Loudspeaker Mapu Preto

The speakers in the Mapu Preto ("Black Earth") series are widely acclaimed. Behind them are Pablo Ocqueteau and Philine von Düszeln with their start-up Documentary Design. Ocqueteau, who studied design in Chile, aims to build a bridge between tradition and modern technology with his designs, creating products that rely on traditional craftsmanship and are also attractive to an international audience. The Mapu Preto series is an exemplary success in this respect. But what are the details of these remarkable boxes?

Ocqueteau and von Düszeln produce the speaker cabinets in cooperation with potters from the village of Molelos in the Portuguese Terras de Besteiros. There has been an artisanal tradition in the production of black ceramics there for centuries. They are based on ferrous clay, which is given its striking black color through a process known as reduction firing. In addition to the color, the high precision with which the housings are masterfully crafted on the potter's wheel is also astounding. The sophisticated acoustics lead to Denmark, more precisely to Struer, the home of Bang & Olufsen. This is where the "Sound Hub Denmark" is located, the world's first innovation environment for sound technology with first-class craftsmanship and testing facilities in a professional co-working environment. It took 17 months of intensive work to develop the technology that, together with the enclosures, makes up the outstanding sound of the Mapu Preto loudspeakers. The components are brought together in the Hanseatic city of Bremen.

The two founders of Documentary Design rely on regional production with regional materials, manual work instead of mass production and, last but not least, an eye for the surroundings, in this case the packaging materials of the speakers. They come in tubes made of sturdy cardboard, well embedded in a soft and protective fleece made of wool remnants to protect them during transportation. In addition to clay, the loudspeakers themselves are made from renewable raw materials such as wool, wood and cork. Participation in the "No Waste Challenge 2021" of the "What Design Can Do" organization is therefore only logical. The Mapu loudspeakers were one of 16 award-winning projects in the competition, which is all about presenting solutions for avoiding waste and rethinking the entire production and consumption cycle - out of almost 1,400 applications.

The Mapu Preto loudspeakers can be used individually or as a duo. A single loudspeaker is suitable for room sizes of up to 30 square meters, with coupled loudspeakers - a four-meter long, textile-sheathed XLR cable with a 6-pin plug does this effortlessly - the maximum value doubles to 60 square meters. At the front, a combined tweeter and midrange driver emits the music, while at the rear there are two openings for the bass frequencies - which suggests placing the speaker not too far away from a wall for an optimal sound image. The rear is purist: at the top is a solid metal on/off switch with a crisp pressure point. Below this is the input for the power supply and a 3.5 mm socket for the analog connection of a sound source, and finally the socket for the XLR cable to the optional second speaker is located at the bottom.

The Mapu Preto speakers are active speakers, which means that they come with their own amplifier - in this case a Class D amplifier with 40 watts, an energy efficiency of 90 percent and a D/A converter with Burr-Brown® technology. In practice, the speakers produce a harmonious and powerful sound, which is particularly impressive when two speakers are connected together to create a stereo sound. The music reproduction is brilliant across all genres - from large orchestras to singer/songwriters: all frequency ranges are well covered and reproduced with astonishing clarity. This applies to both the wired and Bluetooth 5.0 interfaces - thanks to the Qualcomm aptX codec, the latter ensures that music from external devices such as smartphones or tablets can be streamed at 5G level in CD quality.

The speakers are handmade from natural materials. Size and weight may therefore vary minimally without affecting the performance of the system.