[UPDATED JULY 9 2011 - more subwoofers added]
My main set of speakers was sounding awful and I discovered the foam surrounds had completely rotted and were sitting in a pile of debris behind the grilles. Naturally I decided to replace them with giant eyeballs! My research so far has found the following options. I will keep this page updated as I discover more.
Proclaim Audioworks DMT-100My dream speakers for sure, but for $26,000 a pair, I’ll buy a car, thank you. Those were not the most expensive, though.
Cabasse La SphereFascinating and artsy, but for $150,000 a pair, I’ll buy a small house instead. They do have other models, such as the IO2 at just over $3000 a pair, but they aren’t quite as “grand” as the La Sphere.
Studio Electric T1 & T2Art deco at its finest. These beauties will set you back $19,000 per pair for the T1 and $33,000 per pair for the T2. The T2 units come with built-in subwoofers.
Art & Voice (various models)They have many models – all fabulous works of art. They have ignored my requests for a quote. Perhaps they figure if I have to ask, I can’t afford it. They’re probably right!
Sound-e-Motion A10-20 BFClassy art deco speakers made of hand-carved wood. They also have several other models in natural oak. They haven’t gotten back to me on price, but I can guess “hand carved” = “pretty expensive”.
Design e GT3Nicely done and not too expensive at $1350 for the pair. The wide base makes them best suited for bookshelves, though stands are available.
Elipson Planet LThis 11″ French speaker runs about $1300 for the pair with floor stands (+$200 shipping because there is no US dealer). No need to put off buying a car or a house. They also make a "Sound Tree" with 6 or 12 eyeballs hanging from the ceiling!
Dynacord KL 72+This one is designed to hang from the ceiling.
Anthony Gallo A’DivaThese 5″ speakers are mainly intended as ceiling or satellite speakers and would definitely need a subwoofer. I particularly like the curvy eye stalks, er, I mean floor stands for these. About $800 for a pair with stands. These are available in home theater kits, but their subwoofer is not spherical!
Orb Audio Mod1These are the most affordable by far. They sell direct, saving you money. A pair of Mod1s with stands runs only $460. You would likely want a subwoofer to go with them, but sadly Orb’s subwoofers are square! Go figure.
Ferguson Hill FH007 Base Speaker
This is a non-powered woofer, not a subwoofer. A set of these transparent speakers includes separate components. Only the woofer is spherical – the main speakers are large oval dishes and the subwoofer is square. A missed opportunity. These aren’t terribly useful without their oval dish partners. A transparent spherical subwoofer would have been awesome.
Everything-But-The-Box SubTerranean
This is my favorite subwoofer. Unfortunately the price is as awesome as it looks at $5500 for the 200 watt version. This would go especially well with steam-punk decor.
Bowers & Wilkins PV1 Subwoofer
More reasonably priced if not as fancy, this goes for about $1500 and the amp is 500 watts. B&W is a popular audiophile brand famous for their much more expensive speakers. The white ones are shown on the UK version of the web site, but not the US version, so they may be a little harder to get in the US.
Morel PSW8 – PSW10Available in three colors with power at 100 watts for the PSW8 and 200 watts for the PSW10.
KEF HTB2SE & HTB2SE-WAvailable in both wired and wireless versions with power at 200 watts. These are pretty easy to find on the web and in stores and typically run $900 for the wired and $1200 for the wireless. Available in silver and black. I wish they didn’t have that flat spot on top, but they’re still pretty cool.
Vibe Omicron subwooferThis one is the most eyeball-like of all the subwoofers, though is only available in black. It is discontinued and thus may be hard to find. 70 watt, 8 inch, 4 ohm subwoofer.
Scandyna The BallThe Ball with a set of “spikes” runs $600 on Amazon. At 60 watts with a long throw 6.5″ driver, it’s not as high-powered as the others.
Home Made SubwooferMy favorite subwoofer of the white eyeball variety is this home made one. Unfortunately, he never got around to posting his build logs and plans. He made it to go with his Orbs.
There were many other “bullet-shaped” speakers that I did not include because they didn’t shout “EYEBALL” quite as loudly as the spheres. If I missed any speakers with “eyeball potential”, please let me know. I will no doubt end up with a pair of the cheaper ones, but it’s fun to see the others. If I got any of the prices wrong, please send me a message and I will correct it.
