Jeff Koons made his stainless steel Balloon Dog sculptures in the 1990s, and they are among the most recognisable objects in contemporary art. Lexon, the French design brand founded in 1991, has been making a desktop version that works as a speaker. The Chromatic edition is its second, announced on 24 March 2026, and it is made under licence from the artist, with The Broad museum in Los Angeles named as a development partner.
The first thing to know is the scale. The dog is 29 by 11 by 28 centimetres and weighs 1.1 kilograms, which is a good deal of plastic and electronics for something you might put on a bookshelf. The body is optical-grade polycarbonate, so the speaker is transparent: the drivers, circuit board and cabling sit visible inside the balloon shapes. Lexon says development took more than 50,000 hours, and a good part of that must have gone on fitting everything into a form designed to look like twisted air.
The sound is 360 degrees, from ten speakers in all: six active drivers and four passive boosters that handle the low end. Bluetooth is version 5.3, two microphones allow hands-free calls, and two dogs can be paired as a true wireless stereo set. The battery runs for up to ten hours and charges over USB-C, with a cable supplied. Controls are on the nose and ears.
What separates it from other speakers is the paperwork. Each piece has Koons' signature engraved beneath the front paws, and comes with a certificate of authenticity. Lexon says the certificate and packaging carry a hologram. There are four colours this time, gold, blue, red and white, and the maker states they will not be reissued. Collectors are limited to two of each colour. Lexon describes the new edition as compatible with the 2025 original, so the two can be paired together.
The price is £800, which is the point of the exercise rather than a flaw in it. Nobody needs a speaker at that price, and the people who buy it are buying a licensed object that happens to play music. Availability is the practical difficulty. The Lexon page shows both a pre-order option and a sold-out notice, and says shipping runs to November 2026. After that, the Chromatic colours are gone.
- Licensed Koons design with a signature engraved under the paws and a certificate of authenticity
- Ten speakers for 360 degree sound, with two units pairing as a stereo set
- Transparent polycarbonate body that shows the electronics inside the sculpture
- Sold in 2026 only, and the maker's page shows both pre-order and sold-out status
- Up to ten hours of battery and Bluetooth only, with no Wi-Fi or line input listed
The verdict
A speaker bought for the sculpture first, and a respectable one at that, for people who want the licence and have the shelf for it.
Best forArt collectors who want a Koons on the shelf that also plays music.
Photographs courtesy of Lexon
