San Clemente, CA–January 2007–Sonance, the company that produced the first residential in-wall loudspeaker and is largely responsible for the genre’s enormous popularity today, has announced a trio of additions to their Merlot Series of 4-inch custom-install speakers. The new models, designed to fit into walls and ceilings where depth may be at a minimum, include two in-wall and three in-ceiling designs, expanding the line to a full spectrum of compact installation options.
According to Sonance Chief Marketing Officer Steve Crawford, the Merlot line expansion required little debate among the Sonance in-house team. “When we introduced the original Merlot duo dealers loved the compact footprint and it showed us that there was a clear and immediate need for this type of design. Now, with a much broader selection of Merlot models, our compact in-wall and in-ceiling offerings have the same kind of flexibility and cohesive family identity, as our highly successful Symphony and Virtuoso models.”
The Merlot speaker line is designed around extraordinarily high-output 4-inch mid/woofers, for superb performance with a footprint that works where other in-wall and in-ceiling speakers won’t: structures with unusual stud spacing, walls crowded with built-ins, narrow soffits, and countless other situations. The three new speakers bring the Merlot range up to five models in all, led by the new flagship design, the model 423M which features a new, highly sophisticated carbon-fiber, cast-basket woofer with the smooth, extended-range silk-dome tweeter found throughout the Merlot lineup. And like all of the Sonance top-range models, the 423M also includes the company’s well-known pivoting-tweeter mechanism; which permits improved coverage and stereo imaging regardless of room-placement restrictions. The new 423M joins the existing Merlot in-wall, the 422M, which uses a polypropylene mid/woofer.
Two new in-ceiling models round out the Merlot line expansion. The 422MR features the pivoting tweeter and high-performance poly mid/woofer, in a round-cutout package ideally suited to ceiling locations. The new 421SSMR, with the same footprint packages the company’s unique Single Stereo array in a 4-inch Merlot ceiling speaker. The Single Stereo model employs dual tweeters and two-channel hookup and crossovers to deliver surprisingly full stereo sound from a single loudspeaker location. The 422MR and 421SSMR join the existing 421MR, a stereo-pair design that features the same pivoting tweeter arrangement as its in-wall equivalent.
All five Merlot in-wall and ceiling models have a paintable matte-white finish, perforated-metal grilles and full mounting hardware. Available options include Sonance’s Merlot Flexbrackets for new-construction rough-ins, and Merlot Coverplates, which precisely cover cutouts until the job is ready for speaker installation.
Availability: Now shipping
Suggested Retail Prices:
Merlot 423M in-wall (carbon-fiber, pivoting tweeter) $435.00/pair
Merlot 422M in-wall (polypropylene, pivoting tweeter) $325.00/pair
Merlot 422MR ceiling (polypropylene, pivoting tweeter) $325.00/pair
Merlot 421MR ceiling (polypropylene, fixed tweeter) $250.00/pair
Merlot 421SSMR ceiling (polypropylene, single-stereo) $187.00/each
About Sonance
Headquartered in San Clemente, California, Sonance was founded by Scott Struthers and Geoff Spencer who introduced the world’s first in-wall loudspeaker system to the consumer electronics market in 1982. With distribution in 45 countries around the world, Sonance remains at the forefront of technology by offering innovative design solutions that harmoniously blend sound with designs favored by leading custom integrators, architects, interior-design professionals and design-conscious clients throughout the world.
For further information visit www.sonance.com or contact the company at 212 Avenida Fabricante, San Clemente, CA 92672, Telephone: 800-582-0771.
