CES 2014

Many people care about the look of their homes, their furniture, and the accessories they buy, but even though audio components are shrinking, most speakers still look like large, decorator-unfriendly, black and grey boxes. In-ceiling speakers may look more discreet but they can be difficult an expensive to install. ClearView Audio’s CEO Stefan Bokamper claimed, “We wanted to design something that was as invisible to the casual observer as an in-ceiling speaker. When a friend walks into your house they wouldn’t know where the music was coming from.”

Today ClearView Audio introduced Clio a speaker that Bokamper described as “a work of art. Clio is thin, curved, clear and beautiful.” The speaker utilizes a transparent membrane that radiates the sound, with a minimalist base housing the electronics and a small, 2-inch subwoofer to produce base. The membrane is an ultra-thin, slightly curved, optically-clear acrylic glass, that Bokamper describes as “the kind of material found in a high end car to protect the instrument cluster.” A patented edge motion technology enables the invisible loudspeaker to function, with two piezo electric actuators applying force to the panel and causing it to produce sound. Because of the speed of piezo drivers, they are capable of producing accurate sound.

Clio is designed to fit into any room and style and the dipolar design produces the same sound from both the front and back of the speaker. Because of the curved panel design, it has a terrific radiation pattern, almost 360-degrees. There are two actuators creating a true stereo signal and Clio produced a surprising amount of bass for its sleek form factor, but really shined with great vocal clarity and detail.

The base is available in silver, charcoal and a dark bronze that goes well with the dark woods found in many homes. The speaker measures 9 ¼ x 12 5/8 x 3 ¼-inches (HxWxD) and weighs a svelte 1.9 pounds.

Clio is Bluetooth enabled to wirelessly stream audio from multiple devices and it also features a 3.5-mm mini-jack for hardwired connection. Its clear design causes it to virtually vanish in a room. From the artwork shots, the speaker blends into the environment so well that it is almost a game of “Where’s Clio?” to find where it is located.

Clio will be available in Q2 for $349