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Trust your own creativity

Frederick Rickmann

Trust your own creativity

It’s true, isn't it, that much of the automation and AI in our smart devices makes it easier for us to use them. On the other hand, it is also true that all those algorithms make us, the users, a good bit dumber. The assumption of many smart interface engineers is that ease of use is the same as making things idiot proof. But what that really does is to take the skills and human judgement away from the pleasure of using the product. The way we designed STEENSSEN products like

A timeless design classic, 25 years on

A timeless design classic, 25 years on

No less than 25 years ago, the loudspeaker called Facette was designed for Dynaudio by Frederick Rickmann - the founder of STEENSSEN. It was immediately a design icon in the world of hifi because the triangular shape was great for sound quality. The exquisite edge details also seemed to predate the coming of flat screen tv's. Somehow the geometry of the speakers, defined a line in space. So although the speaker had depth, it appeared to be elegantly thin. These photos are of

Support the Circular Economy - buy a square loudspeaker.

Frederick Rickmann

Support the Circular Economy - buy a square loudspeaker.

If we are to achieve or even come close to the climate targets our governments have set, then the Circular Economy in some form is going to take a part. At its heart, the Circular Economy consists of the sensible idea of eliminating waste in materials, energy and resources. The concept encourages developing new kinds of products that last for much longer than they do today. In addition there is emphasis on the by-products of one process being the raw materials for another man

If you are in lock-down you aren't going to like this blog

Frederick Rickmann

If you are in lock-down you aren't going to like this blog

A few years ago, my CO2 footprint was an environmental catastrophe. Not on the earth mind you, but in the air. Where it matters. I enjoyed flying. And by that I mean, not even in small regional jets, but in the really big ones. Boeing Mega-tops and the like and on long distances. And to make matters a whole lot worse, I was not crammed into Economy. Or even Economy Plus. Sorry, but my seat was high up and let's say, well in front of the engines. (I warned you, that you wouldn

A man you have never heard of has changed your life!

Frederick Rickmann

A man you have never heard of has changed your life!

Lou Ottens is the man. His work has certainly changed your life and that of your parents. He died at the age of 94 on the 6th March in the Netherlands. Lou Ottens was the visionary inventor who lead the design teams at Philips who were responsible for creating the music cassette and the portable cassette recorder. Not content with just that achievement, Lou Ottens was also the person behind the development and success of the music CD. You might think that inventing the music

Be lazy with ACTION

Frederick Rickmann

Be lazy with ACTION

One of the many interesting aspects to come out of the present pandemic is that there is now a lot of scientific data about what happens when people stay more with their families and at home. The list is impressive. Many fewer heart attacks, a huge drop in antibiotics for children, less social stress, brain hemorrhaging at a record low and the same for low level for premature births. To increase social contact we have seen that community singing and activities actually gave m

Listening is the new together trend

Frederick Rickmann

Listening is the new together trend

In a world turned upside down it is refreshing to see that some of the things that bring us together are in fact some of the more traditional family pastimes. Lock-downs force us to be in social isolation with our families and households. We quickly find that the Insta's and Facebook's and Twitters in our smart phones are just too individually isolating and they fail terribly in the new situation when the household needs to be more cohesively together for longer periods. You

Livestream your own concert

Frederick Rickmann

Livestream your own concert

All over Europe, the lock-down restrictions are being removed, allowing more movement and contact. It’s great that the pandemic is on the wane. But the whole idea of a large rock concert or public performance is still way in the future. The excitement and buzz of having a large number of people together isn't going to happen any time soon. We still need to hear good music. We still need to support musicians and the music industry. In these times of crisis, we may be short of

What is ARSA 3D sound and how does it improve the quality of sound?

What is ARSA 3D sound and how does it improve the quality of sound?

ARSA - Ambient Responsive Sonic Architecture is an acoustic system developed by STEENSSEN where the architecture of the internal structure of the cabinets and the array of driver units gives a time-lapse dispersal of the sound you are listening to so that you get a more natural surround effect when listening. ARSA also takes into account that you may be using a flat tv screen above the unit so that sound waves travel up behind the tv and reach your ears giving a deeper and mo

You, me and the planet

Frederick Rickmann

You, me and the planet

One of the striking things about these present times is that the pandemic has made us realize that individually we are important. Everyone. Keeping distance, using protection, washing hands and being aware of others are all things that we can do as persons. And our behaviour individually creates a solution that brings benefits to the entire community and indeed the whole planet. This strong sense of individual action in response to the Corona virus is in contrast to how we be

Tweets about tweeters

Frederick Rickmann

Tweets about tweeters

Several STEENSSEN followers have raised the interesting question that there doesn't appear to be tweeter drivers included in the new NEO series. A tweeter is the speaker unit that produces high pitch tones, tones like a high guitar riff, violin tones and sounds link bird songs. Tweeters are very normal in high quality hifi products and so the question is quite natural for STEENSSEN's new product line. Without disclosing too many confidential details at this stage, we can reve

Corona and the Climate

Frederick Rickmann

Corona and the Climate

Through the thick fog of today's politics and the blurry picture of fake and real news there is a golden thread emerging. You could almost say that it’s could even be a sign of better things to come. The pandemic we are dealing with right now, and the climate challenge we are beginning to fix, seem to share very similar solutions. Well of course a planetary virus and global warming are nothing like the same issue. But what they do have in common is that they force us to rethi

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