Ultra high-end speakers featuring unique full-range drive technology
Audience, a company dedicated to designing and manufacturing ultimate-performance audio/video equipment, will introduce its ultra high-end ClairAudient LSA 4+4 loudspeaker at The Home Entertainment Show (T.H.E. Show) at the Flamingo Las Vegas, Room 4035 (January 7 — 10, 2010).
The new LSA (Line Source Array) 4+4 incorporates the company’s exclusive full-range, crossover-less driver technology to deliver extraordinary sound quality.
John McDonald, president of Audience, pointed out: “Our objective in creating the LSA 4+4 and our other LSA models was to produce loudspeakers without any of the usual design compromises that limit speaker performance — and achieve the highest level of fidelity and musical realism. To attain this goal, we developed our unique Audience A3 full-range driver, which is at the core of all our loudspeakers. We believe we have created something truly special, and invite show goers to experience the LSA 4+4 first hand at its world premiere.”
Innovative Driver Design and Technology — 14 Years In the Making
The ClairAudient LSA 4+4 is a one-way bi-pole design measuring 17 inches high by 15 inches wide by 12 inches deep. It employs eight Audience A3 drivers — four facing forward and four facing to the rear — in vertical arrays, housed in an enclosure with gently curved sides that give it an understated yet elegant appearance. The LSA 4+4 is available in a variety of exotic wood veneer finishes.
The unique Audience A3 driver is the product of 14 years of research and development. The 3-inch driver delivers unusually flat frequency response from 40Hz to 22kHz, eliminating the need for a separate woofer, midrange driver and tweeter, and crossover network. The problems of integrating multiple sonically dissimilar drivers, and the phase distortions and transient response degradation of a crossover network, are completely avoided. The sonic result is exceptional clarity and resolution of fine musical detail, smooth frequency response both on- and off-axis, precise imaging on a realistically scaled soundstage, and superb dynamic range and transient response.
The A3 driver features a large, patented neodymium-magnet motor structure and voice coil that moves with an extremely linear excursion. It utilizes an exclusive rigid, lightweight anodized aluminum-magnesium alloy cone material with a curvilinear shape. The driver’s concave dust cap is made of a proprietary material that is specially designed to control high-frequency cone breakup and provide optimum dispersion.
The patent-pending A3 surround has a unique “S” shape that allows the driver to provide large excursions without impacting the movement of the cone, enabling the driver to behave more like an ideal pistonic (back and forth) radiator. The driver’s patent-pending basket (frame) provides rigid support and eliminates sonically degrading resonances. Other refinements include large pole-piece vents for efficient heat dissipation; a spider (the circular piece that holds the driver’s voice coil in place) that allows unrestricted cone movement, and many additional enhancements.
The Audience ClairAudient LSA 4+4 loudspeaker is currently available at a suggested retail price of $12,000 per pair.
The LSA 4+4 will be demonstrated at T.H.E. Show 2010 as part of a complete Audience music system including the Wavemaster buffered autoformer preamplifier, Wavemaster Class D monoblock power amplifiers, Adept Response power conditioners, Au24e cables and Au24 powerChord, a powered subwoofer and other components.
About Audience
Audience was formed in November 1997 by John McDonald and the late Richard Smith, as a design and production company focused on building the best possible audio and video equipment. To pass the Audience test, each product must truly make a significant contribution to the reproduction of audio and/or video. Audience offers loudspeakers, electronics, cables, power conditioners, high-resolution capacitors and the Auric Illuminator optical disk resolution enhancement.
Audience’s commitment is to develop the very best products possible, and the company is committed to unexcelled customer service and product support. All Audience cables have an unconditional lifetime warranty and power conditioners have a ten-year warranty.
