As flat screen TVs continue to get thinner, there is less room for built-in speakers and users have moved away from traditional speaker systems, because of the expense, complexity, and abundance of wires. For this reason, sound bars and wireless speakers are dominating home entertainment spaces. However, the immersive and visceral impact offered by dedicated left and right speakers plus a subwoofer, remains unmatched.
The K.I.S.S. AV X4 speaker system intends to improve living-room audio for movies, television, music, or video-games with a thin cabinet design that features literally a series of stacked sections and enclosures that move air at a high rate of speed, providing better bass and better clarity than previously impossible with small speakers. That’s what the company calls their patented Sonic Vortex technology, developed by K.I.S.S. AV, an Orlando, FL based startup founded by AV expert Jim Murray.
Jim developed Sonic Vortex previously for high-end, architectural speaker systems that required wall cutouts for luxury home theater installations. Knowing full-well that the Sonic Vortex technology was only reaching a small percentage of the population because of its original speaker’s design requirements, Jim set out to bring great sound in a small form factor to the masses.
Sonic Vortex is literally a twist on the traditional ported enclosure design, with roots based in transmission line technology. With Sonic Vortex, the single main port of the speaker’s enclosure is separated into multiple smaller ports and spread throughout multiple stacked sections called “fins” that are tuned to spec. The fins compress and move air at a high rate of speed without port noise and add to cabinet rigidity.
Each X4 speaker includes a 3/4” aluminum tweeter and 4” mica IMPP driver, (6.5” in the 06 subwoofer), for high stiffness-to-mass ratio and extreme durability while providing incredible clarity. X4 speakers also utilize a 24-bit/96kHz audiophile quality DAC (digital-to-analog converter) coupled with a Class D 60 watt amplifier and proprietary speaker components.
The K.I.S.S. AV 06 wireless subwoofer employs a 100 watt amplifier and 5.8Ghz link to the X4 speakers to ensure optimal performance that can play over 104dB, with a total rated bandwidth for the set reaching 26 Hz - 22 kHz (+/- 3dB), approaching much larger and significantly more expensive high-end bookshelf speakers.
At only two pounds each and less than three inches thick, the X4 speakers were also designed with ease-of-install in mind. The K.I.S.S. AV X4 speaker system can be placed on a bookshelf or stands, any wall surface with nails or mounted to the same wall any TV with Command Strips (heavy-duty, removable, double-sided adhesive strips - included). The surface mount option combined with X4 wire management feature results in a clean installation with no holes being cut in the walls and no visible wires.
K.I.S.S. AV X4 speakers connect directly to the TV using the Toslink digital optical audio output. Once connected to the TV, the two X4 powered speakers are connected together with standard speaker wire. Other inputs include digital coaxial, stereo line-level audio and Bluetooth 4.0 AptX receiver.Information and pricing for the various Kickstarter pledges is now available. “Early bird” supporters can nab the left & right speaker for only $199 or the X4 O6 System Left and Right speakers with wireless Subwoofer for $399.
www.kissav.net
