The Making of Yoyo

For those that may need a little getting up to speed, our new Yoyo range comes in (S)(M) and (L) models, each differing in size and offering a multitude of different functions and features. However, they do have a couple of things in common. They’re all wrapped lovingly in British wool woven by the fantastic folk at Marton Mills in Yorkshire. The other is what we believe really makes them stand out. That’s their sound-first design by hi-fi engineers.

 

The name…

So a frequently asked questioned we’ve had about Yoyo is… why Yoyo? Well it began internally as a project nickname, something memorable that embodied the fun nature of the range and when it came to choosing the REAL name, we just couldn’t shake Yoyo, it had stuck for good. So unfortunately no, there isn’t a dangerous story of us tying a speaker to some string and throwing it around…

Yoyo (L) speaker

Bluetooth Speakers designed by hi-fi engineers

We’ve mentioned it quite a bit, but what does this actually bring to the table? Well, the most important thing to a hi-fi engineer is obviously the sound quality. In particular, what’s most important to a Cambridge Audio engineer is a faithful reproduction of sound that’s as close to the original recording as possible. That’s what we call the British Sound. With this approach in mind, it delivers two big differences to our wireless offering. The first difference is in the component selection process. Every acoustic component has been selected because of its audio performance. With our years of experience in speaker and amplifier wizardry, we ensured that we used only components completely necessary in delivering an authentic and pure sound.

The second difference lies with the (M) model of the range. You can tell it’s been designed by hi-fi engineers because… well, there are two units for stereo playback. They’re sold as a pair so you get the portability and easy connection that you’d expect with Bluetooth speakers, but with the quality of music in stereo. There aren’t too many active stereo Bluetooth speakers around, especially ones that offer a 24-hour battery life. Alright, we’re slightly biased as we love the Yoyo (M), but it’s with good reason. As much as we love one box solutions for their practicality, music is recorded in stereo so it should be played back in stereo. It’s just one way we try to achieve sound that’s as close to the original recording as possible.

Yoyo (M) Speaker with Macbook

The material

It started with a stroll down Saville Row to look at some of the fine British tailoring on offer. This led us to the ‘Birds Eye’ pattern, often used in premium men’s suits. Usually they come in a dark grey colour which is fine for clothing, but we wanted to offer a colour palette that’s sympathetic to clothing and interior design. Back at Cambridge HQ we did some extensive research into trends in these two areas to find a common ground between the two to form a complimentary palette. This area of the project posed us with one of our biggest challenges, being our first time venturing into the wonderful world of fabrics (our textiles school lessons from yesteryear didn’t do us any favours here…) Ultimately we needed the fabric to be thin enough to ensure the sound wasn’t distorted, whilst still maintaining a quality feel to the finish. It took a fair few tries but we did get the result we wanted. We’ve gone into great detail on how the material was made in a previous blog which you should check out here.

Yoyo Bluetooth Speaker range

New technologies and features

So obviously the stereo Bluetooth offering of the (M) is a first for us, but another first for us is the gesture control implemented in the (S) and (M) units. To use its proper name: electrical near-field sensing. This works by generating a small field of electromagnetic waves just above the control panel of the speakers. As your hand is conductive, it distorts the waves as you pass through the field.  We then programmed the different distortions to activate a function, so in our case play, pause and skip. Basically, we like getting stuck into tech we’ve never experimented with before and having some fun with it and thankfully, gesture control is actually pretty useful too!

Yoyo (S) gesture control feature

 

We’re super proud of our new Yoyo range and we can’t wait for you to hear them. With their authentic, natural and distinctly British sound, they’re a treat for the ears and eyes. To investigate the Yoyo further, click here to visit the range page or check out our making of Yoyo video below.