Klipsch makes large speakers – in the early days of hi-fi, the company was known for its refrigerator-sized models that, like movie theater sound systems, used horns to generate maximum output from tube amplifiers common at the time. Fast forward to the present, and the brand still uses horn-loaded speaker drivers – but now to deliver distinctive Klipsch sound on Dolby Atmos soundbars.
Few people who have heard a Klipsch-based system would be disappointed with its performance. But there’s no getting away from the reality that the company’s speakers and soundbars take up a fair amount of living room space.
A new partnership aims to change that situation, with a press release that Klipsch circulated this week announcing “a strategic partnership to develop a new line of Klipsch home audio solutions integrating Resonado Labs technologies”.
Who is this Resonado Labs and what are they bringing to the table? “Identifying an opportunity to deliver full-frequency sound in small form factor speakers led to the development and patenting of our core technology,” said Brian Cho, founder and CEO of Resonado Labs, at the Klipsch launch. This technology is called the Res-Core engine, and it’s the driving force behind the Klipsch-Resonado Labs alliance’s plan to “define the next era of audio by developing a line of products designed to deliver the highest possible output in compact, elegant forms. ”
In other words, Klipsch’s speakers and soundbars are about to get really, really small.
A quick check on the Resonado Labs website reveals that the Res-Core is a “precision motor design with a flat voice coil suspended between two parallel bar magnets”. Additionally, the motor “is controlled by a high-performance suspension system that allows the speaker transducer to maximize piston movement to push a massive amount of air for the deepest, cleanest bass.”
In short, the Res-Core’s voice coil (the speaker component that takes electrical output from an amplifier and translates it into driver vibration to move air) is designed for maximum space savings, while the suspension system The motor’s design allows for compact transducers that can generate the kind of bass you’d normally expect from much larger speaker drivers.
There was no discussion of an actual product during a virtual press conference where Klipsch announced the new partnership, although a “Cinema One” was mentioned. This leads us to speculate that Klipsch-Resonado Labs’ initial offering will be a Dolby Atmos soundbar. Additionally, a Klipsch executive’s statement during the event that they “want people to experience Klipsch sound, but in a compact, nearly invisible form factor,” leads us to believe that the next soundbar will still use drivers loaded. of horn, although it is dramatically smaller than the company’s existing offerings.
Review: “Almost invisible” speakers and soundbars are a welcome development
Unlike the best 4K TVs, which have gotten thinner and thinner over the years, even as the screen size increases, the speakers and the best soundbars remain large and box-like. There are exceptions like Samsung’s HW-S800B is the new Sonos Raybut they do require a separate subwoofer to get satisfying deep bass, something particularly important for watching movies.
If the new Klipsch-Resonado Labs partnership produces soundbars and speakers that defy the laws of physics and deliver full-range sound with high-impact bass in a compact, one-box form factor, it will not only be a technical achievement, but a big step forward for audio. People who would otherwise be hesitant to add a soundbar, and especially a subwoofer, to their TV will be more accepting of the additional audio components.
We look forward to hearing “Cinema One”, or whatever comes out of this project. And if Resonado Labs can do the same magic to improve the built-in audio capabilities of TVs, that will be even more extraordinary.