Doggies Do Home Theater By Darryl Wilkinson May 4, 2006 — The designers at Buro Vormkrijgers, a Dutch design studio, call it "functional kitsch", but you might think of it as a speaker that redefines the meaning of the word "woofer".

In fact, those crazy Dutchmen have punnishly (punishingly?) named this unusual speaker "Woofer". They describe it as a speaker that "holds the middle between your loyal four footed companion, and an addition to your surround sound system. By adding a function to an otherwise “grotesque” object, it acquires new aesthetic values, becoming an object of desire."

There's no telling how a set of drivers placed in the neck of a headless dog will sound, but I'm certainly intrigued. Buro Vormkrijgers says the speakers are available as a two-way version or a subwoofer version. "Tweeter", a "birdlike desktop speaker system" is soon to come - which makes me want to see (and hear), as a result of some strange and bizarre aspect of my personality, a full-blown surround system with three "Woofers" across the front, a "Woofer" subwoofer, and a pair of "Tweeters" for the rear channel. (The "Tweeter" is a much better solution than installing some sort of driver in the rear of the pooch...)

The "Woofer" stands 22 3/4 inches tall, 15 3/4 inches wide, and approximately 9 7/8 inches deep. It weighs 11 pounds and is made from cast resin. Power handling is rated at 240 watts. The speaker is supposed to be available sometime in May or June. You can pre-order them directly from Buro Vormkrijgers for 350 EU (about $444 USD depending on the current exchange rate). No feeding is required.

You can contact Buro Vormkrijgers by phone at +31(0)40-2132547 or via e-mail.

If this idea catches on, it might lead to a new surround format - a canine-point-one channel system...