Bluesound today introduced the PULSE Soundbar, the company’s first soundbar offering and the world’s first to feature hi-res network audio streaming. With BluOS, Bluesound’s powerful wireless multi-room streaming operating system, the Soundbar enables the TV room to be the heart of a whole-home wireless music system that delivers the world of hi-res music to all members of the household through an easy-to-use app available for smart devices.
Intended for use with flat panel displays 42” or greater, the PULSE Soundbar is all about sonic performance, supporting audio resolutions of 24 bits and up to 192kHz sampling rate. Furthermore, it supports Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) high-resolution audio streams, another first in the soundbar category.
Blusound says getting this level of performance from a very slim and elegant form required both innovative thinking and advanced design techniques. The PULSE Soundbar uses many high-end hi-fi techniques, including true 3-way speaker configuration with tri-amplification. This means that each driver has its own dedicated amplifier channel, along with a powerful DSP for the crossover filters. Each driver is custom developed for this application and includes individually optimized chambers for ideal speaker operation and isolation. The stylish black cabinet is made from extruded aluminum, a premium material typically only found in speakers costing many thousands of dollars – prized for its unyielding rigidity and strength, while allowing the largest possible interior volume due to thin wall construction.
The company further states the PULSE’s deep bass extension is unheard of in the category. It is made possible by a variety of factors, including a large chamber volume, passive radiators, and DSP equalization. Its bass performance is flat to 70 Hz and only down 3 db @ 55Hz, remarkable for such a slim enclosure. For those who desire even more bass, later this fall Bluesound will be offering the PULSE SUB ($599). For owners of conventional wired subwoofers, Bluesound will offer a dongle to directly connect the Soundbar to their existing subwoofer.
Like all Bluesound PULSE models, the acoustic design and speaker voicing is performed at Canada’s National Research Council by renowned speaker designer and engineer, Paul Barton.
The PULSE Soundbar features BluOS, a proprietary music-only operating system powered by an advanced ARM processor and precision master clock running at 1GHz. This allows support for almost all audio codecs including MP3, AAC, WMP, Ogg, FLAC, ALAC, and true hi-res audio including MQA. Local music can be accessed via Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet anywhere on the network including NAS drives and computers, in addition to over millions of songs that can be streamed from a dozen or more music services that are natively integrated. Other inputs include Optical and Analog for connecting to your TV and USB for memory drives loaded with music. Bluetooth, with the high fidelity aptX codec, is also included to allow direct streaming from your smartphone, tablet or laptop. The PULSE Soundbar also includes an IR sensor with learning function (TV Connect) to allow your existing TV or universal remote to operate basic sound functions like volume and mute.
The beautiful form of the PULSE Soundbar was created by the award-winning industrial designer David Farrage of DF-ID. Thoughtful and unique design touches make the PULSE Soundbar as practical as it is beautiful. There are three mounting options available; shelf mount or wall mount with the included accessories, or freestanding tabletop display with the optional TV bracket which lifts the TV just enough to allow secure placement of the soundbar directly below the TV. Depending on the mounting option chosen, the wires for AC
To make the Bluesound Soundbar easy and flexible to install, complete accessories are included as standard: 120V and 230V AC power cords, stereo RCA to RCA cable, Ethernet cable, two kickstand feet, two kickstand extenders, and a wall mount bracket with mounting template for simple installation.
Price and Availability
The Bluesound PULSE Soundbar will be available later this month for $999 (USD).
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