Despite being recognized for his ingenuity by audiophiles, Freddie Kwoh, an audio engineer and the holder of multiple patents, did not see his proudest invention fulfilled. Kwoh passed away in 2016 at the age of 68 before the Symphonica, a totally acoustic horn speaker that naturally amplifies and enhances the sound of iPhone and Android smartphones, could be brought to production.
Now a team of Kwoh's close friends and associates are bringing his dream to market by launching a crowd-funded Kickstarter campaign aimed at raising the $35,000 needed for initial manufacturing and operations costs. They've made a number of improvements to Kwoh's original design, in particular to the sound quality, appearance, and construction, moving it closer to the end product that Kwoh first envisioned so many years ago.
"Unfortunately, we've already experienced the greatest challenge our start-up could encounter, the untimely passing away of Symphonica's inventor," says Marc Edwards who is heading up the Kickstarter effort. "After taking some time to regroup and reorganize we are now ready to move forward again, and having had gone through the worst case scenario, we can't wait to share Symphonica with the Kickstarter community and have them help nurture this unique technology with us."
Symphonica is handcrafted of sustainable woods using environmentally friendly practices. The passive horn speaker - sculpted to acoustic perfection - organically boosts the volume of sound collected from an iPhone or Android device's external speaker(s) try up to 6 decibels or more without electricity, making it adequate for background ambiance or for listening in a relaxed setting, such as bedside or in an office. Symphonica is also designed to enhance the sound, adding the body and warmth missing from many plastic smartphone speakers.
Drawing from his decades of experience Kwoh created an innovative and beautiful product in the Symphonica which not only serves a useful purpose, but pleases the eye as well. Subtly reminiscent of the iconic gramophone with its Victrola-style speaker horn, the Symphonica exudes elegance with its graceful curves and swirling wood grains that give each horn its own unique character, and make it an object of natural beauty and an instant conversation starter.
Symphonica is compatible for iPhone 5 and later, the Samsung Galaxy S series, and any other smartphone with a similarly placed bottom mounted speaker and charging port.
Symphonica is using Kickstarter as a platform to get to market faster, introduce its creators, explain its design process more thoroughly and at the same time, gain a more direct dialogue with its consumer base. Special early-bird packages starting at $25 are available featuring rewards such as matching wooden smartphone cases, docking stands and a rechargeable Bluetooth remote for control of phones, tablets and computers.
www.symphonicasound.com
Kickstarter page for Symphonica: http://kck.st/2oc4ib5
