Bose Corp. was founded in 1964 by Dr. Amar G. Bose (1929-2013). At the time, Bose was the professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As an MIT graduate student in the 1950s, Bose decided to purchase a new stereo system. Extensive research in the fields of speaker design and psychoacoustics led to the unique Bose 901 Direct/Reflecting speaker system in 1968 and it won immediate acclaim. Today, the list of Bose innovations continues to grow. Fourteen years of research led to the development of acoustic waveguide speaker technology, found in the awardwinning Wave radio, the Wavemusic system, and the Acoustic Wave music system. Acoustimass speaker technology influenced thinking about the relationship between speaker size and sound, enabling palmsized speakers to produce audio quality previously thought impossible from speakers so small.
The Auditioner audio demonstrator technology was one of the early acoustic computer simulation programs that took the guesswork out of sound system design for arenas and other large venues. It enabled builders, architects, and facility managers to precisely hear what a Bose system would sound like in their building, before any equipment was installed, even if the building only existed as a blueprint.
Legacy Bose products on display included the company’s first consumer speaker, the active Bose 2201 speaker, which launched in 1966 and took the shape of a large one-eighth sphere to fit on the floor in the corners of a room; the active Bose 901 direct/reflecting actively equalized floor-standing speakers, introduced in 1968, was the company’s first commercially successful consumer product; Bose’s first car-audio aftermarket speakers, also powered and equalized were launched in 1980; the
company’s first OEM car audio system, a Delco/Bose system launched in the 1983 Cadillac Seville as the first aftermarket-branded OEM system and the first OEM system to be equalized to compensate for a vehicle’s interior acoustics; the first Bose Lifestyle music system, launched in 1990 as one of the industry’s first stereo system to combine CD player and receiver in a slim chassis and was mated with a small Acoustimass 2.1-speaker system.
New RoomMatch Utility Loudspeakers
Bose Professional added three new RoomMatch Utility (RMU) loudspeaker models: the RMU206, RMU108 and RMU105, joining the RMU208 small-format sound-reinforcement loudspeaker in the series. Featuring RoomMatch array modules’ mid/high sonic character, these RMU models are designed either to complement a RoomMatch full-range array installation or to be used on their own for high-quality foreground music, under-balcony, zone-fill and vocal-range floor monitor applications in performing arts centers, civic auditoriums, houses of worship, secondary education and college auditoriums, dance clubs, retail, hospitality and more. Now consisting of four models (available in black or white), the RoomMatch Utility series ranges in size from double 8-inch woofers to single 5-inch woofer designs, allowing optimal, consistent coverage for almost any venue size.
RoomMatch Utility loudspeakers include the same Bose EMB2 compression drivers as RoomMatch full-range array modules, rather than the small dome tweeters or compression drivers found in conventional zone-fill loudspeakers (which can tend to provide significant harmonic distortion and reduced vocal clarity). The Bose EMB2 compression driver features a 2-inch titanium diaphragm and patented phase plug to reduce distortion and allow the use of a lower crossover frequency to improve vocal clarity, even at highest foreground-music levels. The RMU models’ implementation of the EMB2 drivers helps ensure consistent, high-quality sound throughout venues that require multiple sizes of loudspeakers, while saving installation time and expense by simplifying the equalization process.
The new RMU206 model is optimized for under-balcony fill applications with a unique angled baffle enclosure design to minimize the projected height for typical under-balcony and low-ceiling, zone-fill applications. Two 6-inch woofers provide good LF response while the 120° x 60° high-frequency waveguide provides wide coverage and may be rotated for flexible coverage options. The RMU108 is similar to the RMU208 but with a single 8-inch woofer, sharing the multi-angle enclosure profile and a 90° x 60° high-frequency waveguide. The RMU105 is the most compact RoomMatch Utility model and is intended for use in high-quality background music and zone-fill applications that require excellent audio, minimal physical size, and high design aesthetics. The RMU105 is one of the smallest loudspeakers to use a compression driver, rather than dome tweeter, for exceptional output-to-size ratio. A single 5-inch woofer provides vocal-range output and a 100° x 100° high-frequency horn provides consistent coverage with either vertical or horizontal mounting.
These models join the RMU208, which is the highest output model of the RoomMatch Utility series and is intended for use in high-quality foreground music, under-balcony and zone-fill applications. Additionally, the multi-angle enclosure allows use in vocal-range floor monitor applications. Two 8-inch woofers provide extended LF response while the 90° x 60° high-frequency waveguide provides high-output level, controlled coverage and may be rotated for flexible horizontal or vertical mounting.
All new speakers will be available January 2015.
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