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Sony’s latest glass speaker is a more affordable dose of bizarre design

Sony’s latest glass speaker is a more affordable dose of bizarre design

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The LSPX-S3 will be available in August for $349

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The speaker features a “candlelight mode.”
The speaker features a “candlelight mode.”
Image: Sony

Sony is releasing another one of its glass lantern speaker hybrids, and it comes in at $100 less than its predecessor. The LSPX-S3 is a $349 wireless Bluetooth speaker that vibrates a glass tube to act as a tweeter, which Sony says allows it to send sound in all directions around it. There’s also a light inside the glass with 32 different brightness levels, allowing the speaker to act as a bedside lamp or candle-replacement on the dinner table.

As its name suggests, the LSPX-S3 is Sony’s third with this unusual form-factor, and it’s also the cheapest yet. The original LSPX-S1 sold for $799 after its launch in 2016, while the LSPX-S2 cost $449. The third-generation speaker is still expensive (at $349), but the thought of buying two of them to pair together in stereo no longer seems patently ridiculous.

The glass tube serves as the speaker’s tweeter.
The glass tube serves as the speaker’s tweeter.
Image: Sony

Alongside its glass tweeter, the LSPX-S3 also has a mid-range driver and a passive radiator for low-end notes. Battery life is rated for up to 8 hours, it charges over USB-C, and there’s support for Sony’s LDAC codec — which we consider the gold standard for Bluetooth audio if you’ve got a device that supports it. 

Sony’s new glass speaker will be available to order from August.