The series of audio speakers a Rockford-based company will begin building in February will help revolutionize the consumer audio industry, executives announced Wednesday, Jan. 15.
Prescient Audio, a manufacturer of high-performance audio loudspeaker technology, will begin producing the ThinDriver TD-12 subwoofer Feb. 3 in its new facility at 4904 Colt Rd., in Rockford.
While there’s thousands on the market, the TD-12 isn’t just another speaker.
The TD-12 is the thinnest and lightest 12-inch driver in existence, the company claims. Two-and-a-half inches deep and 8.1 pounds, the 100 watts TD-12 repositions the components from the traditional location of behind the speaker to the perimeter.
The unit is about 30 pounds lighter than a traditional woofer and 8 inches thinner. It not only saves space, but improves quality and performance.
The TD-12 line will include four products—the Dual Subwoofer, Subwoofer In-Wall Cabinet and miniscule yet powerful Guitar Speaker Cabinet.
The Apollo AudioCase is a smartphone case is equipped with full TD-12 speaker technology. It will be available in February through a Kickstarter campaign.
Fresh from the 2014 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where Prescient was featured as a Innovations Design and Engineering Awards honoree, CEO Paul Niedermann has been working on the ThinDriver technology for the past three years. He believes its rapid growth will only continue and the design will be a mainstay in more than one market.
“In the future we hope you will be hearing this anywhere you live, work or play,” Niedermann said. “This technology works across all audio markets.”
That may happen sooner than later. Companies like Apple, LG and Samsung are already interested in the SmartCase design, which means a piece of Rockford could be part of the future of smartphones around the world.
Prescient Audio received a 2014 CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award, as well as one of EIGERlab’s Fast Pitch Competition Awards in 2012. Next week, Niedermann will take his team to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) to showcase the Guitar Speaker Cabinet.
Prescient Audio was founded in 2011, when Niedermann met former EIGERlab executive Karl Schmitt. Schmitt soon joined the team, sparking the journey to bring Neidermann’s designs to market. The company’s offices are at 5505 International Dr., in Rockford.
Posted Jan. 15, 2014 Rock River Times article link
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