It is an interesting exercise in speaker technology on behalf of a consumer electronics giant. Honestly wouldn't have expected Apple to try building such a device this way.
I'd like to see data such as THD, IMD at various playback levels. Just because something has flat-ish FR curves obviously doesn't mean it will sound decent. One would hope they care about more than just FR if they took the time to get that somewhat right, but I have my doubts. I have a serious allergy to products like this and view it as just another fashion accessory Bose type product with similar reputation. Hats off to Apple for at least trying to make it sound palatable, but its designed to sit on a flat surface and won't ever be used by even somewhat serious listeners being a mono device... I really feel the world is going backwards seeing audio products like this.
It was designed by one of the smartest guys on diyaudio. I'm bummed that it didn't sell well enough to justify the cost, but the engineering appears very good to me.
Flipping through that patent was interesting just from the pictures. It's cool to see people pushing new and different technologies/practices.
I think that what we here would like and what the general public would like are worlds apart sometimes. A great product to us could be a dead item in stores, and that isn't always right or good, but companies are beholden to shareholders.
Look at Beats headphones... I am sure many have seen the curves, but that's what the public wants. Same goes for a speaker, Apple would love to find a solution that appeals to the majority. Most laypeople aren't likely to concern themselves with placement etc. Plenty of music I own sounds awful in a critical listening situation, but on speakers that most would agree are compromised, it's palatable. Its about convenience and accessibility more than accuracy.
I think that what we here would like and what the general public would like are worlds apart sometimes. A great product to us could be a dead item in stores, and that isn't always right or good, but companies are beholden to shareholders.
Look at Beats headphones... I am sure many have seen the curves, but that's what the public wants. Same goes for a speaker, Apple would love to find a solution that appeals to the majority. Most laypeople aren't likely to concern themselves with placement etc. Plenty of music I own sounds awful in a critical listening situation, but on speakers that most would agree are compromised, it's palatable. Its about convenience and accessibility more than accuracy.