BOSE READIES NEW SPEAKER LINES
Bose is readying revamp of Acoustimass home theater speakers including its first system to offer complete Dolby 6.1 package, retail sources said. Decision to add Acoustimass 16 ($1,499) 6- speaker package was made only recently after retailers questioned plans for new Acoustimass 15 ($1,299) that was 6.1-capable, but had 5 speakers, sources said. Major change in Acoustimass 15 is in subwoofer, which is said to have increased power to 120-150 w, sources said. New speakers are expected to be available in Sept. Bose spokeswoman declined comment.
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Other portion of new line focuses on adding powered subwoofer to Acoustimass 6 ($599) and 10 ($999), which previously used passive version. Details on powered subwoofer weren’t available, but Acoustimass 6 Series III is believed to have 40-50 w of power. Acoustimass 10 Series III also is expected to increase power. Both speaker packages keep same price as earlier models, retain 100 w total power and are rated at 4-8 ohms. Acoustimass 15, which was introduced in 1998, has 200 w total power. As Bose readies introduction of new speaker packages, it will cut price on existing models $50-$100, retailers briefed on plans said.
At same time, Bose is expected to address price gap in Lifestyle home entertainment line by reviving previously discontinued 25 CD-based system ($2,099) and dropping it between 3-2-1 model, which features DVD player, bass module and 2 speakers, and model 28 ($2,499), sources said. Model 25 was replaced by 28, which also has DVD player and AM/FM tuner. “They realized there was a void between the $999 and $2,499 products and they're attempting to address that,” east coast retailer said. New DVD-based Lifestyle product is expected to be introduced at CES in Jan., sources said.
In seeking to bolster position of Lifestyle 35 ($2,999) and 28 systems, Bose last week took wraps off AdaptiQ audio calibration technology that it said would be added to products via DVD software. Both Lifestyle systems have “several megabytes” of memory to store software that analyzes and adjusts speakers in tailoring them to acoustics of particular room, Research Engineer Richard Saffran said. DSP chip that powers Bose’s Videostage 5 decoding technology in Lifestyle systems also is used to handle calibrations that take into consideration lower frequencies dependent on room’s construction and dimensions as well as middle and higher frequencies that are affected by furnishings. AdaptiQ, under development for 2 years, is based on Audio Pilot technology that was developed in 1990s for car audio OEM applications to modify signal to compensate for environmental noise such as wind or road noise at different speeds, Bose Exec. Finn Arnold said. “These are much more general changes in levels and you can’t go after the fine details that you can with this,” Arnold said. “The real power of this is you can go after system- level detail that is beyond our reach in the car.”
AdaptiQ kit, which is available free to current Lifestyle 28 and 35 owners and will be packaged with product starting in June, consists of DVDs and microphone-equipped headset. User chooses 5 locations in room and moves to each one as AdaptiQ takes measurements and compares response of each speaker to Bose target response. Information then is processed and speakers are adjusted to conform with specific acoustics and listening positions. Set-up process is said to take 10-15 min.
As Bose rolls out AdaptiQ, it also is readying new versions of 301 ($319 per pair) and 201 ($198) direct/reflecting bookshelf speakers. Series 5 speakers replace sleek design with more “retro” look, retailers said. Chief difference between 2 speaker packages is power, with 301 handling up to 150 w, while 201 features 120 w. Previous 301 also had 8” woofer and 201 had 6- 1/2”.