Boston Acoustics Expands Reflection Series

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 9/8/2010

Peabody, Mass. - Boston Acoustics expanded its Reflection series of in-room speakers with a flagship three-way floorstanding model priced at $999 each.

Boston Acoustics is topping out the Reflection series with a floorstanding speaker at $999 each.

Reflection is the middle series in the company's three-series component-speaker selection, which includes the value-oriented Classic series and the flagship VS series. VS and Reflection are targeted to A/V specialists, while the Classis series is an open line.

The new floorstanding model, the RS 326, is the first three-way speaker in the series, which features scratch-resistant piano-black finish, rounded edges and shallow magnet-mount grilles that line up with the specially designed baffle to "nearly eliminate acoustic diffraction," the company said. Because of the grille design, the speakers sound as good with the grilles on or off, the company noted. Tightly spaced driver placement delivers "near-point-source sonic coherence," the company added.

From the flagship VS series, Reflection borrows extended wide bandwidth (EWB) tweeters to deliver stabilized linear motion, lower distortion, improved dispersion and power handling, and improved clarity via rear-chamber venting and a central diaphragm termination, which creates a dimple in the middle of the tweeter, the company said. The tweeter design also enables a 2,000Hz crossover point, providing a smoother transition in dispersion as the tweeter's frequencies meet up with sound emanating from midranges or woofers.

The series borrows the VS series' Deep Channel woofer design but use cones made from a composite of fiber and ceramic materials impregnated in a proprietary copolymer material. The combination delivers high-output bass along with smooth response over their operating range, in turn delivering midrange subtleties and detail with minimal distortion, the company said.

The RS 326 flagship is shipping with dual 6.5-inch woofers beneath a midrange and tweeter.

The first Reflection models, launched late last year, comprise a subwoofer and five two-way speakers, all with 1-inch tweeter. They include a 23.38- by 5.94-5.94-inch LCR said to be the thinnest-ever LCR produced by the brand. The first Reflection models are the RS 230 compact speaker with 3.5-inch woofer at $249 each, the RS 260 bookshelf speaker with 6.5-inch woofer at $399 each, RS 244C center channel with four 4-inch woofers at $499, and the $399-each RS 223 compact LCR with dual 3.5-inch woofers. The series also includes the RS 334 floorstanding speaker with four 4-inch woofers at $699 each and the RPS1000 10-inch 500-watt (1000-watt peak) powered subwoofer at $899.