Lake Zurich, Ill. – MB Quartexpanded its selection of mobile-audio products for the power-sports market with the launch of speakers designed specifically for Polaris-brand all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).
Car audio suppliers have increased their focus on the power-sports market in recent years to compensate for a shrinking car audio aftermarket.
“MB Quart has been in the marine and power-sports speaker, sub, and amp categories for decades,” said Alden Stiefel, president/CEO of MB Quart parent Maxxsonics USA. “These, however, are the first power-sports products in collaboration with the Polaris team. These are application-specific and only available through the Polaris dealer network [and the Polaris web site].”
The products are designed to look like factory components in Polaris ATVs, which seat one person, and the company’s side-by-side ATVs, which seat two or more people. They make “installation for any level of service technician easy” because most of the components attach to roll bars, Stiefel added.
MB Quart’s new products consist of a pair of powered speakers, two Bluetooth-equipped soundbars, a Bluetooth speaker with built-in rechargeable battery, and a Bluetooth receiver/remote controller. All are waterproof.
The power speakers are the $799/pair Extreme Audio Pods, which attach to a vehicle’s overhead roll bars and pack 200 watts of built-in amplification. The 8-inch two-way waterproof speakers connect to a $99 Bluetooth receiver/remote controller, which incorporates preamplifier and connects via cable to the speakers to transfer Bluetooth audio from a smartphone.
The two Bluetooth-equipped soundbars, which also attach to roll bars, are the $649 Sound Bar 8 and $379 Sound Bar 4, each with built-in amplification. Both models “are significantly less obtrusive to the front view of the trails than other aftermarket units, which was an important piece of the strategy for Polaris,” said Maxxsonics USA marketing director Chris Parvin.
The Polaris Sound Bar 4 features two active 3- inch woofers and two 1-inch titanium tweeters. The Polaris Sound Bar 8 is similar but features four active 3-inch woofers, two 3-inch passive radiators, and two 1-inch titanium tweeters.
Also for Polaris vehicles, the $249 QUB4P Bluetooth speaker comes with internal rechargeable battery and mounts to handlebars, the roll cage or the dashboard storage area. It does not connect to an ATV’s electrical system, as do the other speakers.
Polaris posted $3.8 billion in powersports-vehicle sales in 2013, including snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles.
Maxxsonics USA sells 12-volt audio products under the MB Quart, Autotek, Hifonics, and Crunch brands.
