Sound is a wave and light, wave or particle (it depends on the instrument with which it is measured); light travels through empty space, while sound needs a medium to propagate itself … But what they have in common is that both have a huge impact on our body, in such a way that they regulate our rhythms and our state of health .
With this in mind, Ikea and Sonos have presented their speaker proposal in Milan. Both stimuli – light and sound; design and acoustics – are perfectly combined in the Symfonisk collection, to set the scene for the smart home: the speaker-lamp and the speaker-bookshelf, both with WiFi speakers. And they have done so taking advantage of the fabulous setting of the Salone del Mobile, the Design Week in the Italian city.
Technical details were provided to the media by Sonos Product Manager Sara Morris during the Milan event. The first is an LED lamp that works with WiFi speakers in a curved enclosure. Here, design is put at the service of technology: we do not need cables, and the curved design increases sound quality by avoiding interference.
The second, which can support up to 3 kilos of weight , is designed to be more functional; and offers better bass quality.
Both speakers receive orders from our Google or Amazon voice assistant (if we have them). Ikea, implementing Sonos technology, is thus aiming somewhat in the trend of the smart home.
Light and sound as human health thermometers
In addition, the presentation of the products, which will be on sale from August 1, had the intervention of experts who helped to strengthen the interesting philosophy behind these proposals.
Thanks to experts in chronobiology such as Professor Emeritus of the Basel University Psychiatric Clinics Anna Wirz-Justice Wirz-Justice, we now know that, within our cells, the delicate machinery that controls the normal biological clock can be greatly altered by light and the sound that affects our body; specifically, by the type of stimulus and the time it occurs.
During the event, Wirz-Justice highlighted the importance of regulating the light in the home environment. As for artificial light, natural light in the morning can have positive effects. “The ideal is to have more blue light in the morning and more orange light at night,” explained the doctor to Muy Interesante.
How do you create an environment with sounds?
In the same way, sound has a great impact on human health. According to Sound Creative Director Martin Hallberg: “For 200 years, we have been influenced by city traffic and other types of noise pollution. Whenever we can, we have to try to listen to the noises of nature, such as the singing of birds, or the sound of the sea ”.
In this sense, the products in the Symfonisk collection seek to position themselves, not as mere high-quality design loudspeakers, but also as a prescriber of acoustic hygiene, derived precisely from their quality. “It is advisable to think about how things sound, whether they are pleasant or not, and to reproduce sounds in a healthy way at home,” Hallberg pointed out to Very Interesting.
