New speakers based on Arnie Nudell's work, the best-ever DAC from digital guru Ted Smith, and Paul McGowan!
Boulder, CO: 4/5/2019-----At Axpona 2019, PS Audio is proud to present the next generation of state-of-the-art components from a 45-year industry leader. PS will be exhibiting in the Schaumburg A suite near show registration, in the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center.
The star of the show at Axpona will be the AN3 speaker prototypes; PS' first loudspeaker, based upon the work of our friend and mentor, Arnie Nudell (prototype cabinets are shown above with PS Audio Director of Sales, Scott McGowan). The AN series will eventually feature 3 models, of which the AN3 will be the smallest and least expensive. The AN3s will be followed, logically, by the AN2 and AN1; the AN1 will be a massive line-source loudspeaker designed as the ultimate expression of Arnie's work, and a fitting replacement for and successor to the Infinity IRS Vs, which have served as our reference loudspeakers for years, and which are the benchmark against which all aspirants to SOTA status have been measured. Excitingly enough, there will also eventually be three models of Stellar loudspeakers, designed to emulate the sound quality of the AN series, at lower price-points.
True to PS Audio's tradition of providing industry-leading performance at moderate prices, the AN3---projected to retail at $12,000-$15,000 per pair---will provide the technology and performance normally associated with $40,000+ loudspeakers. The AN3 is a 4-way system: starting at the bottom, there is a servo-controlled high-excursion 12" aluminum cone woofer with 700 watts of dedicated amplification; an 8" servo-controlled aluminum-cone midbass coupler also has 700 watts of built-in amplification; the midrange driver is the superb Bohlender-Graebener Neo 10 planar transducer; the tweeter is an AMT whose response extends well above audibility. An identical AMT tweeter is mounted on the rear panel of the enclosure.
Amongst the AN3's unique features are level controls for the subwoofer and midbass coupler, and DSP used to set subwoofer level in-room with use of a provided test source and microphone. Proprietary to the AN3 (and patent-pending) is a Perspective Control which will allow the speakers to produce a convincing soundstage, no matter how closely they're positioned to a wall.
AN3 cabinets feature a laminated front baffle of multiple layers of HDF assembled into a constrained-layer-damped construction totaling 2" thickness. Side panels are 1' thick HDF; the subwoofers are side-mounted on the outside panels of the enclosures. A variety of interchangeable trim panels will be available, including walnut and gloss black. AN3s weigh approximately 160 pounds each; dimensions are roughly 49" high x 20" deep x 13" wide.The system impedance is nominally 4 ohms, and sensitivity is roughly 90 dB.
The AN3s will be part of an extraordinary demo system at Axpona:
Paul McGowan's hand-tweaked Mac Mini as source
PS Audio DirectStream DAC ( US MSRP $5999)
PS Audio BHK Signature Preamplifier (US MSRP $5999)
PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono Amplifiers, x 2 (US MSRP $7499 each)
PS Audio P20 Power Plant Regenerators x 2 (US MSRP $9999 each)
PS Audio P15 Power Plant Regenerator (US MSRP $7499)
PS Audio AN3 Loudspeakers (Prototypes; probable delivery Q4/19, projected US MSRP $12-15,000/pair)
Miscellaneous PS Audio Power cords
There will also be a variety of gear on static display. Most significant is a peek at the prototype of the two-box Obsidian Series Ted Smith Signature DAC, Ted's no-holds-barred effort that will exceed the performance of six-figure units. Analog and digital sections are completely separated into shielded, galvanically-isolated enclosures, connected only by a custom fiber-optic link. Delivery of the TSS DAC is expected Q4/19; US MSRP is projected at $20,000-$25,000.
Ted himself will be on hand, decidedly not static. He'll be happy to answer questions regarding his latest and greatest creation.
A variety of other PS Audio gear on static display, including a prototype unit of the Stellar Phono preamp, which outperforms $10,000 units:
Sprout100 (US MSRP $599)
Stellar P3 PowerPlant (US MSRP $2199)
Stellar Gain Cell DAC/preamplifier (US MSRP $1699)
Stellar Phono Preamplifier prototype (US MSRP $2,000-$2,250; delivery, Q3/19)
Stellar S300 stereo amplifier (US MSRP $7499)
BHK Signature Preamplifier (US MSRP $5999)
BHK Signature 250 Stereo Amplifier (US MSRP $7499)
P12 PowerPlant regenerator (US MSRP $4999)
P15 PowerPlant regenerator (US MSRP $7499)
P20 PowerPlant regenerator (US MSRP $9999)
Also decidedly not static: PS Audio Founder and CEO Paul McGowan will be answering questions in a live Ask Paul session, Saturday at 2 PM right in our exhibit suite, Schaumburg A near show registration, Attendees will be able to submit audio-related questions to Paul, just as in his popular YouTube Ask Paul series---only live, and in person.
We look forward to seeing you at the show!
About Axpona 2019: the show will be held at The Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, 1551 N Thoreau Dr, Schaumburg, IL, 60173.
Show hours: Friday, April 12, 2019 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday, April 13, 2019 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday, April 14, 2019 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
About PS Audio: Founded in 1973, PS Audio has a worldwide following and a reputation for designing and manufacturing innovative, high-value, leading-edge audio products. Our design and core manufacturing facilities are in Boulder, Colorado, at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. While our engineering staff is second to none, PS is not constrained by NIH Syndrome: recent products have included design input from industry gurus Ted Smith and Bascom H. King.
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