CEDIA 2014

Make it disappear is a common refrain in the aisles and corridors of CEDIA Expo 2014. Montreal-based Revolution Acoustics is doing just that with an “invisible audio” system that uses a patented multifunction transducer less than 3 inches in diameter to produce sound. Attach the SSP6 Multiducer to the inside or outside of a wall and it energizes the entire surface to create what the company calls “whole-room sweet spots.”

“For the first time we can deliver a truly invisible solution with full-frequency audio," explained CEO Bob Katz. The Multiducer can be affixed to a number of different materials, including drywall, wood, metal, glass, and fiberglass. When mounted on the room side of a wall, it can be hidden behind a couch or potted plant because of its small form factor.

“It’s been a challenging to make good on the promise of invisible audio but we’re doing it by using different physics,” Katz said. “Being a mass of planar radiators (the wall) instead of a point source cone-type architecture, we gain benefits, including a large near field that propagates very deeply into the room.” Katz also describes the soundfield as even in sound-pressure level and frequency.

Installation is a simple matter of attaching an adhesive-backed mounting plate to the wall and then screwing the Multiducer to the plate.

It’s always tricky to get a meaningful audio demonstration in a cavernous convention hall packed with noisy people but the brief demo I heard was fairly impressive.

Revolution sells a kit with an amplifier, two Multiducers, two mounting plates, and an equalizer for $1,495. Katz said the kit will cover an area as large as 35 x 35 square feet, which would normally require up to eight conventional speakers.