A demonstration of the Ceilingo sound coffee table

Where the sound comes from when nothing is visible

There is no loudspeaker hidden under the top in the usual sense. It is the top itself that is set vibrating and becomes the emitting surface. The sound therefore does not come from a point but from the whole table, which is why you cannot locate it.

The vibrating blade

The principle rests on a poplar blade set in motion, which propagates the wave through the material before giving it back to the air. The timber is chosen for its ratio of stiffness to mass, sanded to grain 3000 and sealed, because the surface condition takes part in the response.

What it brings in a public space

In a bar or a restaurant, a point source forces the volume up to reach the back of the room, and makes the nearest table uncomfortable. A wide, diffuse source spreads the level, which allows the overall volume to come down while staying audible everywhere.

Diffraction, which works in our favour

A wave emitted from a large surface bends around obstacles instead of creating an acoustic shadow behind them. In a room crowded with people, chair backs and low partitions, that is precisely the property that counts.

What this product completes

A sound table does not replace a sound system in a large hall. It comes as a complement, where fitting speakers would be visually heavy or acoustically ineffective, and it treats the immediate space around the guests first.

The product is presented on the musical ambience table and mirror page, and the finished version on the Ceilingo immersion table page.

Where the sound actually comes from

There is no speaker in sight because there is none in the usual sense: it is the table top itself that vibrates.The page on the vibrating blade goes into that principle, and the Table Bass page shows the product as it is sold today.