And today's mystery object is... A loudspeaker. A loud speaker.
This is the new shape of the Form speakers from Swedish high-end company Marten, making their world debut at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show next week.
Having created a range of audiophile speakers named after jazz greats, the company decided to develop a more compact design. intended to fit more easily into a wide range of homes. The result is the slim, triangular Form.
The FormFloor, as you might expect, is a floorstanding speaker, using a 17.75cm ceramic mid/bass unit and a 5.6cm ribbon tweeter. It stands 1.1m tall and is just 21cm wide by 33cm deep, with outrigger feet to stabilise the cabinet. Finishes include a range of piano gloss wood veneers, plus piano gloss black or white.
There's a matching centre channel speaker, the FormCentre, with the same driver complement, and a subwoofer, the FormSub, which combines a 25cm ultra-longthrow driver with a 400W Class D amplifier.
Prices are EUR4500 for the FormFloor, EUR2100 for the FormCentre, and EUR3100 for the FormSub.
Marten Design speakers are distributed in the UK by Audiocraft Distribution.