Although accustomed to thinking about speakers when we hear of sound reproduction, nature uses several methods of producing sound or amplifying it. For instance, a cricket makes a chirping sound by rubbing its hind legs against each other, while perching on a large leaf to amplify the sound it produces. A guitarist amplifies the sound from the wires by coupling it to the guitar’s wooden box.

Traditionally, the size of the cone and the driver of a speaker determine the frequency and range of sound it produces. That is why several small portable speakers sound tinny, as they are unable to offer the deep bass because their driver can deliver limited frequency ranges. That is also the reason high fidelity audio systems have separate speakers for reproducing extremely low frequencies through subwoofer speakers.

A new type of speaker in the market does not require a cone to reproduce sound. This speaker uses the Incisor Diffusion Technology to diffuse sound across and through any surface upon which it is resting. It uses the surface to act as its cone and the surface diffuses the sound into the surrounding area.

Created by Damson, all its products using the Incisor Diffusion Technology offer a full audio frequency range from the surfaces they are placed upon. However, as different surfaces have varying resonance properties, the audio they produce will sound somewhat different. This unique way of reproducing sound offers the hearing impaired to feel sound through vibrations—just as Beethoven did.

As Damson pushes the capabilities of sound reproduction to newer frontiers, the need for different speakers to provide bass, middle, and high frequencies is fast dissolving. A regular speaker has a coil fixed to a permanent magnet, the arrangement being known as the driver. The Incisor Diffusion Technology from Damson replaces the coil with teeth or incisors. While they act in the same way as a coil does, they also power the different frequencies pushing the through to the surface. The reaction of the Incisor Diffusion Technology with the surface transfers the sound through it. For instance, placing on of Damson speakers on a window diffuses the sound through the glass, allowing it to be heard on both its sides.

Along with the size and shape of the surface, its type also affects the sound that it delivers. For instance, a bigger surface produces more sound than a smaller surface does, as it has more area and moves a greater amount of air—just as a bigger speaker is louder than a smaller one is. Any elastic surface will work to amplify the sound through it.

That means some surfaces work better than others do when reproducing sound. For instance, you will not hear sound from surfaces made of granite or stone, thick solid wood, sand, tarmac, grass, mud, asphalt, and concrete. On the other hand, thin wood is an ideal surface for sound reproduction, as is glass such as windshields, shower screens, windows, and tables. Metals surfaces are also good for sound production, so one can use the car bonnet, hood, or the roof. Now Redux is planning to use this technology on the screen of smartphones as a replacement for tiny speakers.