Community
24 January, 2024
Alderwood Speakers named state finalist
THE development of the most powerful speaker in the world for its size has seen Cobden audio innovation trailblazer Alderwood Speakers named a finalist in the Victorian Premier’s design awards.
The business was selected as a product design finalist in the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards for the development of the Eros Pro speaker.
Alderwood Speakers owner Scott Wilkinson said it was a proud moment for the business to be named against some of the titans of industry.
“It’s an incredible achievement because there is a lot of big Australian companies we are up against,” he said.
“It’s pretty huge, as a little start up, to be alongside companies like Blackmagic.”
The Eros Pro speaker has been the culmination of almost a decade of work for Mr Wilkinson, who began research and development around nine years ago – around three years before Alderwood Speakers opened.
The Eros Pro was designed to deliver immersive sound design with the versatility to be used as anything from a basic home theatre system right through to a large-scale commercial audio installation.
“I always hated that speaker brands would have a low-end model, a medium range model and ridiculously high-end model,” Mr Wilkinson said.
“You would be forced down the line of models asking yourself which one you could afford at that moment, even if you had to upgrade not long after.
“We wanted to make the best possible speaker we could for its size, and if you need more sound you can actually just add more speakers.
“You can scale up with, for example, four cubes on one system, which could be used for a larger venue.”
The technological industry has thrived using a business model in which all products are made to have a short life-span, encouraging continued income as customers replace rather than repair.
Mr Wilkinson admits it was a pretty poor business model to develop a speaker which was actually made to last, but said he was no fan of knowing how many products out there are physically designed with built-in obsolesce.
“I wanted our speaker to be timeless because this is a product with 15-year commercial use, as opposed to systems which need to be replaced every 12 months because the speakers start having issues,” he said.
“I didn’t want repeat customers, if that makes sense.
“Once the job is done we don’t want to hear from the customer again until they find some new music which they try to share with us on a Friday night after a few too many wines.
“It feels good knowing we’re making something which is going to last rather than quickly end up in landfill.”
Mr Wilkinson was so focused on product quality that, even during testing he imposed his own demands which far exceeded industry standard.
The waterproof speaker was played at its highest volume for half an hour while completely submerged without any water egress, and was played at maximum volume continuously for 12 hours in 110-degree heat without any changes in appearance or sound quality.
“It’s designed to be universal – you can use it for live music, outdoor entertainment, theatre systems, stereo systems and we’ve had customers use it as augmentation system in education,” Mr Wilkinson said.
“It’s around 50 per cent more powerful than any other commercial speaker we could find in that size category.”
The Premier’s Design Awards this year saw a record number of finalists, with 118 innovative projects selected across the award categories.
As well as the category awards, all finalists are now in the running to receive the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Design Award of the Year – the state’s highest design accolade.
Minister for Creative Industries Collin Brooks praised the finalists, stating good design has the power to change lives.
“The Victorian Premier’s Design Awards recognise the work and ingenuity of the designers, architects and design-led businesses that make our state a world-renowned leader in the field,” Mr Brooks said.
The 2023 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony in March.
Regardless of the result, Mr Wilkinson said the future for Alderwood Speakers was bright.
“We’ve got some really exciting research and development projects which we’re designing at the moment,” he said.
“It’s all in the early stages so I can’t say too much, but we’re excited to pursue organic growth – everything goes back in to the company.
“We’ll never be the company with flashy cars out the front, and we’re committed to staying in Cobden.”
To learn more about Alderwood Speakers or the Eros Pro visit www.alderwoodspeakers.com.au
