A hackable speaker in development
A surface
for sound.
A thin birch panel. A quiet presence.
A speaker you can make
your own.
Physical product and software.
Developed as one, by Threads.
- Spotify Connect
- AirPlay
- Bluetooth
- Snapcast
01 / The object
Let the material
do the talking.
Birch grain, a soft oval and a slender stand. The panel itself makes the sound: two exciters behind the wood set its surface in motion.
A little less between you and the music
Just 3 mm.
A thin sheet of birch plywood becomes the playing surface. Turn it sideways and the form almost disappears.
The support, the way the panel is held, the electronics behind it: each part is being refined through printed prototypes and listening.
- The surface
- 3 mm birch plywood
- The movement
- Two rear-mounted exciters
- The approach
- Hardware and software, together
02 / The other half
Sound, naturally.
Control, simply.
Cloudspeaker is the interface behind hoytaler. Open it in your browser, choose a listening level and make the sound your own.
Your space. Your pace.
Adjust the level, choose a speaker profile or shape the sound with a ten-band equaliser.
One room. Or rooms together.
Listen independently or group speakers with Snapcast. Give each speaker a left, right or stereo role.
Close at hand.
The speaker's controls live on your local network. A browser on your phone is all you need to reach them.
A closer lookTry the interface
This is an interactive preview, not a connection to a real speaker. The nature player can play live audio when you choose a station.
Open demo in its own tab03 / Yours to explore
Made to listen.
Made to be tinkered with.
A finished idea? Never.
hoytaler is a hackable speaker. We will provide access to the source code, so you can look inside, change how it works and make it your own.
Tune the sound. Change the interface. Build a feature we haven't thought of. You are welcome to fiddle with it as much as you like.
Public source access is coming. The speaker and software are still in development.
04 / Work in progress
Taking shape.
Made, listened to.
Refined, made again.
hoytaler is a working prototype. We are refining the physical design, the way it is made and the listening experience. The images here show that evolving direction.
We plan to launch hoytaler on Kickstarter once the design is ready. There is no campaign date or price to announce yet. Get in touch if you would like to hear when it is ready.
Ask for launch updatesA few things to know.
Can I modify it?
Yes. Hackability is part of the idea. We will provide access to the source code so you can customise the software, experiment with the interface and adapt the speaker to your own way of listening. Public source access is still to come.
Can I buy one yet?
Not yet. hoytaler is still in development, with a Kickstarter launch planned once it is ready. Campaign details, pricing and timing will be shared here when they are confirmed.
How does it make sound?
Two exciters mounted behind the birch panel set the wood into vibration. The panel becomes the sound-radiating surface.
How do I play music?
The current software supports Spotify Connect, AirPlay and Bluetooth, with Snapcast for grouped playback. The local browser interface handles listening level and sound settings.
Is the design final?
No. These are development images and a preview of the working software. Materials, details and features may change as the prototypes are tested and refined.