Hasta La Gadget!

There’s something about old speaker housings, especially from the 60s and 70s. They are usually thick, big things that have a great look with design appeal. These speakers made from discarded old speakers that have been upgraded with new components.

Each Tombox speaker is unique, and the built-in battery will last up to two weeks before it needs a recharge. It’s maker, Diefabrik hand-selects some nicely designed old loudspeakers as suitable candidates for each upgrade. The sound varies from Tombox to Tombox, but each of the ones I’ve seen looks pretty awesome.

The compact Tombox looks like a cool way of sharing your tunes, while the bigger Tombox+ looks like a decent speaker to have at home. Diefabrik list their available Tomboxes and Tomboxes+ on their site, and you can send them an email to get yours. Prices typically range from €190 to €420 (~$233 to $515 USD).

[via NOTCOT]

It can be argued that today’s modern electronics lack the soul found in older devices. There was a time that a radio felt nearly alive thanks to its glowing inner tubes and wooden casing. But now, with printed circuit boards and mass produced plastic casings, electronics feel dead, disposable and down right stiff.

Tombox speakers are a bit different. Using repurposed vintage electronics, these speakers combine the warm feeling of older electronics with features of a modern kit — think steampunk without the gaudy nonsense.

There are a 10 models in this company’s collection, each with a 3.5mm input. The best looking model, the tombox 145 (top), is already sold. Since these are one-off products, they’re gone when they’re gone. The tombox 144 (below) is another good bet. Or, if you need something larger, the company also sells large floor models complete with casters and a large leather strap for wheeling it around a room.

Prices are bit rough with models starting out at 190 EUR. Worse yet, it’s rather difficult to give this company your money as the buy button links to an email account. But never mind those trivial features, these radios and large speakers restore my faith in design by ironically rehashing older designs.