June 16, 2009
Wisdom Aims to Redefine Architectural Speaker Category
Source: CE Pro Newsletter
When Carson City, Nev.-based Wisdom Audio was founded in 1996, it built speakers for the ultra-enthusiast audio market. A pair of speakers cost $600,000.
Today, the company's consumer aspirations are much broader, but its goals remain the same: build the best sounding products in the market.
Led by industry veterans Ed Jaeger, Mark Glazier, David Graebener and Jon Herron, Wisdom Audio now has its sights set on the architectural speaker category.
Wisdom recently visited the CE Pro offices to show off its new Sage Series, which is now in full production. Wisdom anticipates the Sage Series to fill the void within the architectural speaker market that has prevented it from matching the performance of the best freestanding products. (Review: Wisdom Sage Series Architectural Loudspeakers)
"What we were hoping for [with the design of the Sage Series] is that whether its movies or music that it works equally well," says Herron, Wisdom's VP of sales. "What we were hoping for is a Trojan horse - we get into the house and people say, 'damn our CDs great.'"
The Sage Series includes Wisdom's planar-magnetic drivers that enable the speakers to provide fast transients response, active crossover networks and Audyssey Lab's MultEQ room equalization technologies.
The Sage Series is designed for in-wall applications and includes several products that can be used for a variety of home environments. The line currently features:
* The top-of-the-line, two-piece L150
* Smaller products such as the L75, P48, P38 and P20
* C20 and C38 center channels
* The s90i in-wall subwoofer that's designed to fit in a 2×6 stud bay
The entire line is controlled by the company's SC-1 Controller, which is powered by Wisdom's companion SA amplification products.
The electronics enable installers to set up a fully bi-amplified, equalized system that also includes: three memory settings, a bypass demo mode to accommodate a choice of usage scenarios and speaker products from other manufacturers to provide installers with added flexibility.
"One you have that level of quality in a home theater, you want it two-channel," notes Herron. "[Our] two-channel business is doing better than I thought."
ALERT - Wisdom Audio has agreed to be interviewed by the Ultra High-End Audio and Home Theater Forum. Keep an eye out for the interview in the coming weeks.
