Sound as Status: How Luxury Speakers Became the Ultimate Interior Design Accessory

LIFESTYLE

Oct 24

Design led audio brands like Devialet and Bang & Olufsen are redefining sound as decor— turning high-fidelity technology into a new form of interior luxury.

Music has always been social, but in 2025 the way we listen has become as important as what we play. Sound has shifted from background to status, with speakers, headphones, and even playlists curated as deliberately as wardrobes.

Objects lead the charge. Bang & Olufsen speakers are sculptural, designed to live in rooms like art installations. Devialet’s white orbs are as photogenic as they are powerful, photographed beside stone counters and minimalist sofas. Even Apple’s AirPods, once utilitarian, are being recast in leather cases and limited-edition collaborations. To be seen with sound has become its own kind of luxury.

*Beosound 2 Home Speaker by Bang & Olufsen, Atlelier Edition, Gradient Green, $5,400*
*Available at* *www.bang-olufsen.com*

Playlists carry the same weight. Influencers and editors share them like mood boards, each tracklist a coded aesthetic. A dinner party playlist becomes as much a signal of taste as the table setting. A “work” playlist suggests not just productivity but the brand of productivity the host aspires to project.

Culturally, this shift reflects the hunger for immersion. Fashion and interiors are visual, but sound creates atmosphere. To control it — to design it — is to stage an environment. The object that delivers it, whether a glowing speaker or a pair of sculptural headphones, is now part of the mise en scène.