Canadian audio technology company Mass Fidelity today introduced the RaD, a portable wireless Bluetooth speaker featuring the company’s radial dispersion technology.
The RaD follows up to Mass Fidelity’s Core Wireless audio system, Core Wireless subwoofer and Relay Bluetooth
The RaD is designed for outdoor and unconventional listening environments, such as kitchens and bathrooms. It has a ruggedized, compact design that is IPX5 rated for water and shock resistance.
Additionally, with the RaD’s ability to connect to the private, high-performance and uncompressed 5Ghz Adaptive whole-house network built into the Core and Core Wireless Sub, users can immediately add additional zones with the touch of a button. A total of eight devices in the Core network can be connected together.
The RaD features a five-speaker array, with four 1.5-inch drivers and a single 3-inch bass driver, each powered by a high-output amplifier which delivers a frequency response of 75Hz to 20KHz, in a compact (5-inch by 4.75-inch by 3-inch) form factor one-third smaller than that of the Core. The RaD includes AAC and AptX codecs.
“From the time we launched our campaign for the Core and Core Subwoofer, we’ve been incredibly happy with the response that we’ve received from our customers,” said Bob Perry, chief revenue officer, Mass Fidelity. “After using these products, many have also requested a smaller, more ruggedized version to expand the Core network to outdoors, kitchens and bathrooms. So in response, we’ve developed the RaD with its radial soundfield and ruggedized design to meet and hopefully exceed these expectations.”
A USB connector on the rear can be used for charging mobile devices, while the high-capacity battery provides eight hours of operating time.
The RaD launched on Indiegogo this morning, starting with an initial price of $149 for the first 100 units, eventually going up in two steps to $189 for the remainder of the campaign. The initial price of $149 is a 50 percent discount off the planned retail of $300. Additional perks will be available as well, combining the RaD with the Core and Core Subwoofer. These combination perks will allow Mass Fidelity to ship those two products immediately following the close of the campaign, in time for the holidays, while the RaD is planned for shipment to backers in April 2017.
