This high-tech hi-fi speaker plays your music and animates the lyrics in real time
The transparent SonicGlass A1 turns songs into moving visual displays on a 21.5-inch glass screen
Quick Summary
The SonicGlass A1 combines a transparent speaker with a large glass display that shows animated song lyrics in sync with your music.
This can also generate AI-powered visuals, karaoke displays and even personalised music videos.
Most speakers disappear into the background. The SonicGlass A1 does the opposite. Created by audio startup MorningBlues, the hi-fi speaker combines a transparent acoustic driver with a 21.5-inch transparent display, turning every song into a visual experience.
The speaker's glass front panel has more than 90% light transmission, allowing you to see both the display and the hardware behind it.
MoodLyric is a really fun feature. As music plays, song lyrics are animated on-screen in styles designed to match the rhythm and mood of each track. MorningBlues says the system has been trained using data from hundreds of millions of music playbacks, while lyrics are licenced through LyricFind.
There's also an AI-powered SceneSync mode that generates genre-specific visuals in real time, creating different effects for pop, rock, hip-hop and R&B tracks.
Using the MorningBlues app, you can upload a photo and have AI place you inside a music video that plays on the speaker's screen. It can also display your own photos and videos when music isn't playing, effectively doubling as a digital display.
Other features include a karaoke mode with synchronised lyrics, ambient display modes, clock faces and an ASMR sleep mode. A dedicated Music Hub controller can also be used for phone-free playback control.
The SonicGlass A1 is currently available through Kickstarter, down from $999 to $649, where MorningBlues is pitching it as the world's first transparent lyric speaker. Whether the concept catches on remains to be seen, but it's certainly one of the most unusual audio products we've seen this year.
