Contrary to what some brands claim, the most environmentally responsible technological gadget is the one you already own. Since the majority of the carbon footprint of our devices is generated during their manufacturing phases, the best way to limit the damage is to keep your machines as long as possible. To do this, there is no secret: you must be able to repair them easily.
In the world of smartphones, players like Fairphone have tried to democratize the principle of an easily repairable phone, but on the audio side, it's another story. Bluetooth speakers are often mechanically simpler to repair than mobile phones, but manufacturers do not make the process very easy.
The ShiftSound SP, a “responsible” speaker
Whether it's JBL, Bose or others, repair guides or spare parts are not always easy to find. Shift, a German company which prides itself on its holistic approach to electronic waste, is therefore trying to drive small-scale change in this area. It is therefore no surprise that we find the ShiftSound SP in the catalog of Commown, the Strasbourg cooperative society which rents a whole bunch of “responsible” products, such as the Fairphone or Framework computers.
The test copy put under our scalpel for this article was also lent to us by Commown. But beyond the big speeches and marketing positions, are the promises of repairability kept? This is what we are going to see.
A screwdriver and a butter knife
Unfortunately, neither Shift nor Commown provide a speaker disassembly guide. There is, however, a YouTube video that details the process, but in Goethe's language. Fortunately, the process is correctly illustrated and allows you to start DIY with confidence.
Overall, disassembly requires almost no tools. The grille protecting the speakers can be removed using clips on the side of the control panel. A swipe of a butter knife or plastic spatula at the seam is enough to remove the outer shell and reveal the speakers. These can then be separated from the rest with a simple flick of a Phillips screwdriver.
The Shift SP1 stripped bare.
© Corentin Béchade / Les Numériques
The passive radiators unclip by hand with a simple quarter turn. From there, all that's left to do is unplug the speakers from the motherboard and the bulk of the components are removed. Tweezers or curved tweezers can then be used to disconnect the battery, the control panel and the LEDs. A little elbow grease and a final stroke of the screwdriver are enough to extract the last parts from the plastic carcass.
Overall, the disassembly experience is rather well thought out and reassuring. No need to force anything, the connectors are visible and relatively easy to access and no glue is used. Apart from waving a screwdriver directly on the motherboard, it is unlikely to damage anything as long as you are a little careful.
The problem of spare parts
Ease of disassembly is an important aspect of repairability without being the only one. For a product to be truly repairable, spare parts must also be easy to find and not too expensive. Alas, on that side, it's not a party.
Neither Commown nor Shift currently sell spare parts for SP. At least for the moment… Asked about this, Commown nevertheless assures us that the parts will indeed arrive on the manufacturer's site “in the future”. Available at Shift since the beginning of 2023, but arriving at Commown around the start of the school year, we can only hope that the pieces will actually be available soon.
As it stands, due to the lack of an official disassembly guide and the absence of easily accessible spare parts for purchase, it is difficult to qualify the SP1 as a “repairable” speaker. These regrettable absences are partly explained by the logic underlying the marketing of the speaker. Both on Commown and Shift's side, the idea is to rely on the repair service of each company to put the speaker back upright.
The beast's battery.
© Corentin Béchade / Les Numériques
“For Commown customers, in the event of a breakdown/breakage, we will send a working speaker directly to the customer, repatriate the dysfunctional speaker and carry out the repair at our premises”explains the reseller. The ease of repair is therefore designed here more for professional repair than repair by individuals. An audible logic, but which still makes the SP1 less attractive for Sunday DIY enthusiasts.
A philosophy to perfect
The ShiftSound SP1 is therefore a somewhat schizophrenic speaker which highlights its ease of repair without really giving everyone the means to honor this promise. As it stands, we are quite far from the Fairphone model, despite a similar underlying philosophy. The Dutch phone manufacturer actually offers both a professional repair service and accessible spare parts for those who want to embark on the adventure.
To answer the question posed by the title of this article, Shiftsound shows that it is technically not that complicated to repair a Bluetooth speaker. But the accessory also wonderfully illustrates the difficulties inherent in the design of a truly repairable object. Beyond construction, stewardship must also follow. Only when the three pillars of disassembly, parts price and availability are strong can the repairability ecosystem truly flourish. The Shiftsound SP1 is a good start, but it will now be necessary to transform the test.
The speaker is available for sale from Shift for €88 and for rental from Commown from €5.90/month.
