Obsidian is a kind of black glass formed when the heat of a volcano melts the silica material in sand.
VOA: special.2009.09.16
But they are really made out of carefully formed clay material.
VOA: special.2009.09.09
This specialized material, formed into the Quintet's speaker cabinets with non-parallel walls to diminish internal standing waves, is truly the next generation in compact home speaker technology.
It could be defects due to missing atoms, thermal vibrations of the crystal lattice, or even the boundaries between small, imperfectly formed crystals that make up the material.