And so the Parrot and Philippe Starck Zikmu speakers that TechRadar ridiculed in December have been launched in the UK.
We wouldn't normally revisit such a niche product, but the latest press release featured some priceless blather by design icon Starck that's well worth sharing. And some tech specs.
"We were not aiming to create just another speaker," said the designer. "Our design focused more on making the air vibrate."
I'm not sure what hi-fi you've been listening to, Philippe, but all the speakers we've ever heard - in fact, everything we've ever heard - made the air vibrate. That's kind of how acoustics work.
'Formidable' tech
"There's actually a three-dimensional feel to the vibration, meaning that the air is palpable, almost humanlike in presence, like a fragrance," he went on.
Right. Lost us there. This could be a reference to the 360-degree output of the speakers, or it could be an unfamiliar figure of speech. And who wants speakers that smell of people, anyway?
"These speakers are thoroughly modern, because they represent the least possible," explains Starck. "They feature the most extreme and formidable technology with the fewest possible materials to deliver maximum effect: that is the magic."
And like French underwear, the less you get, the more you pay for it. The Zikmu speakers will be available this spring for the price of £1,200. Paul Daniels would be proud.
Just to round things off, here are those techy details: 100W RMS output, 50Hz-20KHz frequency response, A2DP Bluetooth and b/g Wi-Fi.
