By Robert Archer, July 03, 2013

When Sonance first introduced its Visual Performance Series of architectural loudspeakers a few years ago, it took the custom installation market by storm. Now Sonance has launched an updated version of these popular products and will ship more than 50 new models on Aug. 1, 2013, including 4- and 6-inch two-way models, 8-inch three-way models, LCR models, single-speaker stereo models.

The new Visual Performance Series speakers use Sonance’s latest engineering concepts and a range of materials to ensure consistent sound quality throughout the entire product line. Dana Innovations (parent company of Sonance, iPort and TRUFIG) CEO Ari Supran points out the introduction of the speakers coincides with an important milestone for the brand.

“This year marks our 30th anniversary of inventing the in-wall and in-ceiling speaker category and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than re-inventing it,” boasts Supran. “We are thrilled with the result and believe we have redefined the category by establishing a new benchmark for acoustic performance. I would encourage everyone to simply listen to the range and judge for themselves.”

The redesign of the line was led by Sonance chief speaker engineer Todd Ryan, who used the latest engineering software and modeling tools, including FineMotor, FineCone, MOTiv, Clio FW10 and Klippel Distortion analyzer to reengineer the speakers to ensure elements such as magnetic field symmetry in the speaker motors and linear suspension in the speaker assemblies. The results of Ryan and the Sonance engineering team’s work is said to help the line of products produce a consistent frequency response and sonic signature at a variety of listening levels with minimum levels of distortion.

The updated Visual Performance line maintains the use of Sonance’s paintable micro-trim grille and offers square adapters that convert round speakers into square shapes to facilitate their installations into round holes.