All products featured are independently chosen by us. However, SoundGuys may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links. See our ethics statement.
Clearview Clio is a speaker that you can see through
Last week at the Luxury Technology Show in New York, one Bluetooth speaker stood out from the rest by being invisible. Audio company Clearview Audio has a unique new speaker that, as their name implies, is completely see through. A thin sheet of glass is all that rises up out of the plastic base which also houses the subwoofer. In Greek mythology Clio is the goddess of music and playing instruments, so what better name for a speaker.
This speaker not only looks different from many others, it also produces sound in its own way. Rather than using cones that push air from behind the speaker, the Clio Bluetooth speaker makes utilize piezo-electric actuators that vibrate the sides of the acrylic glass. Clearview calls this Edge Motion and dubs it “The first new innovation in speaker technology in more than 80 years.”
The vibrations on both sides of the glass is just enough to create the air compressions needed to reproduce sound waves. This glass takes care of the highs and some mids, but the base is still needed for the 2-inch woofer that handles the low end. Clearview says that this allows for a 360 degree immersive sound experience since air is vibrating off of both sides into the room. The speaker can connect via Bluetooth so you will be able to control music playback from your wireless device. However, it also has four physical buttons on the left side of the base that control volume up, volume down, and mute. The last button is a Bluetooth button that initiates the pairing process. Like most other Bluetooth speakers the Clio also comes with a 3.5mm input jack for non-Bluetooth devices.
At about four pounds, it isn’t the most portable of speakers and seeing as it’s primarily a thin sheet of standing glass I wouldn’t recommend moving it too often anyway. That said, the see-through design gives it a modern look that I personally don’t think would look bad anywhere. Just make sure that wherever you decide to put it is safe and outside the reach of children. The Clearview Clio can be ordered for $349 on Amazon so if you’re in the market for a speaker to match your home decor, this could be the right fit.