Tune in: Old radios are finding new life as Bluetooth speakers at Diwiks

It looks like your grandparents’ radio, with dials and knobs that evoke memories of the scratchy sound quality of the past. But it’s a state-of-the-art speaker system, with Bluetooth and wifi capability.

Diwik Singh Chhalani, 36, calls his creations Diwiks. And ever since he sold the first one, in 2016, orders have been coming at a steady trickle, keeping him and his small team of artisans and engineers quite busy.

It all started with an old radio of his grandfather’s that he stumbled upon while on a visit to his ancestral home in Bikaner. Chhalani had just quit his job as an advertising executive to set up something of his own, though he didn’t know what at the time. When he came upon the radio, he decided to tinker with it.

“Growing up, my uncle Prakash and I used to do this,” he says. “Turn a cordless phone into an alarm system for the water tank, that kind of thing.”

The radio, Chhalani decided, could make a great set of speakers. He took it back to Delhi and found an electronics expert. “We got the components we needed from Lajpat market and about a month later, the radio was a speaker playing music via Bluetooth.”

The sound was terrible, he adds. “But the shape was beautiful. If I could just work on it, I knew I had something here.”

Chhalani moved to Bikaner, set up a studio, bought old radios from dealers and collectors, and got to work. He contacted sound engineers for advice (some of them continue to consult) and bought DIY audio kits that came all the way from the US. In 2016, he made his first sale, to a friend. The following year, he got orders for five Diwiks — two for a former employer and three for a businessman.

“I still wasn’t happy with the sound,” Chhalani says. “I had to approach many sound engineers before I found someone who had the skill and inclination to take up the challenge of customising the speaker to the highest grade possible.”

He and his team now put together these speakers using wood repurposed from old doors and windows.

“The old radios were too limiting. They gave me the idea, but now the design can evolve,” Chhalani says. “We make sure the wood is sturdy, so that 50 years from now, our clients’ kids can open up the speakers and perhaps use them to make something else.”

Manoj Suthar, 39, who does all the woodwork, says Chhalani “always wants to simplify and not overdesign”. “You could say that is a bit challenging, since I am used to creating intricate designs,” Suthar says. “Still, it’s good to work with someone who knows what they want.”

Chhalani has had orders for a total of 72 pieces so far. There are also plans to sync the speakers with a Diwiks app. “But only for greater ease of us,” Chhalani says. “There will be no smart features and no listening devices in our machine. You’ll never be able to say to it, ‘Diwiks, schedule my laundry’ or ‘Diwiks, take down my shopping list’.”

Source: Read Full Article