August 2020
by Stephan Hürlemann, architect and designer of PIEGA loudspeakers

Before I became an architect and designer and was given the opportunity to develop loudspeakers for PIEGA, I have been a musician for several years. The act of composing a musical piece is very similar to that of designing rooms and products. It’s all about highs and lows, lengths and sequences; about colours, expression and volume – in other words elements that stand out and those that stand back.

In the end it’s the interaction of all components that evokes a certain character, style and mood. Music is a means of expressing one’s own identity. Just like the architecture, furniture and products you surround yourself with. And the loudspeaker is the object that brings those two worlds together.

When I was asked to contribute a guest post about speakers and home design for PIEGA’s blog, my thoughts went back to a dinner with friends I hosted about 10 years ago. Hours went by and we were discussing audio systems, when a friend suddenly paused for a moment, looked around and then asked where my sound emerged from, given that I didn’t have any speakers. I gently pointed at two floor-standing loudspeakers of more than a meter’s height, within three and six meter’s distance from her seat at the table. She hadn’t even noticed the aluminium cabinet of my PIEGA Coax 30.2 against the concrete wall.

To me, that’s a huge compliment, since I would never compromise on sound quality in favour of decorating aspects. The crux is that the sound experience is highly affected by the volume of the cabinets. Music lovers and design aficionados hence find themselves faced with the choice of good sound or beautiful interior. Thanks to PIEGA, they no longer need to compromise. With its unpretentious appearance, a PIEGA speaker merges discreetly into its surroundings. Its design is a statement on understatement, so to say, revealing the beauty of its clear shapes only at second glance.

In 2018, PIEGA took a big step forward and launched its Premium Wireless Series with a range of different sized speakers that can be positioned anywhere in the room, independent of the audio source. A true benefit for the design of any room. In the old days there was often no choice but to put a speaker right next to the audio source – most commonly left and right of the TV. Facing the speakers, one inevitably stared at the black screen when listening to music. Thanks to WiFi we can now enjoy top sound quality while looking at what we like – a piece of art or the shades of the night sky for example.

As a technical enthusiast, if I want to bring my Coax speakers to the fore, I simply detach the front cover and marvel at the high and low ribbon tweeters.