"... I have to admit that out of all the various reviews I've done, it is probably this one which will stick out in my memory.

For although the technology behind them is state-or-the-art and incredibly innovative, I really do think, these speaker's could sell purely on their looks alone.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a better looking speaker system anywhere in the world and, for the audio poseur, this will surely become a must have item."

John Francis
smarthouse - livestyle technology
www.smart-house.net

complete articel:

"A valuable material since Egyptian times, the world of glass has taken its next evolutionary step. With the industry becoming very excited about German company Glas-Platz, JOHN FRANCIS decides it's time to see what all the fuss is about.

Glass?! Is this, or is this not, a technology magazine?, I hear you collectively enquire. Well, if I were to tell you that this glass product recently won the iF Design award (for the third time since 1998), and that to win this award, Glas-Platz had to beat off 1700 other entries from over 900 different companies, I suspect your interest might well become aroused. And the product to which I keep alluding? The glass sound® loudspeaker. As to what this actually is, are you sitting comfortably...

Glas-Platz have been specialists in processing glass for the last 25- years, during which time their trend-setting innovations have often resulted in numerous fruitful cooperation agreements and created international furore when released onto the market - simply put, if they don't know something about glass, it's simply not worth knowing. Furthermore, since glass is 100 per cent recyclable, modern technology can only offer further possibilities for future innovations.

Anyway, back to the topic in hand, the glass sound range is precisely what its name suggests - loudspeakers designed in glass. And although Glas-Platz are involved in other innovative glass products (power glass, display glass, operator glass), as an unusual loudspeaker for private and commercial use, the loudspeaker really is the flagship of the range.

The secret behind this marvellous innovation is a marriage of Glas- Platz's years of experience and the revolution in sound that is NXT. We have often spoken of NXT technology in this magazine, and with good reason - the revolutionary new way to produce fantastic speakers that NXT developed has been instrumental in changing the way we think about sound, and the licensing out of the technology to Glas-Platz has resulted in this sensational product.

Available in two different versions - techno sound and magic sound - the sound wall really needs to be seen to be believed.

In the example of the techno sound, we're presented with a wall mounted glass sound speaker system with a stylish CD-design incorporated into the glass. Without going into technical detail too much, the performance parameters of this speaker set-up more than match any other contemporary design due to the diffusion of acoustic radiation; which basically means that the sound quality and volume remain constant, regardless of location. Measuring 400 x 399 x 27 mm and constructed from safety glass, the techno sound speaker takes up very little space and is reliably safe. What is more though, when either mounted on the steel ropes or as the stainless steel rack, the speaker is visually stunning - literally quite unlike anything we've seen before.

Moving onto the magic sound wall, which in truth was the precursor to the techno sound speaker, we are again treated to an aesthetically beautiful mix of technology and design. The awardwinning design reduces the loudspeaker to te bare essentials; the resonator takes the form of the glass sheet, as does the exciter. The power is supplied through a conductive glass membrane on the rear side of the glass sheet which remains all but invisible to the casual observer. Although in my opinion, the magic sound wall doesn't look quite as good as the techno version, it has to be said that the unit is still visually impressive, being mounted as it is in similar vein to the techno sound wall. but hanging directly from the mounts in this case. Again, measuring only 400 x 295 x 37 mm, the magic sound system is also particularty unobtrusive.

The only recommendation Glas-Platz make is that to gain optimum performance, both options should be installed with a Glas-Platz subwoofer, which is sold separately. And, since it's designed specifically for these two systems, who are we to argue? The subwoofer is itself a superb piece of equipment and is so designed as to fit into a room's corners or actually under pieces of your home's furnishings, not unlike the complementing subwoofer to the Mission NXT system featured way back in Issue One of Smarthouse. Both the dividing frequency and the volume of the subwoofer are adjustable, and it possesses two pairs of outlets for front and rear satellites."