For the most part, itty-bitty satellite speakers are just alright — a compromise made for convenience. The new Boston Acoustics SoundWare S system looks like it might actually be able to blow up a room with sound.
There are generally two kinds of speakers, the extra-big-ass kind that cost trillions and are meant to be regarded like fine if butt-ugly sculptures, and then the speakers most people actually want, that cost a reasonable amount and blend in, camouflaged with their domestic surroundings. Boston Acoustics today launched several sets of speakers of the second order, sporting a brand new BA logo.
The new Horizon stereo and surround sound systems come in Midnight with Onyx grilles or Mist with Silver grilles, but can be tricked out with six other grille colors using the Boston Acoustic “Personal Options Plan”: in addition to Onyx and Silver, you can get Glacier, Rosebud, Pearl Gray, Caramel, Chocolat and Chili Pepper. Prices range from a couple hundred for a pair to $800 for a full-on deluxe 5.1 setup.
Cooler still, the small indoor/outdoor SoundWare speakers ($100 a piece) can mount in all sorts of places, angling every which way. They come in seven colors, and can be painted whatever color you damn well please.
Today Boston Acoustics rolls out its TVee Model Two, a “soundbar” that connects directly to the line-output of your TV, plus a subwoofer. Unlike many products that look similar, it doesn’t do surround sound, but there are other tricks that do make this 100-watt $400 system unique.
Yes, unlike surround bars from Yamaha, Denon, Philips and Polk, which provide either virtual, psychoacoustic or projected surround sound, the TVee Model Two is just stereo. It takes over the sound coursing through your TV set, supplanting your TV’s crappy speakers. As low-tech as that sounds, the unit itself can learn the volume commands off of your TV’s remote, for instant control. Also, the subwoofer is wireless, and can be placed anywhere in the room (near power, of course) thanks to a 2.4GHz RF connection. And in case you never heard of the Model One, don’t feel bad: Boston Acoustics decided to skip straight to Model Two.
