Savant has been on a roll recently introducing a variety of new products to its portfolio—particularly those that support HomeKit technology. A range of HomeKit-enabled lighting products and circuit breakers modules made their debut at Lightfair 2019 a couple of weeks ago; the announcement of a thermostat, the SmartStat, followed a few days later.
Perhaps the biggest news from Savant's HomeKit camp, however, happened at the Pacific Coast Builder Conference this week, where the company unveiled an innovative family of HomeKit-enabled audio products.
It's not the support of HomeKit that makes the audio announcement so newsworthy, though.
Two products in particular from the whole-house audio lineup are actually able to function as the brains of a complete Savant home control system. Built into each the new Savant Smart Soundbar and Smart Audio Amplifier is a full suite of Savant software.
According to Savant CEO Bob Madonna, this means each of these products supports the integration of any Savant component, compatible third-party device, or HomeKit product.
“It’s the best of both worlds for the integrator,” Madonna continues. “They can start by using either the soundbar or the amp as part of a distributed audio system, then add other products to it create a complete home control system.”
And, because both products support HomeKit, users can command products and Apple TV functionality through the Siri voice control platform accessed through the native voice button on Savant’s Pro Remote.
High-Res Delivery Differentiates Savant’s Solution
Home control capabilities aside, the SmartAmp serves as the cornerstone of a whole-house audio system.
To leverage the audio distribution features of the amp, Savant offers all of the necessary components: speakers (including Savant’s PoE-enabled Micro Aperture Speakers, which were introduced about a month ago), AirPlay 2 support, built-in music streaming, and a mobile app for creating entertainment scenes, audio zones, and more. The Smart Soundbar can function as part of the distributed audio system, as well.
It’s a configuration similar to that of a Sonos setup, but what differentiates the Savant audio solution, says Madonna, is its “higher quality and higher fidelity.”
Savant integrated several technologies into the amp, as well as the soundbar, to enhance the quality of streaming music.
Related: Savant Shows HomeKit-Compatible Smart Circuit Breakers, Circadian Lighting
For starters, the amp supports 24 bit 96k high-resolution playback with ultra-low latency and 125 watts per channel out of the box. Taking it a step further, the amp’s onboard DSP engine is optimized for all Savant loudspeakers.
“All of the components—amp, speakers, soundbar—work as one big audio system, but unlike other solutions, the audio is fully high-res from the amp to the speakers,” Madonna says.
“And also unlike other solutions, we’ve molded the home control technology we’ve been refining for over a decade with high-performance speaker technology to give integrators an innovative new way to approach the market.”
The Savant SmartAmp will be available this summer for a suggested retail price of $699. The Smart Soundbar will be available early June and retail for $2,000. Both are the first in a sereies of enhanced products to be released by Savant.
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