The design of Clear’s newest wi-fi speaker seems like the exact opposite of the glass-enclosed see-through audio system that helped initially launch the model. The $4,000 Brutalist speaker is created from aluminum, and though it stands round 23-inches tall in individual, with out context it may very well be simply mistaken for a minimalist workplace tower designed by an architect nonetheless impressed by Britain’s post-war architectural fashion.
Clear’s speaker contains a pair of three-inch tweeters positioned at 90-degree angles that work alongside a 6.5-inch subwoofer positioned on the other aspect of them. The corporate suggests its design is best at filling a room with sound when the speaker is positioned in a nook so sound can bounce off partitions, however wherever you place it you’ll wish to make certain an outlet is close by as a result of it doesn’t have a battery. At 26.5 lbs, it’s already heavy sufficient.
The speaker can stream audio from gadgets over Bluetooth 5.2, but it surely additionally has Wi-Fi and helps Apple’s AirPlay 2, Tidal Join, Spotify Join, and Amazon Music. A pair of three.5mm inputs enable different audio sources to attach with a cable, and whereas it’s suitable with Amazon’s Alexa, the Brutalist speaker doesn’t have its personal microphone, limiting the usefulness of the good assistant’s integration.
Clear spent three years growing the Brutalist speaker, however loads of the challenges truly got here from its choice to make it utilizing 70 p.c post-consumer recycled aluminum. “After all, we spent loads of time in manufacturing to good all the totally different modules coming collectively properly and making certain every thing sounds nice, however truly, the sourcing of the recycled aluminum for the cupboard hasn’t been simple,” Per Brickstad, Clear’s artistic director, informed Wired.
