Audio System
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CE FEATURE FREESTANDING SPEAKER ROUNDUP Speakers 48for the MODERN AUDIO SYSTEM Today’s freestanding speakers are better looking and better sounding than products from previous generations. Here are some of the latest products to hit the market. BY ROBERT ARCHER T’S AN INTERESTING PERIOD within the world of consumer elec- tronics. The industry is now driven by companies like Apple and Google and technologies like networking that not long ago weren’t even consid- Audience The One ered a part of consumer electronics. The latest loudspeaker from the California- Further putting the world of electronics into chaos is the fact that based electronics company Audience is its the once mighty video category has flatlined and HDTVs are no longer space-friendly The One. This small footprint the cool, sexy “must-have” product they use to be. speaker utilizes a unique single driver to repro- Stepping up to fill the void left by an uninspiring video category is the audio duce the entire frequency range and Audience Icommunity. Led by a new generation of web-enabled, downloadable and stream- says the point source design is engineered to ing technologies, as well as electronics that can serve the needs of analog or digital provide home theater and music lovers with enthusiasts, the audio market is experiencing a surge in popularity that rivals its a cohesive, seamless image that is true to the golden-era heyday of the 1960s. content being reproduced. Some of the uses Front and center in the audio market’s resurgence is the loudspeaker category. Today’s for The One include desktop audio and as the loudspeakers look better and, more importantly, sound better than anything that’s ever rears or side surround speakers in a home the- been produced. Here are some examples of the best and newest offerings on the market: ater system. audience-av.com CE FEATURE FREESTANDING SPEAKER ROUNDUP Bose L1 Model 1S System Meridian DSP7200 Bose is the most famous speaker manufacturer in Meridian recently announced a redesign of its the world, but there are many people that don’t active, DSP-enabled DSP7200 loudspeaker know it offers a line of commercial solutions that with highlights that include a new tweeter includes its L1 Model 1S system. This system is and improvements to the tweeter’s ampli- designed to allow DJs, bands and public speak- fier, as well as improvements to the speaker’s ers to be heard clearly and easily. The Product crossover network. Other newly incorporated features a 12-speaker line array with Bose’s features include Meridian’s Centre Elevation Articulated Array technology that option, which is designed to improve the disperses a 180-degree soundfield. quality of the 7200’s companion DSP7200HC The system is made up of four light- center-channel speaker product’s perfor- weight pieces that are easy to set up mance. In addition, Meridian implements its and break down, and the L1 Model 1S Enhanced Bass Alignment technology into also includes Bose’s ToneMatch port the speaker. This technology uses digital sig- single cable connection technology. nal processing to delay higher frequencies to bose.com align them with lower frequencies. meridian-audio.com GoldenEar Triton Seven SnapAV Episode ES-700 Almost overnight GoldenEar SnapAV’s improved ES-700 prod- has risen up to become one of ucts provide installers a choice of the industry’s most popular speakers finished in gloss piano speaker brands. The company’s black exteriors. Internally the Triton Seven is designed to pro- speakers incorporate drivers made vide home theater and music with its NCS woofer material and lovers with a state-of-the-art, catenary dome tweeters. The Char- affordable speaker that incorpo- lotte, N.C.-based company adds rates technologies such as built- the products are engineered to in subwoofers and GoldenEar’s enable dealers to mix and match proprietary HVFR ribbon twit- the speakers with their architec- ters. The home-friendly 89dB tural counterparts as necessity efficient speaker stands just demands to create audio systems over 3 feet tall, and GoldenEar that can reproduce everything says the Triton Seven offers a fre- from music to movie soundtracks. quency response of 29Hz to 35kHz. goldenear.com episodespeakers.com Pro Audio Technology LFC-10sm Leon Speakers Seven Series Pro Audio Technology (PRO) takes a unique approach to product Installers that choose Leon Speakers’ Seven design. The company engineers its products to provide high SPL Series won’t have to worry about levels and the ability to deliver nuance. The company’s LFC- any roll-of-the-dice fate with 10sm subwoofer features a 10-inch these products. The line woofer with a rigid glass-fiber rein- includes the Seven-Center, the forced diaphragm, a large magnet Seven Surround, and the Seven- and an over-sized surround for LR and they incorporate Eton extra-long linear excursion. The sub Hexacone woofers and Morel is mated to an external processor/ tweeters. The slim-profile, on- amplifier that delivers either 450 or wall speakers are 90dB sensitive 1000 watts of power depending on and employ enclosure materials the installation. PRO says the elec- such as solid billet aluminum tronics provide a fully DSP optimized and solid-core birch to ensure signal to the sub and the solution rigidity while adding to the offers room equalization capabili- aesthetics. Leon offers custom ties. professionalhomecinema.com speaker options. leonspeakers.com CE FEATURE FREESTANDING SPEAKER ROUNDUP Adam Audio Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) CM10 Artist 5 B&W’s latest speaker is the CM10. Taking The German com- design cues from its 800 line, the speaker pany Adam Audio employs the same isolated tweeter-on-top first made waves in configuration as the company’s flagship prod- the pro audio indus- ucts. The CM10’s aluminum dome tweeter is try, where its active speakers became popular in recording. Over the strengthened using a second aluminum layer past few years Adam has targeted the consumer market with archi- that replicates the main dome’s profile with tectural, freestanding home theater and two-channel lines, as well as the center part cut out, giving a new “double- the burgeoning computer audio channel. The Artist 5 is its latest active dome design.” The speaker also utilizes B&W’s speaker for the home audio and prosumer recording markets. It incor- FST midrange driver and a deeper cabinet to porates separate 50-watt amps for the 5.5-inch midrange driver and provide additional volume to add a third bass proprietary ART ribbon tweeter, as well as gain controls on the back driver to deliver some bigger impact than the of the speakers to tailor the drivers’ output. In addition, the speaker’s similar-size CM9 model, which contains two back panel has XLR, RCA and USB inputs, and on the bottom of the bass drivers. bowers-wilkins.com front panel are controls for power and volume. adam-audio.com Krell Modulari Duo Reference Speaker Triad OnWall MiniSat 3.0 Soundbar While well known for its amplifiers, Krell also offers a line of The soundbar category has been growing at a rapid rate over the speakers that includes the Modulari Duo Reference system. This past couple of years. As the category matures a wider choice of speaker combines Krell’s Modulari subwoofer with its Modulari products have become available to installers. Triad’s new OnWall Primo to form a speaker that MiniSat 3.0 is a three-channel solution that is available in widths is capable of playing down to up to 82 inches. The built-to-order speaker measures just 3 inches 27.5Hz. The system utilizes deep and it incorporates three proprietary 4-inch paper cone driv- enclosures made from alumi- ers and three 1-inch cloth-dome tweeters. Triad offers the speak- num slabs, and its driver array ers in a choice of includes three 8-inch ScanSpeak painted and gloss woofers in the bass unit; a 7-inch finishes, and as ScanSpeak midrange driver and a part of the finishing 1-inch ScanSpeak Ring-Radiator process the com- tweeter. A modified second-order pany uses its green Butterworth crossover regulates friendly EcoGloss the drivers and it is rated as a finishing methods. 4 ohms. krellonline.com triadspeakers.com RBH Sound The SX6300/R Canton Chrono SLS RBH Sound’s SX6300/R resides The SLS Series of loudspeakers from in the company’s Signa- the European manufacturer Canton ture series of solutions. The utilizes technologies developed for the souped-up R version of its company’s high-performance Vento SX6300 speaker incorporates Series and Jubilee products. Canton upgrades that include a Scan- says the line’s tweeters feature a solid Speak tweeter, phase plugs transmission front plate of aluminum, on the 4-inch and 6.5-inch along with a waveguide, a membrane drivers; a beefed up crossover of alu ceramics and the Jubilee’s vibra- network and bi-amp/bi-wire tion system. Other features include cab- binding posts, and sturdy inets with beveled edges that minimize outriggers. The 4-ohm, 88dB noise, as well as a bass reflex design for sensitive floorstanding speaker tight low frequencies and a floorplate can reproduce a frequency that safely secures the speakers’ foot- response of 35Hz to 20kHz, and ing. American Audio & Video distributes it’s available in two standard Canton in the U.S. finishes, as well as a choice of 30 custom finishes. rbhsound.com americanaudiovideo.com CE FEATURE FREESTANDING SPEAKER ROUNDUP Thiel Audio CS3.7 For decades Thiel Audio has been design- ing and building its products in a backdrop of bluegrass hills and horse stables of Atlantic Technology PowerBar 235 Kentucky.