INDIANAPOLIS —
Solus/Clements Loudspeakers is
coming to the CEDIA Expo to unveil the industry’s first
in-wall and in-ceiling speakers incorporating its H-PAS
bass-extension technology, promoted as delivering
targeted bass performance with 50 percent smaller
cabinets, smaller drivers and lower costs.
The company will also expand its selection of inroom
speakers with the technology, which was developed
by Souls/Clements and also appears in-room
speakers made by Atlantic Technology.
Atlantic is licensing the technology to other companies,
and several licensing deals have already
been concluded, said Solus/Clements president
Phil Clements.
H-PAS, which stands for Hybrid Pressure Acceleration
System, combines elements of bass-reflex, inverse-
horn and transmission-line speaker technologies
to pressurize and accelerate low frequencies. H-PAS
is promoted as breaking what the companies have
called “the iron law of loudspeaker design,” which law
states that among three key goals of speaker design —
deep bass, compact enclosures and good efficiency
— two must be selected at the expense of the third.
Licensees of H-PAS technology are developing their
own custom speakers with the technology, but Solus/
Clements is the first out of the gate and will be the only
company with H-PAS custom speakers at the show,
Clements said. The company’s models ship in mid-
December at prices that haven’t been finalized.
The custom speakers consist of the SX-4.0 in-wall/
on-wall speaker, the SX-4.0 IC in-ceiling speaker, the
SX-4.0 CC center channel and the three-channel SX-
4.0 in-wall/on-wall LCR, all with back boxes and ability
to deliver bass down to 40Hz or 42Hz with a 3dB
downpoint, depending on the model, Clements said.
All models are two-way models featuring one or
more 4-inch woofers. The SX-4.0 in-wall/on-wall features
1-inch silk soft-dome tweeter and 4-inch woofer
in an enclosure measuring 23.8 inches by 8.5 inches
by 4 inches. It’s designed for use with flat-panel TVs
with screen sizes of 46 inches and larger. The SX-4.0
CC center channel is 8.5 inches by 48 inches by 4
inches and features a 1-inch silk soft-dome tweeter
flanked on each side by a 4-inch woofer, each in its
own enclosure.
The in-ceiling speaker and the three-channel SX-4.0
LCRs are the same size as the center channel. The
LCR’s left and right channels are each in their own
enclosures like the SX center channel.
The in-ceiling speaker features 1-inch tweeter and
4-inch woofer, and the three-channel LCR features a
two-way driver complement for the left and right channels
and two three-inch full-range drivers for the center
channel. H-PAS technology is used only on the LCR’s
left-right channels.
When installed in-wall, the speakers will be flush
with the wall and use a “minimal flange” that might be
around 0.25 inch wide, Clements said.
Final product designs might change depending on
feedback at the show, Clements said.
To go with the main speakers, the company will also
launch the SX 12DT 12-inch powered subwoofer,
which doesn’t include H-PAS and is tuned for use with
the company’s other H-PAS speakers when one vent
is opened to deliver bass from HZ on down. It can be
used with non-H-PAS speakers with both vents open.
“Using the SX system satellites, which are strong
down to 45Hz, is like having four to six additional tightsounding
subs placed around the room with dynamic
bass in the 40-80Hz frequencies,” said Clements.
“Bringing in the sub properly from 40Hz down makes
it disappear even more in the room, complementing
the tight, dynamic sound of the satellites.”
In in-room H-PAS speakers, the company is adding
the 6.5T Tower and 5.25B bookshelf speaker to
its Classic series. The Classic H-PAS 6.5T Tower features
6.5-inch woofer in a cabinet with less than 1.5
cubic feet of internal volume. The cabinet exterior is
40 inches by 7.9 inches by 11.9 inches. The speaker
is rated at 90dB sensitivity with 1m/2.83v input and
delivers bass down to 34Hz -3dB and 27Hz -6dB.
The Classic H-PAS 5.25B two-way bookshelf features
internal cabinet volume of only 0.58 cubic feet
with a 5.25-inch woofer delivering bass down to 39Hz
-3dB and 32Hz -5dB.
“At low or high levels, the full spectrum of sound
presented is as if being there with the musicians in
the room. Users are amazed at such high-performance
delivered in a footprint a little over half a square foot.
Yet it is important to note that with H-PAS, this performance
can be obtained with any midrange receivers
and amplifiers, not having to break the bank for power.”
