L-Acoustics specializes in audio solutions for professional and event applications such as the audio systems used in the Hollywood Bowl and Adele’s televised concert in Griffith Park (Los Angeles), but is bringing its technical prowess to the residential custom install market.
At CEDIA Expo 2024 the company showcased its range of professional audio solutions for luxury home and yacht installations
In a specially designed Dolby Atmos theater setup, L-Acoustics provided, immersive demonstrations of its latest premium products, including the new X6i loudspeaker, in an 11.1.6 channel setup.
Pro Tip: 11.1.6 represents 11 channels arranged in a horizontal layout, 1 subwoofer, and 6 height channel speakers.
The booth featured L-Acoustics Soka colinear loudspeakers for LCR (Left, Center, Right) channels, X8i loudspeakers, and X6i loudspeakers for the surround and height channels. Ultra-compact SB10r in-wall subwoofers were included along with a Syva Sub for the LFE channel.
The speaker system was powered by two L-Acoustics LA7.16i amplified controllers connected using AoIP AES67 technology with audio decoding provided by a Storm Audio Evo Processor for a fully digital signal path.
To round out the demo setup, the L-Acoustics home theater system included Barco Residential video projection, MadVR video processing and a Kaleidescape Strato player for accessing and displaying video content.
From Nick Fichte, Business Development Director: Home & Yacht at L-Acoustics: “We invite all Expo visitors to experience L-Acoustics in our fully powered, high-performance Dolby Atmos Home Theater on the show floor in Denver,…They will hear and see how our portfolio of solutions, including our new Xi Series loudspeakers, represents a significant leap forward for professional audio in the home. With our signature products, service, and support, L-Acoustics empowers integrators in their mission to bring the ultimate in audio performance to luxury homes and yachts across the US and Canada.”
Xi Series Speakers
The L-Acoustics Xi Series speakers offer installation-focused coaxial enclosures with distinct formats, bandwidth, and SPL specifically tailored for short-throw applications. These enclosures support the reproduction of pristine sound quality and discreet design, allowing them to integrate elegantly into homes and yachts that demand natural and powerful sound.
The X6i and X8i are slender, streamlined passive loudspeakers with a 1.5’’ neodymium compression driver coaxially loaded by a 6” or 8’’ low-frequency transducer in a bass reflex cabinet.
Both loudspeakers can be driven by two presets, allowing them to adapt to the acoustic needs of different projects and subwoofer coupling configurations.
In their native presets, the X6i boasts a maximum SPL of 123 dB and a frequency response down to 69 Hz, while the X8i features a maximum SPL of 129 dB and a frequency response down to 67 Hz.
The in-wall Soka is an ultra-shallow colinear loudspeaker just 99 millimeters deep with a variety of mounting options and paintable or RAL-matched grilles. Soka’s colinear array driver configuration, derived from L-Acoustics expertise in professional line-array technology, integrates nine 3.5” MF drivers and three 1” HF transducers for a wide 140-degree horizontal sound field coupled with a highly controlled vertical dispersion. This dramatically reduces acoustic reflections from ceilings and floors in home and yacht installations.
Soka delivers 124 dB over a wide bandwidth that extends down to 70 Hz when used with the full-range preset. Using the SPL preset, Soka offers an even higher 130 dB down to 100 Hz, where the ultra-compact SB10r in-wall subwoofer extends the low-frequency response of the systems to 25 Hz.
The Soka/SB10r pairing offers integrators unrivaled power and performance from an incredibly small and easy-to-integrate design. The L-Acoustics LA7.16i amplified controller offers an incredible 16 channels of 1300W into 8-ohms in an efficient 2U rack mount chassis.
Outside of the theater, visitors will be able to take a closer look at individual loudspeakers and more innovations from the L-Acoustics range, including the X6i paired with SB10i subwoofers.
Hands-on Impressions at CEDIA
I checked out the L-Acoustics demo and the rest of their booth at CEDIA and was thoroughly impressed.
Having never been aware of L-Acoustics, I went into the demo without any expectations but came out thinking that this was one of the best home theater audio demos I had heard at CEDIA. The audio reproduction was pristine, exceptionally clear dialog and immersion. Also, the combination of SB10r in-wall subwoofers and the .1 LFE channel dedicated Syva Sub delivered tight well-defined layered bass.
Beyond the speakers and amps used in the demo, L-Acoustics has an extensive speaker product line that can fit the needs of just about any setup that is required.
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