CEDIA 2016 is coming to Dallas on September 13-17. CE Pro spoke to William Kieltyka, division general manager at NEAR Speakers, about the company's plans for the show and what to expect in booth #1716.
For those looking to become a dealer, contact NEAR sales director Joe Finn at [email protected] or call: (201) 995-2102.
What would you say to dealers who are already familiar with your product line?
We have recently improved two of our IG Series in-ground speakers – the IG8 and IG6 are now “Series 2” products called the IG8s2 and IG6s2. We’ve increased the sensitivity by 3dB so they play louder and are easier to drive than their predecessors.
If you’re going to CEDIA 2016 be sure to listen to the new models – you’ll be surprised to the extent we made already great sounding speakers sound even better.
We’ve also announced a new power amp scheduled for delivery early next year – the 7XL – a 700WPC dual mono design that can drive low impedance (4/8 Ohms) and 70/100V speakers. In fact one channel can drive low impedance speakers while the other drives 70V transformer speakers. But what makes it really special is the integrated Digital Signal Processor that brings pro/commercial-level features to the residential space.
An integrator can now control the response curve of a system with a 7-band parametric EQ, select a wide variety of crossover points, slopes and alignments as well protect the speakers by applying dynamic range control via front panel controls or via our proprietary PC app. For less tech savvy users we built in DSP presets corresponding to popular combinations of NEAR speakers. It’s quite an amp!
Last but not least we will be showing two popular price point surface mount outdoor models, the VM1 and VM2 at $299 and $399 a pair respectively. They have most of our signature technologies and 80 percent of the performance of our more expensive LB series models, at roughly half the price. They should be coming into stock in the first quarter of 2017, in time for the spring season.
What would you say to dealers who are stumbling across your company for the first time?
Take a deep look into our line-up of dedicated all-weather loudspeakers. NEAR speakers can solve problems where others cannot. Whether it is a landscape system on a budget or a full-blown distributed system covering large gardens and venues, NEAR has solutions including wall-mounted speakers, in-ground speakers and subwoofers and a purpose-designed 8-Ohm or 70Volt amplifier.
We know you hate service calls and client complaints about faded, rusting, and broken outdoor speakers. Let us show you the lengths we go to make our outdoor speakers truly weather proof. We’ve been at this for over 28 years and we’ve learned what it takes to make speakers that hold up for decades even with direct exposure to extreme weather.
If an integrator stops by your booth with only 5 minutes to spare, what’s the one product he should examine or one question he should ask?
Experience our NEARSCAPES 4.1 outdoor satellite/subwoofer speaker system with selectable 16-Ohm or 70V operation, 120-degree dispersion and versatile installation options. NEARSCAPES offers wider area coverage with fewer speakers, higher fidelity, and greater listener satisfaction.
What’s your most memorable CEDIA moment?
2015’s NEAR-sponsored roof-top event at the Hyatt in Denver. Despite the chilly weather everyone had a great time and really enjoyed the sound of our speakers filling the huge space.
Course offerings at CEDIA:
We will be conducting a training called “Designing and Up-Selling Exceptional Outdoor Audio Systems” on Friday Sept. 16 at 3:30 in Room C143.
Do you have any giveaways, contests or quirky features planned for CEDIA?
At the close of each show day and at the close of the September 16th training we will be drawing for a free pair of NEAR LB5 outdoor speakers ($998/pr. MSRP). Visitors to booth 1716 and training attendees need only to have their badges scanned to enter the drawing.
Think of your closest competitor. What is one thing you do offer that they don’t?
When compared to “spotlight” style speaker and subwoofer solutions, the NEARSCAPES systems have far wider coverage. Large areas can be covered with fewer speakers for easier installation and more consistent sound quality for listeners.
