Setting Ultra HD 4K and HDR aside for a moment, the trend in the home video market has been the increasing screen size of televisions. Matching the trend of large-screen HDTVs is the British audio manufacturer Monitor Audio and its new SB-4 soundbar that's designed to mate with TVs larger than 70 inches.
The passive SB-4 soundbar is available through Monitor Audio's North American distributor Kevro.
“More and more homeowners seek an immersive cinematic experience in their everyday living space. At the same time larger screens are becoming much more affordable,” says Dean Hartley, technical director, Monitor Audio. “In these situations a soundbar can provide a significant uplift in audio quality, but for installers the challenge is finding a product that's also a good, aesthetic match for the screen. The new SB-4 gives home technology professionals and their clients just that option—a soundbarthat is purpose designed for 70-inch screens and larger.”
Monitor Audio SB-4 Soundbar Features 3-Channel LCR Design
The U.K. manufacturer says the SB-4 utilizes a series of “clever technical features and design innovations” that underscore its commitment to quality.
Internally, the three-channel speaker system employs a pair of proprietary 4-inch C-CAM drivers and single 1-inch C-CAM tweeters in each of the SB-4's left, center and right sections. Monitor says this configuration ensures that sensitivity and balance is evenly achieved across the three channels.
The speaker is designed to have a high-performing multi-driver LCR array through its flat-diaphragm “racetrack style” Auxiliary Bass Radiators (ABRs), which provide extra “bass punch and increased power handling,” while removing turbulent air noise.
Housing all these drivers is an MDF cabinet that is internally braced for maximum rigidity. Monitor explains that its bolt-through technology that's utilized on the bass drivers and tweeters provides the speaker enclosure with increased stiffness and low resonance for clearer, more defined performance.
Monitor Audio notes that some of the aesthetic elements of the SB-4 include finishing the soundbar in a seemless acousitically transparent cloth and solid, brushed aluminum end caps.
The SB-4 employs low-profile, recessed binding posts that enable integrators to mount the soundbar flush to the wall. The SB-4 is also compatible with Sanus TV mounts.
The Monitor Audio SB-4 soundbar carries a price of $1,050.
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