TECHNOLOGY: SHOWCASE {} Carbon-fibre solution from Kraken Acoustics
Aesthetic demands are at the forefront of most interior designers’ minds when renovating or designing a room or entire house. The Carbon Series of carbon-fibre loudspeakers from Kraken provides a low- profile audio solution for residential installations without the need to bury the speakers into walls or ceilings. The company says this makes the product a direct alternative to invisible loudspeakers that often necessitate extensive room remodelling to plaster in the speaker. The Carbon Series range, which can be surface and stand mounted, offers integrators reduced installation times as no hole
cutting or plastering work is necessary. The range moves away from
the traditional box enclosures of non-embedded speaker solutions, instead offering a flat speaker construction – creating a more subtle addition to living areas. To achieve the minimalist look and provide the necessary coverage, the FP1 speaker uses excited soundboard technology, which enables the speaker to distribute sound from a 4mm-thick surface.
The units can blend in with
environments much like invisible loudspeakers do, as they can be applied to a wall’s surface and disguised with paint or can simply be
positioned to match the décor. The speakers can even have graphics added to them so they look like pictures. If surface mounting or stand mounting isn’t appropriate for the room’s design, then the device’s lightweight carbon-fibre construction enables the speaker to be suspended from wires, thereby avoiding visual disturbance. The low frequencies are enhanced by a discreet, non- vibrating bass loudspeaker (BB80), which enables full- range sound without aesthetic conflict. The FP1/BB80 combination gives hi-fi quality sound and offers ease of installation. www.kraken.uk.com
Meridian transfers DSP technology to in-wall range
Meridian Audio recently introduced its new range of in-wall DSP loudspeakers – the DSP520. The speaker uses technology from the company’s freestanding DSP loudspeakers to produce a high-performance device that can integrate discreetly into its environment, be it in a home cinema or lounge area. The company is quick to point out the depth of its work within DSP technology, claiming to be the first company to demonstrate a digital
Made in the USA by a Bunch of Fanatics. 54 February 2013
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speakers rely on a digital signal, which is fed into the enclosure, removing the need for multiple cables, which could otherwise prove expensive. Inside the enclosure, powerful DSP then splits the sound to feed the different loudspeaker drivers. Proprietary Meridian technologies are said to improve the quality of sound by upsampling the signal to a higher rate and employing an apodisation system, which changes the shape of the soundwave. The signals are then fed to precision digital
iPad.
The devices measure 200mm (7.9in) wide and come with a RF500 back-box and frame mounting system to facilitate installation, while Meridian’s SpeakerLink cabling simplifies the wiring process too. There is also the option to paint the grille to match the room’s décor, and the system can be built entirely from Meridian DSP in-wall loudspeakers, or mixed and matched with Meridian DSP freestanding loudspeakers. www.meridian-audio.com
converters and on to powerful amplifiers, one for each driver. The result, says the company, is sound quality that would require conventional loudspeakers of eight times the physical volume.
The speaker can also
integrate into the company’s music and content sharing platform, the Meridian Digital Media System. To do this,
Meridian’s new Media Source 200 simply
mounts on the back of the in-wall loudspeakers to make them operable from
any Digital Media System controller such as the Core Control App for