Niles Audio showed CEPro a clever take on the soundbar at the HTSA Spring Conference-- the Cynema Soundfield, reportedly the first in-wall soundbar with speakers and amp behind the wall and a grille flush with the surface.
According to an exclusive interview in CEpro, The Soundfield consists of a mounting bracket, a thin strip of metal with vertical bars one can slide laterally to match stud spacing, allowing installers to position the unit precisely under the TV after cutting into the drywall.
“To accommodate flat panel TVs getting thinner and thinner, soundbars have tried to go in the same direction, which has had a detrimental effect on performance,” Core Brands engineering VP Jim Hardiman told CEpro's Julie Jacobsen. “I found myself in the enviable position of being able to shed the challenges and compromises of ultra-thin transducer designs and do something that could be both acoustically and aesthetically pleasing, and most importantly simple to install.”