Embracing a commitment
to bringing
emotional
experiences to a broader audience

The HT-AX7 development project grew out of a design prototype that the designers presented internally. How did that idea come together?

WadaOur team has been designing home theatre systems and soundbars for a while now, and we’d always had an urge to bring the thrills of a home theatre system to a bigger audience. A home theatre system delivers powerful, dynamic sound to give the experience of watching content a deeper, more emotional dimension. The problem is that, considering how they involve multiple speakers and tend to take up space, people tend to see the systems as products for only serious audiophiles. We wanted to change those perceptions.

Recent developments in the TV market were another factor. Bigger screen sizes lead to longer viewing distances, which create a need for more sound output—and, as a result, standard soundbars that sit in front of the TV have grown to sizes where they sometimes block part of the screen. In that context, we started our project a few years ago to conceptualize and prototype a new home theatre system that would be compatible with TVs of all sizes, work in any location, and bring the experience to a broader range of users.

What went into the project?

WadaOne thing I knew from the research I'd done on home theatre systems was that a big system wouldn't be the way to go, especially considering how living spaces in the big cities around the world are getting smaller. We also felt like some systems had too much of a visual presence; to us, there was a lack of products that blended in nicely with the room aesthetics. From there, we had basic guidelines for what we wanted to prototype: a compact system that would be easy to set up anywhere and would also harmonize with interior spaces.

Instead of going along with the conventional approaches to designing a home theatre system, we wanted to make something new—like a unit you could wear or take wherever you wanted to go, a product that'd fit with all the different ways people live their lives in today's world. As we prototyped ideas along those lines, we eventually came up with a portable type that would have two rear speakers sitting on top of a compact front speaker. That was the concept that laid the groundwork for the HT-AX7.

How did you go about turning the prototype into an actual product?

WadaThe prototype for the portable-type system got a great response at an internal proposal meeting, and things started to pick up even more when the technological development division developed "360 Spatial Sound Mapping," which creates a three-dimensional surround-sound environment with just four wireless speakers,^* right around the same time. With that momentum pushing the project forward, we reached out to the engineering side about leveraging the new technology into making a wireless, portable home theatre system, created a prototype with them, and showed people at the company what we'd come up with. They liked what they saw, and they green-lit development.

*The HT-AX7 has a total of four speaker units: two separate rear speakers and two speaker units inside the front speaker.

To turn our prototype into a product, we first assembled a team that brought engineers, product planners, marketing personnel, and people from other areas on board. Then it was time to start exploring ideas, with discussions probing how we could create a product that’d meet today's needs. We knew that people from younger generations are engaging with content in diversifying ways; instead of people sitting down in front of the TV in the living room, like it used to be, users are now heading to the rooms of their choice with tablets, smartphones, and other personal devices in hand. The HT-AX7, we recognized, would have to be compatible with all the changes in how people these days take in their video and audio. With team members from across the spectrum offering input, we started to get a clearer picture of what the product would eventually be, who we'd be aiming it at, and what kind of value it'd provide. In the end, our concept centered on eliminating the limitations of connected devices and installation location to give users an "easier way to enjoy the unique spatial sound of a cutting-edge home theatre system on a variety of devices, wherever they want."

How the collective concept shapes
individual designs

As the overall product concept took shape, so did the basic direction for the HT-AX7 design.

SumiiSony was trying to build a broader lineup of audio-visual products that featured 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, and I figured it’d make sense to use the basic worldview of that emerging product family to unify the design approach for individual models. To me, the HT-AX7 represented a great opportunity to be on the leading edge and get that fresh worldview out there.

So the question was how to express that new worldview in actual designs. As I explored possible answers, I came around to the idea of taking the exterior in a new direction. Audio products have tended to come in perforated metal or plastic exteriors, so I thought: what about fabric? Well, not only would using fabric break from convention, but it could enable products to harmonize with sofas and other interior elements and—if we used recycled materials—bring out an environmentally conscious identity.

Having settled on a collective concept, then, the next step was to tackle the individual design for the HT-AX7. I told Osawa that we wanted to foreground fabric, use a form that’d blend into living spaces, avoid overdoing any design elements, and combine the look and feel of environmentally conscious recycled materials with cutting-edge technologies like seamless 3D fabrication.

Tackling a question with
no right answer

The design team for the HT-AX7, a product seeking to break new ground in the audio world, was essentially playing things by ear: there was no "right answer" to follow. How did Osawa and the rest of the designers turn the abstract elements of the design direction into concrete results?

OsawaThe basic configuration of the product was set: one front speaker and two rear speakers. From there, we had to pinpoint a form and design that would make the product easy for people of all types and ages to use, incorporate into their lives, and enjoy.

I was still in my twenties when we got started on development for the HT-AX7, and I had a good idea of what my age group valued. What people like me wanted was something we could pick up and use whenever we wanted to, without having to worry about where we were, and put away when we were done with it. In the early planning stages, we got inspiration from a picnic basket: we imagined the two rear speakers going into the "basket" of a front speaker with a handle, which we thought would be a nice design approach for both charging the rear speakers and making the system easier to carry around.

But the handle idea turned out to be problematic when we got to evaluating real-life use cases. If you were going to watch something on a laptop, for example, you might want to put the front speaker in front of the computer—in which case the handle could easily block the screen. We shifted gears and thought about making the handle foldable, but that was unfeasible because of strength and durability concerns. Ultimately, we ended up working finger indentations onto the bottom of the front speaker, which delivered the same level of portability in a simpler, more compact form than our earlier designs.

OsawaDesigners can't decide on the form of an audio device all by themselves, obviously. The form impacts the actual acoustic structure, too, so the audio engineers on the project had their own set of requests. One thing they asked for was bigger rounded edges on the rear speakers, which they said would enhance sound quality. We'd come back with our own input, proposing a less-rounded version that would give the design a better balance. The back-and-forth went on and on, but that collaborative exchange was exactly what we needed to get to a product that didn’t compromise on either the sound quality or the design.

How did you decide on the color and materials?

OsawaOn the main unit, we were originally going to try to render the product worldview with bright, colorful accents and touches of patterned fabric. But since we wanted the HT-AX7 to mesh with the aesthetics of its interior surroundings when it wasn’t in use, we went with a light-gray base color that had a nice warmth and neutral visual character.

On the material side, we used fiber made from plastic bottles for the exterior fabric and as much recycled plastic as possible for the body. There are also parts without fabric covering, like the top and bottom sides. Our material for those areas was silicon, which we knew would feel great when users carried the unit from place to place or touched buttons. It’s a material that dulls the sound of the unit when it comes into contact with a hard table surface, too. Recognizing that any product for everyday use needs to be comfortable, we made the comfort element our focus down to the smallest detail.

And one of those details was how the fabric went on. To make sure the exteriors looked good and avoid creating any seams that might distract from the viewing experience or look out of place in an interior space, we used 3D sewing technology to essentially wrap the speakers in the fabric. Given that wrapping can lead to wrinkles, we fine-tuned the height of the rear speakers and other parameters until the fabric had the gentle stretch we were aiming for.

What was the hardest part of designing the HT-AX7?

OsawaThe HT-AX7 is based on a concept that's never been done, so there weren't any "right answers" for the design; we were on our own. That was the hardest part, I think. Over the course of our design development, we experimented a lot with different shapes for the speakers, different angles, and more distinctive, unorthodox forms. But as all the variables came into focus, from the sound quality of the system as a whole to the portability of the speakers, the range of possibilities narrowed until we naturally arrived at the optimal volume, height, and width. Like I said, though, the lack of any "right answers" meant that there were always questions throughout the whole process about what we should be basing our decisions on when it came to the optimal balance.

SumiiWatching Osawa go through the trial-and-error process made me realize something: when you're creating a design with no precedent to work from, you have no choice but to keep questioning yourself. There's always doubt. One day, we got the chance to look at the whole lineup of products with 360 Spatial Sound Mapping. The design prototype for the HT-AX7 was there, sitting alongside other products. And honestly, it looked great—it was a natural match with the overall worldview. I turned to Osawa, who'd been so unsure of whether the design would work, and told him, "We nailed it. Nice and simple."

Some people might look at the HT-AX7 design by itself and think it's too simple, but the key to the aesthetic is how it fits into users' living spaces. If we'd given the design a strong, eye-catching aesthetic, it probably wouldn't look good among all the other items that make up interior surroundings. The HT-AX7 gives you a quick, easy way to immerse yourself in spatial sound when you're using it, and it keeps a low, subdued profile when you're not. From my perspective, designs that blend right into any kind of lifestyle are exactly what users today are looking for.

Balancing innovation
with intuition

When people encounter a product unlike anything else they've seen before, they obviously don't know how to use it. That’s why the design team focused on flattening the learning curve as much as possible.

OsawaThe real fun of the HT-AX7 is how you can take it wherever you want, but you obviously have to do more than just carry it around to get that experience. There's setup involved: putting the front speaker and two rear speakers in the right spots. We knew that some people would see that process as a hassle, so we decided to eliminate all the other stress factors we could to maximize user-friendliness. In working out our approach, we came up with the idea of having the rear speakers turn on automatically when a user takes them off the main unit and then start charging the moment they go back.

That means that you can create your very own spatial sound by just lifting the rear speakers off the unit and placing them behind you to the left and right, but there's more. The design makes it so that one single maneuver— setting the rear speakers on the main unit—serves the dual purpose of putting the speakers away and charging them, which is a must for any wireless system. That streamlines the post-use experience, giving the HT-AX7 another feature that paves the way to spatial sound for more and more users.

OsawaWe also incorporated power-on and charging sounds, made the buttons convex so that users could find and identify them at the touch of a finger, and took a variety of other steps to enhance user-friendliness—design touches that make the HT-AX7 easy for people with visual impairments to use as well. The process of setting up the system is easy, too. The Home Entertainment Connect app, which helps users configure and operate Sony products, guides first-time users through every step with simple instructions ("Position the speakers like this," for example) accompanied by simple, straightforward animations.

Breaking the packaging mold

Sony is currently taking steps to shift from plastic packaging toward alternatives with lower environmental loads. One example is Original Blended Material, a paper material developed by Sony. While the new material had seen applications in packaging for headphones and other smaller-sized products, it had yet to find its way into bigger items—until the HT-AX7, that is.

YoshitoSince the HT-AX7 was a brand-new product, we wanted to go in a brand-new direction with the packaging for it. One way we broke from the norm was by using Original Blended Material, which had yet to appear in packaging for Sony's home theatre systems. Another was our focus on delivering an emotional experience the moment the user opens the packaging. If you look at recent packaging trends, you'll see a lot of cushioning and inner packaging around products—but Creative Center research on user preferences found that people really want to be able to see the product as soon as they open it. That's why we did away with cushioning components, an approach that adds some emotional depth to the experience and also minimizes the amount of resources the packaging uses.

YoshitoWe were completely reworking the structure of the packaging itself. Through trial and error, we eventually developed a two-layer package using two molded-pulp parts. The structure, strong enough to hold relatively heavy items, also softens external impact on its own, without the need for any extra padding or cushioning. It has a clean look, too: by minimizing overall volume and using as few materials as possible, we were able to make the shape of the packaging match the silhouette of the product for a more unified aesthetic. On top of that, the design reduces the burden on the user. Getting cushioning and inner packaging out isn't always easy, especially for people who struggle to grip things or use their fingers. The HT-AX7 takes that issue out of the picture, making it easier for people to get the product out of the box quickly.

WadaLooking back on the design development for the HT-AX7, I feel like the whole team stayed focused on the reason that we were making the product in the first place. We never wavered from our commitment to bringing the experience of a home theatre system to a wider audience, and I think both the product and the packaging reflect that aim. I was so thrilled that the HT-AX7 won a 2023 Good Design Gold Award. When I heard the jury evaluation, which said that "nothing has reproduced a three-dimensional acoustic space so easily and stress-free as this" and called the system "a great product that provides a more comfortable and more natural UX," I knew that the team's sense of investment and passion had gotten across. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that the HT-AX7 is giving more people the chance to experience spatial sound.