New affordable electrostatic speakers match gorgeous lines with high-tech design

Electrostatic speakers are a rarity in the home theater realm, but Australian company IC One Two has launched an Indiegogo campaign that aims to bring the technology to your desktop or living room with its new Expanse speaker system.

For those unfamiliar with electrostats, your first thought might be, “Damn, those are cool looking!” With their sleek lines and micro-thin form factor they definitely are, but there’s also some cool technology at play. Like all electrostatic speakers, the Expanse trade traditional, piston-based drivers for thin metal diaphragms suspended between two oppositely charged plates. When the diaphragm is fed an electrical audio signal, the thin sheet vibrates to create motion that transforms the electrical energy into acoustic energy (i.e., sound). This design can result in a highly-detailed, distortion free sound.

Electrostatic speakers are not a new technology, but they aren’t well known outside of the audiophile world due to their traditionally hefty price tags. IC One Two is attempting to change all that. The company will be offering two packages, The Beat and The Kick, both of which can be paired with a conventional-style 40 watt subwoofer called The Slam. The Beat is the smaller version of the two options, designed to work on a desktop space, while The Kick is better suited for larger home theater settings.

Other than size, both systems are identical in design and also boast the same basic specs. The speakers come with an amplifier that pushes 100 watts per channel and tout a claimed frequency response of 55Hz-20kHz. The speakers can be connected to your preferred device via analog line inputs or over Bluetooth. In addition, the system comes with an FM tuner.

If you’re interested in checking these visually striking speakers out, you’ll have to wait a bit. IC still has a crowdfunding mountain to climb — the company has raised just 7 percent of its $60,000 funding goal as of this writing, with a month left to go in the campaign.

Backers can order either set for $299 or $399 for the Beat and the Kick respectively, plus an additional $100 to pair with the subwoofer. Early bird specials are still active and will save you an extra $20 per order. The MSRP is expected to be $200 more per pair (and the same goes for the sub) once the speakers come to market.

You can find out more about the new Expanse at IC One Two’s Indiegogo page.