What you see is a rock. What you hear is a precision two-zone loudspeaker engineered above and below the ground. Here's how the reinvented rock speaker actually works.
The defining move of geo-acoustic design is the separation of the visible enclosure from the acoustic engine. Everything that needs to be heard but not seen goes underground; everything that shapes and aims the sound lives in a mineral shell that reads as natural stone.
Houses the beam-steering mid/high array and acts as an acoustic lens. Cast from real granite scans.
A sealed composite enclosure beneath the frost line holds the woofer, sub, DSP, and power.
A tuned channel links the two zones so low frequencies surface evenly around the shell.
An 8″ or 10″ long-throw woofer fires into a sealed sub-grade enclosure. The surrounding soil mass behaves as a near-infinite baffle, extending usable output to 28 Hz — bass you feel through the patio, with nothing visible.
Each shell is laser-scanned from real New England granite and basalt, then cast in a UV-stable mineral-polymer composite. Color and texture are matched to local stone, frost-rated to −40°F, and acoustically transparent where it counts.
A phased array of mid/high drivers in the shell electronically aims sound at seating zones and pulls it away from the property line — directly answering the neighbor-spill complaint that capped legacy outdoor audio.
A one-time LiDAR scan plus on-board calibration mics map the yard — slopes, hardscape, foliage density — and the DSP continuously balances each zone so coverage stays even as the landscape grows in.
A discreet canopy-mounted cell trickle-charges the vault and ties into whole-home storage, so the system stays ready without adding meaningful electrical load — the 2025 power wave, extended outdoors.
Zones, scenes, EQ, and seasonal re-tuning live inside the same Control4 or Savant interface the client already uses — no extra remote, no second app, no compromise.
A representative configuration for a single landscape zone. Final design is tailored per property.
| Visible footprint | Single mineral shell, 14–18″ — reads as natural landscape stone |
|---|---|
| Above-grade drivers | 4× sealed mid/high in phased beam-steering array |
| Below-grade drivers | 1× 10″ long-throw woofer in ground-coupled vault |
| Frequency response | 28 Hz – 21 kHz (in-ground loaded) |
| Coverage per shell | Up to ~1,400 sq ft with even SPL via adaptive DSP |
| Enclosure rating | IP68 vault · UV / freeze-thaw stable shell to −40°F |
| Power | Solar-trickle + whole-home storage tie-in; PoE control bus |
| Control | Native Control4 & Savant; single-app, multi-zone |
| Install | Sub-grade vault set during landscape works; new build or renovation preferred |
Specifications are illustrative of the geo-acoustic design approach and intended for conceptual planning.
The most desirable technology in a luxury home is the technology you never notice. It's the principle behind invisible in-wall speakers, flush-mount keypads, and hidden displays — and it's exactly why Boston Automations earned the 2024 Sonance + James Loudspeaker "Designed to Disappear" Project of the Year.
Geo-acoustic audio is that same philosophy carried into the landscape. The homeowner gets architectural-grade sound across the entire yard, and the designer's vision stays completely intact.
Read the market forecast →The same platform, placed across real landscape settings. Explore the full gallery for poolsides, gardens, terraces, and more.
Boston Automations designs and installs landscape-integrated audio across Boston, Metro Boston, and Rhode Island.
