Custom-installation suppliers showing off new products at CES include:
Audioaccess: The $499-suggested aDock connects iPods to the company’s $2,199-suggested AVR21EN A/V receiver with built-in multiroom controller.
BG Corp.: THX extended its certification program to in-wall subwoofers with the launch here of the THX Ultra2-certified BX-4850, due in the spring from speaker supplier BG Corp.
The powered subwoofer incorporates a proprietary THX technology called THX Balanced Bass-line, said to produce a compact model that doesn’t cause wall vibrations.
The BX-4850 consists of four modules, each containing 12 “micro-precision” woofers. The modules are arranged in balanced pairs, and each module has its own integrated enclosure. The four self-contained modules deliver a total radiating area equal to a conventional 24-inch subwoofer while fitting inside a standard 2 by 4-inch stud wall. Four grilles visible in the wall are 26-inches-high and 4-inches-wide.
The drivers are packaged with two 1.5u-high, 19-inch rack-mountable controller/amplifier units, which incorporate 2,400-watt amplifier, digital signal processing (DSP), and control circuits.
BG is exhibiting privately at the Renaissance Hotel. Pricing wasn’t available.
Boston Acoustics: The company’s first outdoor rock speakers and first indoor speakers designed specifically for commercial applications will be introduced.
The rock speakers consist of a mono model and two single-speaker stereo models at MAPs of $175 to $275 each. The mono model features 5-inch woofer, and the two stereo models feature 6.5- and 8-inch woofers, respectively. They ship in the spring in three colors, and they can be fitted with an optional 70/100-volt transformer for such commercial applications as restaurants, malls, and theme parks.
Nine in-ceiling speakers, available with and without 70/100-volt transformers, are the new commercial-application speakers, all fire- and plenum-rated. Many townhouses and condominiums also require plenum-rated speakers, the company added. MAPs range from $175 to $275.
Elan: The company’s first iPod docking station, the VIA!migo, enables docked iPods to be controlled from any room in a home when integrated with an installed Elan multiroom audio system. It was to be shipping by now at a suggested $599. Multiple docks can be installed in different locations around the house.
Paradigm: The third-generation of AMS series architectural speakers will debut along with next generation Studio Series freestanding speakers and freestanding Signature Series V.2 speakers.
The AMS speakers range in price from $399-$999/pair, and other models range from $299-$529 each. Nine of 14 models in the series will be brand new, including three marine-application models. The new models include two that can be optionally configured for mono or single-speaker stereo use. A Guided Soundfield speaker features 30-degree-angled baffle for use as in-ceiling front or surround speakers or “wherever in-ceiling placement is too close to a wall,” the company said. An in-wall/in-ceiling powered subwoofer features outboard 250-watt amp. A three-driver LCR model is also new.
Polk: The company’s biggest speaker launch in decades includes multiple architectural models (see p. 112).
Power Bass USA: The car speaker supplier is making its custom-home debut here at CES with in-wall and in-ceiling speakers in good, better, and best lines.
The opening-price series, the Contractor Series, is available at prices starting at $99.95/pair. The top-end series will feature trilaminate cones consisting of wool, paper pulp, and Kevlar with a unique nylon webbing. The ceiling speakers will be enclosed and ported. Pricing was unavailable. Freestanding PBX-series powered subwoofers will retail for a suggested $249.95 and $299.95 each.
RBH: The company is expanding its A series of architectural speakers with an in-wall LCR speaker and an in-ceiling single-speaker stereo model.
The A-616 at $239 each can be used as a left, center or right speaker, thanks to a swiveling tweeter flanked bon each side by a 6.5-inch cone woofer. The round in-ceiling A-815D at $249 each features dual tweeters and a dual-voice-coil 8-inch woofer.
Sonance: The company’s next-generation mutltiroom stereo receiver is a four-source, six-zone model with 12×30-watt RMS amp (rated at 20Hz-20kHz with less than 0.1 percent THD. It can be controlled from up to six Sonance in-wall keypad controllers installed around the house. It ships in January at a suggested $2,000.
Compared to the company’s first multiroom stereo receiver introduced a few years ago, this one steps up performance and adds BBE Sound Enhancement processing. They can be daisychained to create a 24-zone system.
Also at CES, Sonance will show its first sealed-box subwoofers, replacing ported models. They feature new industrial design and “significantly” extended bass response, the company said.
