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We manufacture
formaldehyde-free loudspeakers to protect your health and the
global environment.
Plywood, Medium Density
Fiberboard (MDF), paints and glues, that are widely used to manufacture
loudspeaker cabinets, are made with formaldehyde. Research shows
formaldehyde is an allergen and carcinogen. Formaldehyde is particularly
a problem because it is a volatile organic compound (VOC), which
is a compound that vaporizes under normal conditions (also called
"off-gas") into the environment. Formaldehyde residues
are major components of smog and thus have a broad impact on
health. Because of its widespread use, volatility, and toxicity,
formaldehyde is a serious threat to human and environmental health.
Formaldehyde off-gassing is a significant and growing concern
for consumers who want healthy products in their homes and in
their working and leisure environments and who want to protect
the global environment. The threat to health and the environment
is so serious that the US state of California has passed regulation
restricting formaldehyde emissions from any materials or products
(including loudspeakers) sold in California after Dec 31, 2010.
Other states and nations are expected to enact similar regulations.
In small loudspeakers formaldehyde
off-gassing is not that much of an issue. All things being equal,
the smaller the loudspeaker the less the off-gassing. And off-gassing
decays over time. That "new" smell you notice when
you buy new speakers, furniture, and carpeting, for example,
is a result of off-gassing. And it is most often hazardous. The
paint on the outside of loudspeakers seals the formaldehyde in
to some extent. The problem is that the paints, even lacquer
paints intended for indoor use also off-gas.
Off-gassing from a vented
speaker is a bigger issue because you are exposed to off-gassing
from the outside of the loudspeakers as well as off-gassing from
the raw, unpainted inner panels that seeps out through the ports.
When you play a vented loudspeaker, the driver essentially acts
as a fan blowing the accumulated off-gasses through the loudspeaker
port into indoor air.
Although formaldehyde-free
boards and paints are becoming more available, they are very
expensive, more difficult to work with, and the variety is quite
limited. There is no absolute solution. Even certified green
paints and lumber may contain minute quantities of formaldehyde.
Indeed, minute quantities of formaldehyde can naturally occur
in wood.
There are only two solutions
to prevent formaldehyde off-gassing. (1) Seal the lumber with
special non-toxic sealers. Or, (2) Use lumber that does not have
formaldehyde. We are making our loudspeakers more health-friendly
and more environmentally-friendly by painting the outside surfaces
with environmentally-friendly (certified green) paints and we
are using environmentally-friendly (certified green) sealers
to coat the unfinished inside panels of our vented transmission
Line loudspeakers to help to prevent off-gassing. We are also
offering loudspeakers made with formaldehyde-free boards and
painted with certified "green" or environmentally friendly
paints as options.
We are proud to be the
first loudspeaker company to manufacture formaldehyde-free loudspeakers.
We hope our pioneering efforts will make listening to music more
healthful and help to protect the environment. Most of all, we
hope our efforts will encourage other loudspeaker manufacturers
to follow our example. |