Triad Speakers Announces New Invisible In-Wall Speakers
Triad Speakers, known for their wide range of home theater and custom installation oriented speakers, announced this week they would begin selling an in-wall speaker that is completely invisible once installed. The invisible speaker category was pioneered more than a decade ago by Sound Advance Systems, and more recently entered by Mount Vernon, Washington based Stealth Acoustics.For Triad Speakers, who has made their name building compact, high performance subwoofer/sat combinations, home theater speakers, and enclosed in-wall / in-ceiling speakers, invisible speakers are a perfect fit. Their dealers are heavily into the custom installation end of the market, and invisible speakers are nothing, if not a custom oriented product.
Triad's new ones are their Designer Series. They'll fit in barely more than an inch of depth, and are water resistant so you can install them outside, in bathrooms, or in pool rooms with no ill effects. They have limited low end response, and in fact are designed to be high pass filtered using special Triad crossovers that roll off at 120Hz. The crossovers also have limiting functionality built-in to protect the drivers (and possibly the wall) from excessive excursion.
The actual vibrating panel is constructed of high-tech, honeycomb aluminum driven by one or more transducers, and the frame is powder coated aluminum. The construction is reminiscent of an aircraft or race car. The aluminum panel is skinned with a thin membrane type material to give the paint and mud something to stick to.
The new speakers come in single point stereo or normal mono (2 required for stereo) versions. There are 1, 2, and 4 transducer versions ranging from $550 to $1,050 each. The crossovers are extra, but they're not, because you must use them, so figure their $100 (for 1 pair of speakers) cost into the overall bill.
The number of people who want the systems to be heard and not seen, appears to be growing, as more companies get into that niche.