Words by: Tanya Singh and Tony Tam
Photo Credit: Delta Blues Audio

 

An innovative sound lab and sound design brand, Delta Blues Audio is home to the award-winning Resonance Speaker.

 

Tony Tam, Founder of Delta Blues Audio

 

Based in Hong Kong, Delta Blues Audio strives for innovation in every product and guarantees an immersive sound experience for any space – from the comfort of your home to an amphitheater full of people and music. The revolutionary appliance extends the decay of a sound signal and improves stereo imaging as compared with traditional boxed speakers. The Delta Blues Audio appliances have received several awards, including the Grand Prize at GBA Cultural Creativity Award (2020), Silver Award at the 4th China Ceramic Art Design Exhibition (2021), Bronze for Product Design at HKDA GDA, and Merit at DFA Design for Asia Awards 2022.

 

Could you tell us a little bit about your background and your relationship to music?

 

My education background is in economics from the University of Alberta. I then embarked on a career path as a merchant banker and worked for a number of investment banks in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Before founding Delta Blues Audio, I was at the COO position at a Swiss Private Fund.

Music has always been a part of my life and my passion for it was the reason I embarked on this journey to design innovative speakers. It is a teenage dream realized for me, especially after having received multiple awards for my creation and successfully collaborating with renowned sound artists from across the region.

 

What sparked the beginning of Delta Blues Audio?

 

The sweet resonance note from a Delta Blues Steel Guitar was the start of this passion-filled experimental project. 

 

The Resonance Speaker in Black.

 

Could you talk a little bit about the research and experimentation that went into creating the Resonance Speaker?

 

It was a long journey packed with numerous trials and errors and research for us to arrive at the final product we have today. We spent a long time trying to balance aesthetics, weight, proportions, material resonance and vibration, and the overall look and performance. There was even a time when we were stopped at the customs check because the speaker was picked up during the x-ray as a bomb-like structure!

The Resonance Speaker is an advanced technology that we have pioneered. It started as an experimental project and has now become a successful example for how materiality can make such a huge difference for technology. 

 

The speaker is available in a number of designs and colors with customization possibilities.

 

How is the Resonance Speaker better than its commercial counterparts?

 

The Resonance Speaker is made from aluminum alloy, an unprecedented material in audio devices, that utilizes the properties of various resonant materials for enhanced acoustic effects. The basic form of all of our speakers is a conical down fire sub-woofer and a round resonant disc made of solid aluminum, ceramics, metal alloys, or wood. All parts are hand-crafted, polished, anodized, and individually tuned.

Our patent-pending “Resonance Disc” technology is the perfect marriage between traditional craftsmanship and modern acoustic design, resulting in an exclusive instrument-like response, now available as a high-end music speaker.

Praised as the next-generation minimal industrial design or retro futurist (which is based on ergonomics), DBA speakers are visually stunning and sonically unobtrusive, and we are convinced that they will appeal to audiophiles with a deep appreciation for art. 

 

 

The Artist Version Resonance Speakers designed in collaboration with Freeman Lau that will be displayed at the Beijing Design Expo 2022.

 

What’s next for Delta Blues Audio?

 

We are currently working on a collaborative project with renowned artist, Frog King. The product will be launched at the end of this year.

Also, thanks to the support from the HKG Beijing Representative Office and HK Jockey Club, and Freeman Lau, Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Design and Creative Industry, a series of DBA RS600 HK Artist Versions are to be displayed at the Beijing Design Expo 2022 celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover.

We are also planning for an official launch in Kyoto, Japan in January 2023, followed by a number of sound installation projects.