Catalog

Design
Perceptions of the speaker enclosure
have evolved over recent decades.
From the "pseudo-musical-instru-
ment" with its ostentatious wooden
cabinet of the 70’s and 80’s,
through the techno-object of the
90’s, the general tendency towards
miniaturisation of the 2000’s has
turned the audio loudspeaker into
an intrusive item.
As in so many other areas, design
is used to make these acoustic
objects highly desirable. Our living
spaces are awash with "high-tech"
products, which often means mi-
niaturizing them.
But the laws of acoustics are not
so easily bent and audiophiles have
just had to accept that hi-fi spea-
kers have to be a certain size. And
so they integrate them into their
spaces as part of their furnishings,
as a statement of their personality,
of their passion...
Turning to current trends in home
furnishing, it is striking that the
influence of the great designers
of bygone years has never been
stronger. Charles and Ray Eames,
Mies Van der Rohe, Arne Jacobsen...
they are all achieving mass appeal
more than fifty years on, evidence
of a search for meaning, for identity
or for some other solid benchmark
through consumption in this period
of globalisation.
In this context, Aria has been
conceived as an elegant piece of
home furnishing; simple, with great
stature, quality materials and soft
shapes which capture the light and
resist the passage of time.
Just as with Utopia III, our work on
Aria with Pineau & Le Porcher was
based on simplifying, eliminating
the superfluous, carefully choosing
the most beautiful materials
possible in support of the desired
performance.
The glass on its upper face for
strength, the leather finish to its
front face for its absorbent and
acoustic diffraction qualities,
lightweight aluminium for its plinth.
And to do away with unnecessary
details, it has no visible fixings solid
brushed metal rings surrounding
the bass and midrange cones; the
tweeter has a small matt black
urethane wave guide for improved
sound diffusion, the fabric grille
attaches magnetically.
Lastly, the remarkable "Flax
Sandwich" cones made of natural
flax fibre with their ultra-organic
identity are the finishing touch
that give Aria its unique style.
> Aria 926 in Black High Gloss finish and Aria 905 in Black High Gloss finish on the S 900 stand.