San Clemente, CA–September 5, 2007–Sound Advance, the company known for their truly invisible in-wall loudspeakers which provides custom-installation pros with room-enveloping sound from completely undetectable sources, will introduce a trio of new models at the 2007 CEDIA Expo in Denver, Colorado. Like all Sound Advance designs, the new models are designed to be completely hidden from view after installation, flush behind finished walls or ceilings and painted, papered, or otherwise covered in exactly the same way. Homeowners thus can experience genuinely high-fidelity music playback while preserving pristine, uncluttered interior surfaces.
The new SA3, SA 1.5 and SAW expand upon the company’s earlier design by combining its proprietary Planar Diaphragm mid/high-frequency source with conventional, direct-radiator cone woofers of very low-profile design. The Planar Diaphragm–a rigid, flat-panel, expanded-polystyrene foam diaphragm with carefully engineered density and zone-controlled flexibility and driven by dual, specially developed voice-coil assemblies–radiates sound smoothly and evenly in a nearly hemispherical pattern, all the way to 20 kHz. The result is uniquely broad sound coverage and even, accurate musical response.
Headlining the new models is the Sound Advance SA3, which pairs a 48 square-inch Planar Diaphragm with a 50 square-inch low-frequency driver of conventional cone design, for powerful, full-range reproduction extending to an impressive 40 Hz from a 16×24-inch unit. The new SA1.5, combines the same mid/high panel with a smaller, 33 square-inch bass driver in a compact package just 16×12 inches.
A matching subwoofer, the SAW, is supplied with a dedicated outboard power amplifier. The 16×32-inch SAW pairs two 50 square-inch bass units forming a truly invisible subwoofer capable of powerful deep-bass output all the way to 20 Hz. The SAW amplifier supplied with the subwoofer, is a dedicated single-channel design that produces 150 watts, and incorporates sub-crossover, phase, and level controls, with flexible connections to accommodate any multiroom or home-theater system.
Like all Sound Advance designs, the new SA3, SA1.5 and SAW models are engineered for fast and easy installation, with 16-inch width and 3-7/8-inch mounting-depths that accommodate standard wall and ceiling construction. All three are just 3-7/8 inches deep, and are installed by simply screwing in place, directly to studs or joists, ultimately forming a flush, contiguous surface with adjacent wallboard. When the wall is finished, interior trades simply “mud” and sand the speaker’s radiating surfaces right into the drywall; it is then finished with paint, plaster, or wallpaper literally disappearing into the wall.
All three new models present stable, easy-to-drive 8? impedances, and incorporate automatically self-resetting protective switches to guard against accident or abuse. Supplied with primed, ready-for-finish surfaces complete with mounting hardware, the new Sound Advances’ available accessories include installation “back-boxes” for wall depths of 4 and 6 inches, metal-stud install kit, and 70V and 100V transformer adapters for commercial distributed-audio installations.
Availability: January 2008
Suggested Retail Prices:
SA3 $1300.00
SA1.5 $800.00
SAW $750.00
About Sound Advance:
Based in San Clemente, California, Sound Advance is a division of Sonance, the company that introduced the world’s first in-wall loudspeaker products. Sound Advance has been the leading manufacturer of invisible flat panel loudspeakers for commercial and residential audio and entertainment systems for over 25 years.
Highly respected by architects, designers and sound-system integrators around the globe, Sound Advance products are installed the world over at numerous design centers, including the idea houses in San Francisco and the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, and fashion retailers on Madison Avenue and Rodeo Drive.
