Polk Audio has extended its Vanishing Series of “nearly invisible” in-wall speakers with six new models designed for in-ceiling applications.
“Today’s home technologies have been trending smaller across the board, and demand is constantly growing for ever more unobtrusive entertainment choices.” said Polk Product Line Manager Al Baron. “With our new Vanishing Series, we’ve hit a balance that will please everyone, from the most finicky interior designers to the most demanding audio enthusiasts. In-ceiling sound is no longer a compromise.”
According to Baron, off-axis listening is also greatly improved through the Vanishing Series in-ceiling models. The woofer is mounted to the rear of the enclosure; while the mid and high-frequency drive units are mounted to the front baffle.
Because the smaller, less directional front drivers are dedicated to only reproducing midrange and high range, they inherently offer more even frequency response to listeners sitting on or off axis in a home theater environment, according to the manufacturer.
The speakers’ 15-degree angled baffles provide a combination of broad coverage and focus when used in multiples for 5.1 and 7.1 surround systems, as well as multi-room applications.
Polk’s new Vanishing Series in-ceiling speakers are smaller due to a Cassini oval woofer, which is mounted diagonally to the enclosure. This design allows all the active drive units to fit into a smaller cutout size and achieve bass performance equivalent to speakers that are at least one increment size larger in diameter than any Vanishing in-ceiling model, while at the same time, taking up less installation space than an equivalent speaker in the same size category.
The perforated metal grilles on Polk’s new speakers measure only 0.6mm in diameter versus typical hole sizes of 0.8mm – 0.9mm on other speakers. Though smaller and less noticeable than other in-ceiling speakers, Polk’s Sheer-Grille design features the same paintability and acoustic transparency of models with larger perforated holes.
The new Vanishing in-ceiling lineup consists of six models, each of which fits into small cutout sizes that belie the big sound from these speakers.
The VS50RT ($229), VS70RT ($275) and VS90RT ($399) all sport 3/4” silk dome tweeters and mineral filled polypropylene midrange drivers. The woofers, tweeters and midrange drivers of the these models utilize the same transducer technology as Polk’s RTi freestanding speakers, ensuring that they can be mixed and matched as surround or center channels with spot-on timber matching.
The VS500LS ($349), VS700LS ($449) and VS900LS ($549) feature unique 3/4-inch ring radiator tweeters and aerated polypropylene midrange drivers, and use the same transducer technologies as Polk’s LSi line of freestanding speakers, for timber-matched performance with these Polk models.
All the new Vanishing in-ceiling speakers feature mineral-filled polypropylene woofers with butyl rubber surrounds for fast and surprisingly deep bass from installations that are practically invisible to the eye.
Similar to all Polk Audio in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, the Vanishing Series models are protected by a new limited lifetime warranty policy that guarantees Polk owners a lifetime’s worth of listening pleasure, and Polk dealers a lifetime’s worth of hassle-free customer satisfaction. The new warranty policy is effective immediately, and covers all new CI speakers from Polk.
Polk’s new Vanishing Series in-ceiling speakers will ship Q2 2010.
