US company Definitive Technology has become the latest speaker manufacturer to launch a 'sound bar' speaker design, able to deliver surround sound from a single speaker unit designed to be mounted under a plasma or LCD screen.
The new Mythos Solo Surround Array speakers, the SSA-42 and SSA-50, use a new patented technology designed to optimise spatial presentation, and feature axially-aligned tweeter/mid-bass arrays, with a new design intended to minimise interference between the two drivers.
Housed in extruded aerospace-grade aluminium, and finished in polished black or silver, the speakers are passive designs, intended for use with conventional AV receivers, and can be used with a conventional subwoofer.
The SSA-42, which will launch in February with a US price of $899, is designed for use with TVs of up to 46in, and uses three 8.3cm drivers with coincident array 20mm tweeters, two 8.3cm full-range drivers, and four 7.6cm surround drivers. It has a frequency response of 60Hz-30kHz, 89dB/W/m sensitivity, and weighs just over 9kg.
The larger SSA-50 is, as you might suspect, designed for use with 50in or larger TVs, and will sell for $1099 when it launches in May. It has three 11.4cm drivers with 25mm tweeters, two 11.cm full-range drivers and four 8.3cm surround units. It can be used with amps up to 200W, has 90dB/W/m sensitivity, and a frequency response of 50Hz-30kHz. It weighs 14kg.
Definitive Technology speakers are distributed in the UK by Pulse Marketing.