Blokhaüs Loudspeaker Prototype
What would a high fidelity bespoke lifestyle speaker look like if the goal was SUSTAINABILITY? We would use natural materials, selected not only for their audio performance, but also timeless beauty & ultimate durability. We would strike a balance between using classic handcrafted woodworking techniques, and yet designed to elicit a distinctively modern esthetic. Here’s a preview of the BlokHaüs— a new design direction of Heinsenfolg lifestyle speaker that’s as easy on the earth, as it is on the eyes & ears.
The design of the BlokHaüs was inspired from a culmination of influences. The first of which happened a summer or two ago while my partner, Myriah and I were having a delectable home-cooked dinner with our favorite culinary couple. As we sat there dining alfresco at their incredible modern mountain retreat in & around the breathtaking Boulder Flagstaff area, I was struck by the style of the seat I was sitting on. It was basically a box, similar to a cajón, the wooden instrument played primarily in Afro-Peruvian music. The material looked like a veneered architectural plywood— simple with minimal hardware. I said to my friend Brent, “These box stools almost look like they could be speakers!” I really loved the materials with it’s unpainted natural-looking finish, and the shape was strong with their unflinchingly unapologetic hard corners. I though to myself, “I’ll have to put these gems in the memory banks for another time”.
Fast forward a couple of years, and recently described in the Cathedral Monolith prototype post, I was reminded of how much I liked the look of Baltic birch plywood. Acoustically it’s nice & neutral, super stiff to minimize unwanted vibrations, and cut properly with thoughtful design intention, the plywood can look amazing with its 13-layers of crosscut composition. In the BlokHaüs design, I’ve doubled the substrate in the box joint corners of the body to reveal 26 layers as shown below. And like the Cathedral Monolith, I love the concentric pattern revealed by creating recessed tweeter & woofer horns in the wood itself.
Lastly, let’s talk about eco-inspiration. Lately I’ve been helping Myriah with a passion project of hers that will be coming soon in the climate space— not to give too much away, but it promises to be a game-changer with global good implications for everyone. With that in mind, Heinsenfolg was also meant to have a sustainability goal— albeit one more subtle, but no less important by primarily using all natural materials with very few to no plastic parts. And most importantly, all Heinsenfolg speakers are designed & built to stand the test of time.
But can we take that ethos even further starting with the BlokHaüs? The design will use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certified Baltic birch plywood with no added urea-formaldehyde resins, which qualify for additional LEEDS points. The BlokHaüs will be protected by a penetrating plant-based wood oil stain with no chemicals in the mix. And like the Cathedral series, our rock-solid European sourced amplifiers and ceramic-coated aluminum tweeters & woofers will extend the life of these speakers into heirloom status, to be handed down to the next generation of music lovers.
