RISUONA: passive speakers

Torre dell’Orso (Lecce, Italy), Summer 2016

An evening with old friends is a good time to get acquainted closely with the object of desire: the now famous RISUONA, the piece of wood that amplifies your smartphone, be it an iPhone, a Samsung, Huawei or what is …

Sam

This unit, a bit special one, conceived and created by the excellent designer and innovative maker and dear friend Ubaldo Samuelli, which I’ve heard from our mutual friend Massimo, greatly intriguing me because is an object that does not need connection cables or batteries to be powered. Just as it does not need bluetooth or wifi connections.

Made of wood, in two versions and different types of colors, RISUONA is a passive amplifier that exploits the physical principle of the acoustic waves to re-create a kind of acoustic horn which naturally magnifies the original sound source that comes from the small speaker present in the smartphone. Small and portable. But it soon becomes clear its value by handling it and all the quality of the materials with which it was made …

The sound quality is very good, indeed, but much depends on the same quality of the sound source: if poor quality, the result will not be the best. Generally, it is still very satisfactory, as well as also the amplification factor. It ‘s amazing to hear the difference in volume between with and without RISUONA. The only drawback, perhaps, the low yield of bass boost, but this mostly always depends on the quality of the sound source, partially offset by the natural sound that only wood can give.

Steve

RISUONA comes in two versions, Steve and Sam, each available in several colors. Ranked second place at Inventor Show 2016 in Padua, its creator takes him for a walk around the fairs across Italy, where for sure you can buy it in effective manner.

Steve is designed for the iPhone, as it allows you to insert your smartphone in a nearly vertical position, since the iPhone, and also new versions of Samsung, hold the speaker in the bottom of the phone. You can then listen to the music and seeing the video in a completely natural way, or enjoy watching a good movie.

Sam is meant for Samsung with the speaker on the back and all the Android based smartphones that have the same feature, but it is virtually universal, as it is also possible to stay the iPhone vertically by simply removing the included adapter that allows placement in horizontal, in fact necessary for the smartphone versions with speaker on the back.

All versions are virtually unique pieces, handmade with quality and painstaking accuracy, pure made in Italy, with natural and recycled materials: a true example of a green economy. Although the package is entirely made of wood and other natural materials. A true piece of art in all its parts!

The cost?

Very affordable, around 100 €, but if you’re lucky you might run into some promotion very affordable, virtually from large retail prices. To buy it just send a note to Ubaldo on the site, on Facebook or other ecommerce platforms.

And uh… I have bought Sam version … I have a smartphone with Android speaker on the back. But I confess … I like so much the version Steve White … Ubaldo, be warned!

A few related links:

• https://www.facebook.com/risuonadiffusore/
• http://www.risuona.com
• http://www.madeinitalystore.me/producer/72/Risuona.html
• Listen it on YouTube