Milan has heard: sound is now an institution
13.5.2026
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Pia Seidel
I actually wanted to scout furniture trends. But I would have had to have had tomatoes on my eyes to have missed the hype surrounding all the unusual speakers.
First the object, now the whole room: last year record players caused a stir at the trade fairs. This time, speakers were the topic of Milan Design Week 2026, standing on pedestals, on stands, oversized. Made of marble, charred wood, brushed aluminium. Some looked like sculptures, others like altars.
Silence was yesterday
For a long time, the design scene fought sound rather than celebrating it - insulation, acoustic materials, silence as a luxury. That has changed. Pontus Berghe, founder of the Vintage Audio Institute Italia, sums it up for Wallpaper*: «I think the audience at Milan Design Week has had enough of looking at chairs and lights in quiet rooms.»
New Fidelity: the audio system as part of the room
The group format Deoron made it very clear where the journey is heading. The «Brutalist» DJ console from Yont Studio with speakers from New Fidelity and handmade Swiss mixing consoles from Varia Instruments flooded Instagram.
New Fidelity had been developing the system for over a year - for this very room. Rich brown-red, reminiscent of old industrial floors. A vertical presence that occupies the full height of the room. «An almost sacred appearance», writes the label itself. The goal: hi-fi precision and pro audio performance in one system.
The Berlin-based studio Yont, which specialises in interiors, furniture and scenography, ventured into the world of sound with this DJ booth. Founder Serdar Ayvaz and Coşan Karadeniz tell Wallpaper*: 'Sound systems are no longer technical trivialities - they determine how people use a space and how long they stay. Sound as a material, so to speak. The experience at Deoron felt like a Gothic church altar. Ritualistic. Magical.
Studio Ambre x Phasis Audio Systems: When speakers go through fire
Perhaps the most consistent project came from Studio Ambre from Paris: the «Yakisugi» speakers were created in collaboration with the Swiss company Phasis Audio Systems. And they were literally burnt. Not as a gesture, but as a method.
The studio spent a year researching how the principle of Japanese wood charring could be applied to a sound object. The fire changes the oak surface, which is then stabilised with resin so that the texture and traces of the process remain visible.
The result is no longer a device. It is a work that moves between design, craftsmanship and material experimentation. Studio Ambre writes: «Each piece has subtle differences, shaped by the material and the different stages of manufacture.»
Artefakta: club sound meets gallery
At Comune, an exhibition at Spazio Ivy, the studio Artefakta Audio presented the «Eraway» system. Founded by Julius Walsch and Mayara Lafratta, they blur the boundaries between hi-fi and PA speakers, honouring club culture and listening culture in equal measure.
The «Eraway» combines the warmth of a legendary JBL bass horn from the 70s with modern hi-fi technology - as Artefakta itself describes it.
Crystal-clear reproduction with physical power that fills warehouses as well as galleries with rich detail. Artefakta itself says: Great sound experiences don't need exaggeration. Precision and the right geometry are all that is needed. The fact that the system works was proven during the night when it was running at full capacity - until the Italian police came knocking.
Western Acoustics: music as a furnishing principle
Liam Porr, founder of Western Acoustics, thought his home was lifeless. Nothing in it reflected his tastes or values. Music was the only art form that really moved him. So he brought it in.
The Type 2.1 is the result of three years of development: a bookshelf box made of Baltic birch with maple veneer, a hand-milled horn made of solid wood and five interchangeable grill options. The curved horn is reminiscent of a donut. A very elegant one.
Western Acoustics' speakers do not disappear into the background. They claim that the object itself is just as important as the music it plays.
What has emerged in Milan is not a scene bubble. Listening bars are springing up all over the world, live music attendance is at a record high. And loudspeakers stand next to furniture at design fairs. Sound is now furnishings and on an equal footing with light and materials.
So if you're thinking about what's next for your living room, it might not be a new sofa. Fancy loudspeakers that are a sight to behold are also available from us.
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Header image: Pia Seidel
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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