Swedish audio brand Nocs has announced its latest powered wireless speaker. The Nocs Mini has been developed over the past 12 months at the company’s R&D lab in Lund, Sweden, aiming to produce a compact speaker that can deliver fuller and more natural sound.
After a year of intensive R&D, the Mini was developed and put into production. The speaker cabinet is made from MDF and has a finish created with structurally durable paint. The speaker has distinct acoustic properties mainly due to substantial internal bracing.
The MDF used to construct the Mini’s cabinet is milled by CNC to the correct geometry before the surface is treated with structured matt paint. The aluminum front plate is sandblasted with a perforated pixel pattern. Nocs has incorporated Sorbothane damping pads into the speaker’s base that effectively curbs vibrations, ensuring a stable listening experience and a speaker that stays precisely where it’s put.
The drivers used in the Mini have been sourced from Danish speaker driver Scan-Speak, keeping the product’s critical components within the Nordic region. Scan-Speak was founded in 1970 and the company has a reputation for producing high-end speaker drivers, which Denmark is particularly good at. Instead of outsourcing the Mini’s assembly to China, Nocs has turned across the Baltic Sea to Estonia, where speaker production has occurred since 1935.
Nocs says it has used premium components to boost the Mini’s sonic performance and the unit’s two Scan-Speak drivers are coupled with a custom-tuned subwoofer module to produce what the company calls its signature sound.
After a few years of production based in China, Nocs shifted production back to Sweden and the EU. The move is mainly due to how Nocs now designs its products to be part of a circular economy. In addition to the elevated quality and finish from European production, the company has prioritized a modular design that can be repaired and upgraded over time.
Although wireless speaker technology constantly evolves, Nocs hopes to end the constant cycle of upgrading consumer electronics. Instead of scrapping its products after a few years of use, Nocs says it has designed out obsolescence by making the Mini upgradable one part at a time to reduce its environmental impact.
The shift towards sustainable design and production is taking root in Scandinavia. Danish premium audio brand Bang & Olufsen is now making more of its products sustainable from cradle to grave with user-replaceable batteries and circuitry that can be upgraded in the long term.
Price & Availability: The Nocs Mini speaker will be available for pre-order from today priced at $750 €900. Shipping will commence on October 16.
More info: nocsdesign.com
Tech Specs:
- Frequency response: 40Hz – 20kHz.
- Driver size: 2 x full range 3.5″.
- Driver type: Scan-Speak DISCOVERY 10 cm full range 8Ω coated fiberglass cone.
- Subwoofer: Neodymium magnet, 3″ PP long-stroke subwoofer driver.
- Multi-room playback with up to 8 Minis.
- Amplification: Class-D amplifier 110W wireless stereo.
- Dimensions: 270 x 230 x 106 mm.
- Weight: 3.3kg.
- Connectivity: Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect. Bluetooth 5.0, Apple AirPlay 2 (with firmware upgrade).
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