magnetostrictor that extends and shrinks in line with magnetic field changes. The actuator converts input sound into the vibration and conveys it to the tabletop thus rendering sound. To ensure the conveyance of vibration, the system itself is as heavy as 1.8 kg.
Super magnetostrictor. Right. The only somewhat useful stuff I found in Google on this is here, though it’s much too lengthy for me to read through.
But whatever. The point is that Fostex plans to release this in the first half of 2006, and then you (or your friends in Japan, rather) will be able to get your hands on a speaker that shakes your table, rather than your air. More here. Story VIA Gadgetblog.it.
funny, I thought it looked more like an armor breast plate… or singular breast cover, designed to protect your left boob from a nuclear missile strike.