All Products Filed in Speakers

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Florida-based speaker manufacturer Pinnacle Speakers is known throughout the custom installation world for its value-minded line of in-wall and freestanding speaker products. The company's latest product solution remains in step with Pinnacle's philosophy of value, but it is engineered to provide more than a standard value proposition.

Pinnacle's newly announced Black Diamond Series II loudspeakers are designed to provide electronics professionals with an affordable line of reference level loudspeakers that incorporate features such as neodymium magnet, silk-dome tweeters, die-cast phase plugs on the woofers and midrange drivers and crossover networks that utilize quality coils and mylar capacitors. Externally, the speakers employ 10-layer piano lacquer finishes and curved cabinet designs for most models within the series.

The line of products includes eight models that range from floorstanding, bookshelf and LCR models, and all the products are timbre-matched to enable electronics professionals to mix and match the speakers as needed.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A recently released study from Futuresource Consulting confirmed something that many electronics dealers already knew: soundbars are popular.

The study finds that sales of soundbar products will continue to grow through 2016 and with products like the newly introduced Wharfedale Achromatic LCR helping to drive these sales, custom installers will have a ever-increasing range of products to solve a variety of home A/V problems. Wharfedale is distributed in the U.S. by the Massachusetts company Sound Import, and the product is designed to provide flat-panel TV owners an affordable sound solution upgrade. The speaker stands just 4.5-inches high and it is finished in a gloss black to complement the bezels of many modern flat-panel televisions.

Internally the all-in-one, left, center and right speaker incorporates six inverted-cone aluminum woofers and three soft-dome tweeters, and Wharfedale says the product is engineered to mount above or below a flat-panel television.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A few years ago the Carson City, Nev.-based speaker manufacturer BG Radia introduced its R18 on-wall loudspeaker and it offered electronics installers a versatile and unique solution that could address whole-house and home theater applications.

Recently BG Radia redesigned the speaker to make it more installer friendly. The newly reintroduced R18i is now available and it offers the professional installation market the same benefits as the previous generation product and additional benefits that include increased sensitivity and the ability to play louder. Highlighting some of the work the company did to the speaker, BG Radia is now using new 4-inch woofers and a new Neo8 planar ribbon driver that aid the speaker's increased 3dB sensitivity, increased power handling capabilities and minimized distortion. In addition, the speaker is also said to play 8dB louder than the previous model and through the company's Dispersion Pattern Control (DPC) option, installers or end users can select a diffuse, direct or a combination of the two as the speaker's output. BG says this enables electronics professionals to tailor the speaker's dispersion to its surrounding environment.

BG adds the speaker has an impedance rating of 6 ohms, and a frequency response of 80Hz to 20kHz.

Monday, May 07, 2012

For years people have been able to download their favorite songs as ringtones, but unless a homeowner owned an exotic electronics system they were never able to treat their home's doorbell answering system with the same level of customization.

The security manufacturer Swann is now providing homeowners with the ability to customize their doorbells with the same level of fun and uniqueness that phone owners enjoy with downloadable ringtones. Swann's new MP3 Doorbell is a wireless doorbell that plays music when a visitor presses a home's doorbell button. Swann says the solution is able to transmit a wireless audio signal up to 165 feet, and it is able to play music stored on SD cards that range up to 32GBs in size. In addition, the company also offers USB connections to allow homeowners the ability to play music stored on their computers.

Other options bundled into the MP3 Doorbell include the ability to use the doorbell as a speaker, as well as a portable audio player. The speaker incorporates built-in controls and Swann packages the solution with music editing software to allow installers or homeowners to manage their music.

Friday, May 04, 2012

As the consumer audio world continues to evolve from the traditional world of box speakers, into a world of desktop audio, home theater and architectural designs, new manufacturers are coming into the market to facilitate this migration.

The latest company to enter the world of home audio is the Swedish company Opalum, and the company's launch into the consumer electronics industry starts with its introduction of four speaker products. The four new products represent two of the trendiest product types currently offered in the market. The FLOW .4810 on-wall speaker uses 48 1-inch drivers in a point source configuration. The FLOW .1010 on-wall speaker employs 10 2-inch drivers in a point source array. The STREAM .310 bookshelf speaker uses a set of 4-inch woofers and a 1-inch silk-dome tweeter D' Appolito configuration. The STREAM .210 bookshelf speaker uses a 5-inch woofer and a 1-inch silk-dome tweeter.

Internally the speakers also incorporate Class D amplification, fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover networks and Opalum's proprietary Actisonic Technology. To broaden the applications in which the speakers can be used Opalum says the speakers can be coupled with its wireless Control Hub to enable wireless streaming. Externally the speakers utilize industrial designs from the noted Scandinavian engineer Eva Hanner, and Opalum offers the speakers in a choice of black or white.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Excusing the pun for the moment, there's a stereotype associated with home theater and consumer audio that compels many people to believe that the bigger the subwoofer the bigger a system's low frequencies will sound.

Products like the PS88 subwoofer from OSD Audio can be used in many situations that require a cost effective solution that doesn't take up a lot of floor space in a home interior. The PS88 measures 10-inches by 11-inches by 10-inches and it weighs just 16 pounds to facilitate its use in a variety of rooms to enable custom installers to integrate into a home without using a bigger, more expensive subwoofer. Internally the sub features a 180-watt Class D amplifier and a pair of 8-inch woofers set up in a driver, passive radiator array.

The PS88 also includes a variety of user controls to allow installers to blend the sub into two-channel and home theater systems, and because of its price and small size, multiple PS88s can be employed to help installers add more volume to an audio system while also conquering some room modes if proper installation methods are used.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Back during the growth years of the home theater industry with surround formats like Dolby Pro Logic driving adoption it was necessary for installers to use dipole or bipolar speakers to increase the sound dispersion of the rear surround channels. It was during this time that many consumers and dealers developed an affinity for the sound attributes of these speaker technologies.

The California company Current Audio is providing electronics professionals with a pair of in-ceiling speakers that let installers setup a home theater system with a choice of dipole or bipolar operation. Current's recently announced CS654DBFL and CS650DBFL enable installers to use a switch on the speakers' tweeter bridge to run the products' tweeter arrays in phase or out of phase to create a more diffuse rear channel surround field or a wider, more localized sound stage when set in phase as bipolar speakers.

Both speakers incorporate the company's FastLoc griles for easy installation, and they both utilize two-way designs. Internally the CS654DBFL features a 6.5-inch woven carbon fiber woofer and a pair of ferrofluid cooled, ceramic coated dome tweeters. The less expensive CS650DBFL employs a 6.5-inch MetaPlex composite driver and a pair of 1-inch silk dome, ferrofluid cooled dome tweeters.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

With the economy seemingly getting better and summer rapidly approaching now is the perfect time for electronics professionals to present outdoor A/V to their clients.

Terra Loudspeakers is a Maine-based manufacturer of weatherproof loudspeakers and its latest product provides installers with a solution that not only provides dealers with an outdoor speaker product that can be used to cover a yard in sound, but it can also light up that property to provide an added level of safety and aesthetics. The LS.32 combination loudspeaker and LED light stands 32.5 inches tall and it can be ordered in a choice of either black, aluminum or copper to help its appearance match with its surrounding environment.

Terra says that installers can also order the LS.32 with its light configured to illuminate upwards or downwards in order to light up specific outdoor design elements such as a walkway or an architectural element. The LS.32 produces 270 lumens of light, and the speaker portion of the product incorporates a coaxial driver array that includes a 5.25-inch woofer. In addition, the LS.32 also includes provisions for 70-volt commercial applications and traditional consumer 8-ohm applications.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

For all of the standard box type products that dot the landscape of the loudspeaker category there are companies like the Carson City, Nev.-based manufacturer Wisdom Audio. Wisdom focuses on the architectural loudspeaker market and its goal is to deliver to the market the highest performing products in the specialty A/V industry.

Recently the company diversified its product line through the introduction of its more cost friendly Insight Series of architectural loudspeakers. According to Wisdom, its dealers had requested a wider choice of loudspeaker products from the company and Wisdom says it responded by designing the Insight Series which brings the price points of the company's product to a level where a wider group of consumers can afford to buy into the product line.

The Insight Series includes four products: the P2i, the P4i, the P6i and the L8i, and all of the speakers incorporate newly engineered planar magnetic drivers, cone woofers and passive crossover networks. The 3-ohm P2i has an 87dB efficiency rating and frequency response of 80Hz to 20kHz; the 6-ohm P4i is also 87dB sensitive and it also provides a frequency response of 80Hz to 20kHz; the 4-ohm P6i is more than 90dB sensitive and it has a frequency response of 80Hz to 20kHz; and the top-of-the-line 4-ohm L8i is 93dB sensitive and it like the other speakers provides a frequency response of 80Hz to 20kHz.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Definitive Technology has always been a company that's combined new technologies, competitive price points and a vast array of product solutions that fit just about any need a homeowner will have.

The company's latest product line is a series of bookshelf speakers that includes the StudioMonitor 65, which can be used for home theater and two-channel audio. Definitive Technology says the speaker's physical dimensions are 16.5 inches x 7.875 inches x 15.125 inches and it weighs 22 pounds. Internally, the StudioMonitor 65 incorporates dual woofers that surround a 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter. These drivers are controlled by the company's phase coherent crossover network that utilize oversized inductors, Mylar capacitors and an integrated Zobel network that is said to flatten the impedance of the speaker to enable low-powered, low-current amplifiers to effectively drive the speakers.

Definitive Technology rates the speaker's impedance at 8 ohms and its sensitivity at 92dB. In addition, the speaker is rated to deliver a frequency response of 30Hz to 30kHz and it ships with a wood-grain matte black finish and gloss-black bezel.

Friday, March 16, 2012

It's no big secret that the speakers that television manufacturers incorporate into their products are just an afterthought. Homeowners interested in upgrading the sound of their TVs without taking up too much space within their homes have an increasingly growing choice of options to solve their audio dilemmas.

Episode Speakers' new 300 Series of soundbars are engineered to address the medium size flat-panel TV market without breaking the bank. The line offers a choice of 30-inch and 40-inch wide products that incorporate a three-channel driver array to produce a wide multichannel soundstage that saves space within a room. Episode says that each channel employs a .75-inch Ferro-fluid cooled silk-dome tweeter, along with 3-inch polypropylene woofers and 3-inch passive radiators to augment the low-end extension of each woofer.

Episode finishes the speakers in a piano-black gloss exterior with black mesh grilles, and it builds in installer friendly knock-outs behind the speaker grilles that hide IR receiver brackets to enable the speakers to coexist with flat-panel TVs in a wall-mount scenario. In addition, the speaker also includes a kickstand for shelf placement, and the speakers can be used with other Episode products to complete a full 5.1 or 7.1 home theater system.

Monday, March 05, 2012

Induction Dynamics is part of the MSE Audio family of companies and recently the Overland Park, Kansas-based manufacturer updated its product line by adding a floorstanding version of its S1.8 bookshelf speaker to its S1 series of products.

The newly announced S1.8T floorstanding loudspeaker builds upon the company's existing S1.8 bookshelf speaker through the implementation of addition of components such as another 8-inch Kevlar woofer and a larger, ported enclosure. The speaker incorporates a four-driver array that includes a 1.125-inch soft-dome tweeter, a 3-inch soft-dome midrange driver and a pair of 8-inch Kevlar woofers. One of the company's proprietary S4X fourth-order crossover networks controls the driver array, and according to Induction Dynamics, the speaker with its wide soundstage can be used for home theater and two-channel audio installations.

Induction Dynamics says the 4-ohm, 90dB efficient speaker produces a 36Hz to 20kHz frequency response and it can be ordered with the company's active Dynamic Digital Audio Reference Theater System (dARTS) technologies. Standard finish choices include black satin, gloss black and rosewood, and installers can order custom finishes and grille colors to accommodate a variety of room environments.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

The British loudspeaker manufacturer Tannoy has an extensive history of developing products for the professional audio market and the high-performance consumer market, and recently the company announced that it has taken its engineering power and designed a compact speaker solution for the home theater market.

Tannoy's new Technical FXcellence (TFX) line of compact speaker products are designed to resolve the detail of today's lossless surround sound formats, as well as high-resolution digital audio files. To accomplish the task of reproducing the detail of today's consumer audio formats the company employs its WideBand technology that allows the speakers' tweeters to extend beyond 70kHz. The TFX subwoofer augments the line's low end capabilities through the use of an 8-inch woofer and 100-watt Class A/B amplifier.

Aesthetically, the TFX line utilizes new streamlined enclosures that are designed to complement the industrial designs of today's sleek flat-panel televisions, and Tannoy also offers optional speaker stands to enable electronics professionals the ability to use the speakers for a variety of system installations.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) is one of the most famous consumer audio companies in the entire world and throughout its history its been associated with high-performance audio.

The company's new Mini Theater packages combines B&W's latest audio technologies with its innovative industrial designs to build upon its reputation as a top audio manufacturer. At the heart of the speaker bundles is the company's newly redesigned M-1 speaker. The M-1 incorporates redesigned woofers and tweeters, as well as stand connections and speaker terminals that are engineered to stand up to years of use. B&W completes the home theater speaker packages with a choice of either a ASW608 or a PV1D subwoofers. Installers can build upon these 5.1 packages through the addition of more M-1s and/or another subwoofer to provide their clients with complete 5.2, 7.1 or 7.2 speaker system solutions.

Highlighting the stylish and powerful PV1D-based system option, B&W says it has also updated this product through the addition of the digital audio technologies that are in the DB1 subwoofer, which includes its digital EQ circuit. The sub also incorporates a new driver unit, amp and OLED user interface.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Monitor Audio USA is one of the most frequently used brands in the custom installation market and back in the company's native Britain, the company's engineers are working hard to make sure Monitor Audio remains a go-to brand for installers.

The company's latest product release is its new Trimless Series of loudspeakers and this architectural line of speakers is engineered to provide the highest levels of sound quality without having their aesthetics disrupting the interior design of a modern home. The line of products features three products: the CWT140S, the CWT160S and the CWT180R, and these speakers utilize 4-inch, 6-inch 8-inch versions of Monitor Audio's MMP II woofers, along with its C-CAM gold-dome tweeter. The trimless speakers' tweeters pivot 15 degrees in all directions and the products' paintable grilles are magnetic.

Monitor Audio has also built the speaker to withstand the effects of water and humidity and the line of product employs fire retardant materials that meet UL specifications.