healthy sounds

Technical design of a Hi-Fi compact system (2017)

Problem and mission

According to several reports, we are stressed by compressed music because our brain constantly tries to compensate the missing audio information. This tires and irritates us, even if we do not consciously perceive it. According to statistics (2017), music streaming is growing, making listening to compressed music more common.

Target group

Looking at the users of the leading music streaming provider Spotify (2017), young people stand out. They often don't have the resources to buy a Hi-Fi compact system that can guarantee a stress-free music experience. Or they falsely hold a bassheavy sound for high quality.

Study mission

Therefore, my goal for this product design study was to create an amplifier that would provide an affordable alternative for young people while also allowing for stress-free music listening in the areas of audio and video streaming as well as video gaming that are attractive to the target group.

Concept

Design concept

The amplifier should be as compact as possible and reduced by the design elements in order to integrate into smallest rooms. At first it was planned to operate the product via a frontal touch display, but it quickly became clear that this would lead to an unergonomic interaction in a vertical display. Therefore a touchbar at the top was selected.

Technical concept

The simple and thus cost-saving construction of the amplifier is mainly ensured by the simple aluminium extruded profile, which also serves as another cooling element. To interface with streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify, a Rasberry Pi was used as the small yet efficient intelligence unit.

Final design

Interface and interaction design

The product itself was inspired by the company Spotify, hence the green colour accents. On the back side the power connector and the HDMI, RCA, and audio inputs and outputs are placed below the cooling fins. The amplifier interface shows the familiar structure of the Spotify app to keep the operation as intuitive as possible.

The amplifier can be operated through smart devices or directly via the touchbar.

The variable intensity of the green LED indicates the selected volume level.