Dezeen Magazine

Urbanears launches colourful speaker range to suit even the most minimal interiors

Dezeen promotion: Swedish audio brand Urbanears has launched a range of wireless speakers that, like its bestselling headphones, features pared-back designs in a variety of colours.

Urbanears' Connected Speakers come in two different sizes, both named after Swedish neighbourhoods – Stammen and Baggen.

Their clean design, combined with the variety of colour and size options, mean the speakers can suit a wide variety of homes, small or large, and with all sorts of interior decoration schemes.

The speakers are wrapped in an acoustically transparent fabric that comes in six different colours: Dirty Pink, Vinyl Black, Plant Green, Concrete Grey, Goldfish Orange and Indigo Blue.

This follows the approach taken for the brand's popular headphones, which were launched in 2009 to "create the industrial design equivalent of your favourite plain coloured T-shirt".

The Stammen is the smallest of the two speakers, designed to fit bedrooms and studio apartments. It measures 210 millimetres wide, 210 millimetres high and 142 millimetres deep.

The larger Baggen measures 301 millimetres wide, 301 millimetres high and 213 millimetres deep, so is suited for larger spaces including living rooms, patios, and open-plan apartments.

Using Wi-Fi technology, the Connected Speakers provide a seamless streaming experience.

Users can play music from a variety of sources including Spotify Connect, Airplay or Chromecast, or connect to audio devices via Bluetooth and a 3.5-millimetre auxiliary cable.

Two or more Connected Speakers can also be combined to form a multi-room system, giving users the opportunity to create a sound experience to suit their own living space.

Different settings can be applied in each room, or the speakers can be grouped together for a synchronised listening experience.

The customisation of presets and settings can be easily managed via the accompanying Urbanears Connected app, which is available on smartphones and tablets.

In a throwback to classic dial-operated radios, the speakers' simplified interface is made up of just two physical knobs, which can be pushed to switch between pause and play, or solo and multi-speaker modes.

A twist adjusts the volume or selects one of seven presets, which users can set as preferred Spotify playlists or internet radio stations.

"Urbanears is all about bringing people closer to technology," said Oscar Axhede, co-founder and creative director at Urbanears.

"We wanted to create a listening experience that would bring the best of sound and connectivity into people's homes, without the hassle of trying to figure out how to make the technology work."

The Stammen and Baggen are available to purchase for £299 and £399 respectively.

To find out more, visit the Urbanears website.