Paul Barton, founder and chief designer of PSB Speakers, is one of the most respected professionals in the consumer loudspeaker category. Adding to his list of accomplishments, the Canadian speaker engineer and his company have introduced the Imagine XA Dolby Atmos speaker for Dolby Atmos-enabled home theater applications.
The Dolby Atmos module speakers are designed to instantly transform new and existing home theaters into systems capable of reproducing Dolby's state-of-the-art object-based, surround sound format.
“Dolby Atmos takes home cinema sound to a completely new level by adding the third dimension of height to the two-dimensional front/back, left/right 5.1 sound mix,” explains Barton. “Our team worked closely with Dolby engineers to meet and exceed their specs [Dolby's] that when properly implemented can move 'sound objects' like the sound of a bird in a tree above or the swoosh of an arrow past your face, delivering moving audio around the room with pinpoint accuracy. We believe the effect of the Imagine XA is totally convincing and really elevates the home cinema experience to new heights.”
Working with Dolby and using the resources of Canada's famous National Research Council (NRC), Barton and the PSB engineering staff developed the Imagine XA to produce an exact frequency and directivity response that matches Dolby's specifications. To achieve these results PSB used drivers designed in-house utilizing technologies developed for its high-performance products, including a ferrofluid-cooled, titanium-dome tweeter that features a neodymium magnet structure, as well as a clay/ceramic-reinforced molded polypropylene woofer cone, and a customized waveguide.
Showing the speakers to the world, ISE 2016 attendees can see the speakers in person at PSB's exhibit in Hall 10, booth R120.
“Dolby Atmos is currently avaiable in over 60 A/V receiver models, and more than 30 Dolby Atmos-enabled speaker designs, including soundbars, with the PSB Imagine XA being the newest,” points out Brett Crockett, vice president, sound technology research and development, Dolby Laboratories. “At ISE Dolby will be delivering a height experience using the PSB Imagine XA speaker modules, effectively showcasing the power of Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers. We invite all ISE attendees to visit us for this exciting demonstration.”
The Imagine XA Dolby Atmos speakers from PSB will be available in March 2016 for $499 per pair.
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