Atlanta – Pro Audio Technology plans
to expand its selection of products targeted for use in multiroom-audio systems
here at the Expo.
The company recently changed its name from Professional Home Cinema to
reflect its growing focus on multiroom applications.
The
company previously focused on large floorstanding and shelf-mount speakers
designed for placement behind acoustically transparent screens and stretched
fabric walls. The company’s focus also included two bezel-less in-wall speakers
and an in-wall sub, all of which many dealers have used for home theater as
well as multiroom installs, said sales and marketing VP Larry Reagan. All
speakers are designed to be driven by
DSP-equipped amplifiers that include digital crossover filters for PHC speakers,
digital boundary compensation, and digital equalization.
New speakers appearing at the
show include the bezel-less two-way SCRS-5iw in-wall speaker with integrated
metal back-box. It’s smaller than the current in-wall, featuring 5-inch woofer
and 0.75-inch compression tweeter in a proprietary elliptical horn. It also
adds integrated back box. Maximum output is 110dB. The speaker operates in
bi-amp or single-amp mode.
Also new is the company’s first
in-ceiling speaker with an angled baffle to deliver sound to the listener’s
seating position in a home theater, but it can also be used for multiroom
audio, Reagan said. The bezel-less SCRS-25iw LCR speaker features fixed-angle
baffle with two 5-inch woofers and the 0.75-inch compression tweeter and horn.
The speaker is shallow enough to fit in a 2×6 stud bay for in-wall installation.
A new compact 12-inch in-wall sub
is designed to fit in a 2×4 stud bay cavity and finishes off with the same
designer friendly bezel-less grille design used on the in-wall speakers.
Also new is a compact in-room
sub, the LFC-14sm, which features a long- throw 15-incg driver in a black paint
or black ash wood veneer box. It’s designed for in-room placement, whereas the
company’s other enclosed subwoofers are intended for placement behind a display
screen.
Prices weren’t available.
The company will also show
production models of a previously announced PMA-series of modular programmable DSP
amplifiers. They incorporate dealer-programmable DSP engine that includes
digital crossover filters for all PHC speakers, digital boundary compensation,
and digital equalization.
To deliver more channels of amp
power in less space than the company’s previous amp line, the PMA amps can be
purchased with a variety of combinations of 200-, 500-, and 1000-watt amp
modules up to four channels. The modules are inserted by the factory at a
dealer’s request into a common chassis along with DSP circuitry. The previous
series required the use of a single amp-equipped chassis per channel.
In another change, the amp can be
programmed by dealers to select specific crossover points for individual Pro
speakers and equalize speaker response to correct for speaker placement behind
screens and fabrics as well as placement near room boundaries. The previous amp
series required the factory to come in to program some of these settings.
The amp also improves on its
predecessor’s equalization capabilities by using ultra-high resolution
wide-band FIR (Finite Impulse Response) digital equalization.
The amp ships in quantity in the
first quarter.
