Right to repair is a big deal lately, and there are plenty of new products that prove it. One of the best examples in the tech world is Framework, which has grown immensely by centering modularity and repairability in the ethos of its laptops and new mini desktop PC. And like any gadget trend worth its weight in lithium-ion, other hardware companies are taking note and hopping on the repairability bandwagon. I’m elated to say that this headwind of modularity has now been extended to the world of audio.
This Bluetooth speaker from Teufel, a German audio company whose name translates in English to “devil” or “demon,” is anything but evil, in my very secular opinion. The reason I say that is because it actually bothers to tackle the concept of repairability and modularity. According to Teufel, its new speaker, called Mynd, is fully repairable, including the battery, which is often the first component in gadgets of this variety to fail. And when the battery goes, so does the power, and when there’s no power, well… that’s when things wind up in landfills.
It’s not just the battery, though. Teufel’s Mynd speaker also has open-source software and hardware, which means that you can actually print some components at home with a 3D printer or create new drivers for the speaker. Theoretically, you don’t even have to buy the Mynd from Teufel to own one. Instead, if you have a 3D printer and some technical know-how, you can print the shell, use Teufel’s software, and buy the components you want. After that, just assemble them correctly, and there you go; you have a Mynd.
“A 3D printer with enough print volume and materials could print all the plastic parts, and we also have published the software the MYND uses internally. That means it needs only a handful of screws and you could build your very own speaker. You can also adjust the acoustic tuning to your personal wishes,” said an engineer for Teufel in a blog post.
I love repairability: it’s better for the Earth and it’s better for people, which are two very important things. That being said, I do have some skepticism about how Mynd sounds, since there are constraints in making something that is almost entirely open-source and modular. One of those things is the speaker grate, which, as the engineers of Mynd state, had to be made of plastic. It’s hard to say how that affects the sound without trying one.
If there’s one real problem with Mynd, it’s that Teufel doesn’t appear to be shipping it to the U.S. at the moment. If you’re in Europe, though, you can order this speaker for €229.99 through Teufel’s site. It’s worth noting that Teufel does ship speakers to the U.S. with Fender branding, so maybe that restriction will change in the future.
The fact of the matter is that people want products that will last and also products they can feel good about. Most people—myself included—have that pang of guilt when something goes wrong with a gadget and you have to trash it, and it’s especially demoralizing when you know that things just don’t have to be this way. Given the choice, I think most of us would just opt to buy a new battery over an entirely new speaker. Teufel might be demonic by name, but from what I’m seeing, the Mynd feels pretty saint-like.
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