Formaldehyde in loudspeakers poses significant health risks.

Formaldehyde in loudspeakers poses significant health risks. Role Audio is first loudspeaker company to offer a full line of formaldehyde-free loudspeakers. Plywood, Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), paints and glues, that are widely used to manufacture loudspeaker cabinets, are made with formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is an allergen and carcinogen. Formaldehyde is particularly a problem because it is a volatile organic compound (VOC), which is a compound that vaporizes under normal conditions (also called "off-gas") into the indoor environment. Formaldehyde residues are major components of smog and thus have a broad impact on health.

The threat to health and the environment is so serious that the US state of California has passed regulation restricting formaldehyde emissions from any materials or products (including loudspeakers) sold in California after Dec 31, 2010. Other states and nations are expected to enact similar regulations. 

In small loudspeakers formaldehyde off-gassing is not that much of an issue. All things being equal, the smaller the loudspeaker the less the off-gassing. And off-gassing decays over time. That "new" smell you notice when you buy new speakers, furniture, cars, and carpeting, for example, is a result of off-gassing. And it is most often hazardous. The paint on the outside surfaces of loudspeakers seals the formaldehyde in to some extent. The problem is that the paints, even lacquer paints intended for indoor use also off-gas. Off-gassing from a vented speaker is a bigger issue because you are exposed to off-gassing from the outside of the loudspeakers as well as off-gassing from the raw, unpainted inner panels that seeps out through the ports. When you play a vented loudspeaker, the driver essentially acts as a fan blowing the accumulated off-gasses through the loudspeaker port into indoor air. 

Although formaldehyde-free boards and paints are becoming more available, they are very expensive, more difficult to work with, and the variety is quite limited. There are only two solutions to prevent formaldehyde off-gassing. (1) Seal the lumber with special non-toxic sealers. Or, (2) Use lumber that does not contain formaldehyde. We are making our loudspeakers more health-friendly and more environmentally-friendly by painting the outside surfaces with environmentally-friendly (certified green) paints and we are using environmentally-friendly (certified green) sealers to coat the unfinished inside panels of our vented transmission line loudspeakers to help to prevent off-gassing. We are also offering loudspeakers made with formaldehyde-free boards and painted with certified "green" or environmentally friendly paints as options.

We are proud to be the first loudspeaker company to manufacture formaldehyde-free loudspeakers to protect your health and the environment. We hope our pioneering efforts will encourage other loudspeaker manufacturers to follow our example.