LustList >> Music amplification with a little more personality...

Today is going to be a music-themed day, I can just feel it...

 I've been dying for a record player recently.  While one major factor is the quality of sound that vinyls produce, I have to admit that probably the biggest reason I want a record player is for the kind of ambience and atmosphere it creates to have music coming out of one.  It's just so much warmer feeling than those sleek, sterile iPod docks. 

If you're a minimalist, you're like, "no way, it's so awesome that I can play music out of this tiny inconspicuous white thing that no one even notices," but for me, I'd rather have something that's like, "Hey, check me out!  I'm playing some tunes!  This is going to be a rockin fun party with great music!"

But, considering I own no vinyl records and building a collection that could rival my iTunes collection would be an extremely costly feat, (and an implausible one considering building my iTunes colletion has been a financial investment rivaled only by my education), maybe the iVictrola is my answer...

It doesn't plug in!  It has no power source!  And it's so cool looking!

For those of you who need a little more sleekness in your lives, maybe the Phonofone?

The Phonofone II is all ceramic and actually just amplifies sound from your headphones.  Here's how the creators, Science & Sons, explain it:

Through passive amplification alone, These unique pieces instantly transform any personal music player + earbuds into a sculptural audio console.

Without the use of external power or batteries, the Phonofone inventively exploits the virtues of horn acoustics to boost the audio output of standard earphones to up to 55 decibles* (or roughly the maximum volume of laptop speakers)

Upon connecting active earphones to the Phonofone their trebly buzzing is instantly and profoundly transformed into a warm, rich and resonant sound.

The Phonofone is constructed entirely from ceramic. Not only environmentally low impact, ceramics are inherently rigid and resonant, lending themselves well to this application.

 Given that the max volume is roughly that of a laptop, this particular device isn't all that tempting, but still a really clever design!

 The Hendekagram gramaphone operates the same way as the Phonofone, simply amplifying sound from your headphones. From qed* design.

The iVictrola at top doesn't have an explanation for how it works, but since it is cordless, I assume it is through similar principles, unless it uses batteries and you just can't tell from the pics.  Regardless, it's def my fave!

[Mauve Declarations]