The "Pulsating Sphere Speaker" is covered with 11 pentagonal membranes that emit sound in all directions, unlike traditional speakers where the sound is projected forward through a single vibrating membrane.

"We plan to begin sales throughout Japan and the world in the first half of 2007," said Akiko Sakakibara, spokeswoman for Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. (JVC), a unit of electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.

The speaker's 11 membranes move with the sound as it comes from the center to the exterior, meaning it "breathes" rather than "vibrates" like traditional speakers, the company said.

"It's the first realization of a technology which acousticians have been dreaming of for 60 years as they find this to be the ideal way to reproduce sound faithfully and naturally," said JVC engineer Jiro Nakaso.

Unlike traditional speakers, the pulsating sphere "has no hard surface, which prevents the distortion which comes with it," he said.

Researchers for the company believe the speaker system could be set up in different ways, such as hanging from the ceiling or being placed on rods, as the sound goes in all directions.