Technabob » trumpet

Trumstand iPhone Dock: Your iPhone Joins The Brass Section

Range — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:00:24 +0000

In my case, I’d rather spend money on a killer pair of headphones than speakers, because of where I live. That doesn’t stop me from wondering how this iPhone dock actually sounds. Like many other systems, this one from Japan amplifies the sound of your iDevice without electricity.

The Japanese manufacturer Pleiades [JP] designed Trumstand. The acoustic amplifier is made out of gold- or silver-plated brass, and elongated into a long ‘S’ shape. Apparently, this amplifies the bass of the music being played. Just set your iPhone into the rubberized dock to form a tight seal, and you’re all set. Despite the fact that it’s an acoustic amp, they were at least kind enough to include a USB connector for charging your phone while docked.

They are quite striking, but I still can’t imagine that amplifying the iPhone’s tiny little speaker could possibly be as good as a proper set of speakers and an amp.

The gold version costs ¥158,000 (~$2,000 USD) and the silver ¥138,000 (~$1,800 USD). At those price, you better be sure you’ll like the way they sound.

[via core77]

Trumpet iPhone Amplifier: Brass Blast

Lambert Varias — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 13:07:24 +0000

Artist Christopher Locke – who also made these gadget fossils – used a salvaged trumpet to make an analog amplifier. Just like th iVictrola, the trumpet does all the work, so there’s no electricity needed. Locke uses it for his iPhone, but actually it can be used with any media player that will fit on the steel dock, provided that it has built-in speakers.

Here’s the “Analog Tele-Phonographer” in use:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Locke actually built a second version using a different trumpet, with one of the valves cleverly used as a mute button:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

If you had your eyes on the second version, tough luck, someone already bought it. The original Analog Tele-Phonographer is still available though, but the price might not be music to your wallet’s ears – Locke is selling it on his website for $400 (USD).

[via Cult of Mac via Walyou]

More Stupid Robot Tricks

Technabob — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 09:51:04 +0000

I guess that Sony and Honda’s Dancing robots weren’t enough proof that designing humanoid robots was a waste of time and money….

Toyota has now developed a Trumpet playing robot. The world is saved!