JVC Kenwood Unveils Wooden Cube Invisible Speakers That Stream Real-Time Nature Sounds

The sounds of nature just got a lot more stylish.

Adding to the influx of new speakers at CES this year, JVC Kenwood has introduced cube-shaped speakers that stream real-time sounds from nature- and they don’t look like speakers at all.

The hand-crafted chestnut frames, which resemble small end tables or wall cubes, contain no large speaker parts; the frames themselves are the “invisible” speakers. They’re available in both 12.2 and 5.35-inch sizes, making them perfect for a small apartment. Designed to produce medium and high-pitched nature sounds such as birds and rustling tree branches, the speakers are not ideal for music, since deep bass is a challenge. However, the frames are able to widely disseminate sound.

JVC Kenwood is also offering  authentic nature sounds to accompany the speakers. You can purchase a monthly subscription service that will stream real-time sound from microphones placed in the mountains of Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, and Morotsuka Village, Miyazaki Prefecture. (A price for the subscription service has yet to be announced.) Users will be able to download a smartphone app and then direct sound data to the speakers wirelessly.

As you might imagine, these speakers are luxury items; the small model costs ¥60,000 (about $680), while the larger model runs ¥300,000 (more than $3,400).