Peabody, Mass. — Boston Acoustics will offer its first three in-ceiling speakers designed to resemble small in-ceiling light fixtures.
Two are two-way models, both with 3.5-inch woofer and concentrically mounted 0.75-inch tweeter, and the
third is an in-ceiling passive subwoofer. To further reduce visibility, all come with a bezel whose width has been reduced by 70 percent, as they have been with other custom speakers recently introduced by the company.
The HSi 430 with round bezel and HSi 435 with square bezel will be available in May at $250 each. They come with metal back cans, bass-enhancing front-firing ports and wide dispersion, the company said. The $500 HSi S6W2 subwoofer, due in June, features 6-inch woofer attached to a flexible tube that ports into an in-ceiling band-pass enclosure. It ships with both a round and a square bezel and grille. All speakers come with magnetic grille.
The two-way speakers can be installed in pairs for stereo reproduction as well as in multi-speaker configurations for larger areas. For new construction installation, Boston ships an optional new construction bracket that also acts as a guide for installers who are cutting into the ceiling.
Constant voltage versions of the 3.5-inch speakers will also be available for commercial applications.
The subwoofer, whose response is 50-180Hz, features built-in passive crossover, enabling the subwoofer to be wired to one or two pairs of the satellite speakers while being driven by the same amplifier.
The two-way speakers feature a switchable 180Hz high-pass filter, which can be switched off to run the speakers full-range without the subwoofer or switched on when the speakers are paired with the subwoofer. For high-output applications without the subwoofer, the high-pass filter can be left on to protect the speakers, the company added.
