SM8 Series Speakers // Jon Hart directed the design of the SM8 series of commercial loudspeakers while under the employment of SoundTube Entertainment (a subsidiary of MSE Audio).

The SM8 series was designed from the ground up to address SoundTube's customers' specific needs. Initially three models were desired- a musical speaker at a lower price point, a high output and highly intelligible speaker for high performance applications, and a weather resistant version of the premium speaker. These were named the SM82-EZ, SM890i, and SM890i-WX respectively.

During the design process, Swarm did significant design research to characterize the specific challenges that these speakers were to address. They undertook a comprehensive survey of competitive products, as well as the environments that the speakers would be used in. Swarm also focused relentlessly on making the installation process intuitive, fast, and most importantly secure. Through this research, several important challenges arose that had never before been addressed by the commercial audio industry.

The design brief was to address these specific issues while moving the SoundTube industrial design language forward and upholding their reputation for uncompromising sound and build quality. Swarm succeeded in helping SoundTube achieve these goals. As a result, the industrial design fits within SoundTube's signature style, while giving the line a new edge for future models to pull from. There are several hidden design details that make these speakers much easier to install- from the tool free grill removal, to the tool free coverage pattern adjustment, to the tool free speaker aiming and securing. The design gave SoundTube a series of speakers with which to revolutionize the industry.

The SM8 series was not only designed to address customer and installer needs. From a manufacturing standpoint, the series was designed to be as versatile and future-proof as possible. The enclosure was designed with a modular mounting mechanism to allow SoundTube to address specific mounting requirements without the need to create large, expensive new injection molding tools. By considering the future of the line, Swarm was able to save SoundTube countless thousands of dollars, and extend the life expectancy of the new speaker line. The SM8 is good for customers, for installers, and good for SoundTube.