LG’s DukeBox concept marries a tube amp with a transparent OLED display

By Simon Cohen January 2, 2024

The DukeBox by LG Labs. — LG

CES 2024

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What happens when you take a tube amp, a multispeaker sound system, and a transparent OLED display and mash them together? You may end up with something resembling the DukeBox, a new hybrid device concept from LG Labs that will be on display at CES 2024.

LG Labs is a “marketing platform focused on delivering experimental yet innovative products and services,” according to LG, so it’s not entirely clear if the DukeBox is something LG intends to bring to market or simply a way of creatively showcasing what can be done with the company’s transparent OLED display technology. No pricing or availability has been released so far.

The retro-inspired DukeBox has front-facing speakers at the bottom and a pair of 360-degree speakers at the top that remind us of the cone-shaped diffuser LG uses in its LG XBoom 360 portable speaker. And, just like that speaker, LG Labs says the DukeBox provides an immersive audio experience that surrounds the listener.

The transparency of the OLED display can be adjusted, letting you see into the cabinet so that you can appreciate the throwback charm of the vacuum tube-based audio system. Alternatively, you can run a fireplace simulator in semi-transparent mode, which merges the flicker of flames with the amber glow of the vacuum tubes. Of course, you can also make the panel opaque and use it to watch movies, TV shows, etc.

LG hasn’t released any details on the DukeBox’s deeper specs, so we can only use the press photo to guess the device’s dimensions. There’s no word on how powerful the audio system is, which streaming services it supports, or whether you’d be able to use it with technologies like Apple AirPlay 2 or Google’s Chromecast.

LG has been on a roll with CES 2024-related announcements since December 2023. So far, it has released details on its 2024 QNED TV lineup, 2024 soundbars, a new 4K OLED monitor, and a new CineBeam portable projector.

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